Daffodil Planting Tips

Practical Tips and Pointers on Planting Daffodil Narcissus or Jonquil Bulbs to Help Achieve the Long Lasting Results You Want from Formal to Informal Planting

Oct 30, 2006

Over the years I have planted thousands and thousands of daffodil bulbs (Narcissus). Here are some daffodil planting and growing tips you may find helpful. Also see How to Plant Daffodils for the basics on planting and purchasing the bulbs, and Daffodil Care for information about maintaining your daffodils over the years to come.

Bulb Spacing

Individual daffodil or narcissus bulbs are usually planted about six inches apart. This spacing allows room for the bulbs to increase over time so they can stay in place for many years. You can plant them wider apart but it will take longer to achieve a full look. Planting closer means you will have to divide them sooner.

A clustered group of bulbs creates more visual impact than a single bulb. For example, plant three bulbs in an equilateral triangle. Or for five bulbs, set four in a square with a fifth bulb in the center, or two in front and a line of three in the rear.

How to Plant A Row of Daffodils

If you would prefer a row of daffodils, plant them in a bed twelve inches wide with two or three bulbs staggered across the width of the bed. This results in a full look rather than a single straggly line of daffodil soldiers. Eventually the daffodils will spread to fill in the entire bed.

Naturalizing Daffodils

Naturalized plantings look like nature planted the bulbs instead of the gardener. A successful naturalized planting will increase itself over time with seedlings popping up next to the bulbs you planted. To naturalize daffodil bulbs, the goal is to make them look a bit random, so plant the bulbs in an irregularly spaced group of five or more. Some can be a bit closer than six inches, some a bit further.

The overall shape of your naturalized planting should be an informal one, an organic or irregular outline rather than a square or rectangle or perfect circle. You may find that tree roots, patterns of sun and shade, and other obstacles direct some of your bulb placement.

Using just one variety of daffodil per planting makes it look more natural when they bloom, and also assures they all bloom at the same time.

Tips on Digging the Bulb Planting Holes

You can dig a separate hole for each bulb, or you can dig a trench and plant several bulbs at once. You can also plant the bulbs in a prepared flower bed. For an extended row of daffodils, you can till up a strip of ground and plant the bulbs there.

Planting in A Flower Bed: How to Hide the Ugly Fading Daffodil Foliage

When planting in a flower bed, keep in mind that the bulbs are renewed each year by allowing the foliage to grow and mature. The maturation process can be a bit ugly as the leaves turn yellow and die back. You may want to plant your daffodils to the rear of the flower bed where they can remain undisturbed and their foliage can be hidden behind your other flowers. Peonies and daylilies (Hemerocallis) are often used as companion plants in front of daffodils for this reason.

Planting Daffodils With Shrubs or Trees

I like to see daffodils planted in shrub beds where they can bloom, grow their foliage, and die back without causing too much disruption to the overall look of the garden.

Another location I like is along the edge of an informal wooded area where they will receive at least a half a day of sun. The flowers will turn toward the sun when they bloom, so keep that in mind when you decide where to plant them.

Don't Plant Daffodils in Lawn Grass

If you plant or naturalize daffodils in a grassy area or lawn, you must not mow the lawn until the daffodil foliage begins to die down. By that time, your lawn will look like a hay field. We've all seen lovely photos of charming daffodil displays in green spring grass under say, apple trees in full bloom, but this is really not a good idea to try at home. If you have an orchard where you can leave the grass shaggy and unmowed until mid June, then go for it!

Mulch for Weed Control in Bulb Bed

After planting, apply several inches of organic mulch over the bulb area. This will help prevent weeds from growing this fall and early next spring. The mulch will also break down slowly over time and help feed the soil – and your bulbs.

Apr 15, 2007 11:58 AM

Steve WIlson :

I neglected to plant my bulbs in the fall as recommended.Can I plant daffodils in the Spring? If not what do I do with the bag of bulbs until fall planting time?

Apr 15, 2007 3:02 PM

Barbara M. Martin :

That is too bad. I hope you don't have tons and tons of them. Bulbs are living things and do not hold up to long term storage under home conditions. I suppose you could plant them because the alternative is basically to just throw them out... Check to be sure they are still firm and plump, not moldy or soft, before you bother. Next time, try to plant them in the fall!

Apr 17, 2007 9:06 AM

Angela England :

I had to do that one year - I didn't get them in that fall and put them in the fridge for awhile (I think maybe 3 or 4 weeks) and then planted them as soon as I could in the spring. They did OK - not all of them were healthy to put in the ground and not all of them germinated but I'd say I got about 60% that came up that year and about 50% that bloomed (some just put up foliage but bloomed the next year).

It CAN be done but it definately stresses them. You'll likely lose the weakest bulbs and may not get as prolific a bloom flush as you would have otherwise but I'm so frugal (ie cheap) that for me it was worth the try!

Mar 10, 2008 10:18 AM

julia butler :

Hi can anyone help me - I am getting married next july and as daffodils are my favour flower i would really like them on the day - is there anyway i can delay the growth of daffodils until july?
we were hoping to get married in spring but unfortunately we could not.
any ideas?
thanks :)

Mar 10, 2008 2:04 PM

Barbara M. Martin :

I wish I could be encouraging, but I don't think you can do it. The bulbs are living things and can't just be shifted willy nilly in their bloom time -- or on demand. When we talk about forcing them, it is to get them to bloom earlier than normal by artificially chilling them and setting them into the bloom cycle earlier than usual. Unfortunately they do not hold well for an unusual delay.... Part of the charm and beauty of the daffodils is their fleeting season of bloom.

Having said that, Brecks seems to offering some "specially treated" daffodil bulbs to plant in spring for summer bloom -- but it would be difficult to time them with certainty as it would still depend on weather.... and they are not the typical stereotypical golden daffodils.

You could try talking to your florist and see if they have a suggestion for a substitute. You might consider Peruvian daffodils (not daffodils! Botanical name is Hymenocallis, sometimes also called Ismene.) There is a photo and description <b><a href="http://www.ext.vt.edu/news/periodicals/commhort/pulledarticles/m ay04-2.html">of Peruvian daffodils as well as other summer blooming bulbs here.</a></b>

Mar 13, 2008 6:28 PM

jen oste :

I recently tried to transplant some daffodils into a pot and I would like to know if anyone can tell me why they are drooping and turning yellow and white at the bases, are they dying? are they just in shock? and what can I do? Help! Please!

Mar 14, 2008 7:46 PM

Barbara M. Martin :

Hi Jen! Based on your description I suspect they are in transplant shock. Bulbs in active growth are difficult to transplant successfully.

You may have damaged some roots when you dug the bulbs, or you may have set them too high or too low in the pot, or you may have over or under watered them. You may have used a slow draining soil mix or otherwise unsuitable mix, or perhaps your container has no drain holes... or you may have set the pot in a place that is too warm or too cold or not bright enough.

If you want bulbs in a container, it is best to force them or otherwise start them in the container so you do not have to transplant them. Many gardeners start them in plain plastic pots, then conceal the utilitarian pot inside a decorative one.

If the plants are displayed indoors, keep them cool and bright...and do not overwater as this can lead to bulb and/or root rot problems. I hope this helps you trouble shoot.