Flower Gardens

» Cottage_Garden - How often to water daffodil bulb

Daffodils are a great choice for planting with kids.

I assume you planted your bulb outdoors, so I'll talk about that first. In case you planted it in a container for forcing, I'll do that second.

The answer depends in part on where you live. You may not need to water it at all, but it depends on your weather.

One good deep watering at planting time (or planting before a rain) is usually enough. In many regions, seasonal rains will keep the soil damp. As the weather turns colder the soil usually stays damper longer naturally, and once the surface freezes there is no need to water. But if you have a very dry or drought-like fall, you might need to water again.

In the spring, melting snow and/or seasonal rains usually keep the soil naturally moist, but if you have no snow melt and the spring is very hot/dry/windy, you might need to water if the soil begins to dry out. You would water slowly and deeply to soak the soil down to where the bulb is (and the roots below it.)

In summer, the bulbs are dormant and do not need water.

In the fall, the soil needs to be damp because that is when the roots are forming. In the spring, the soil should be damp to keep the foliage and blooms hydrated. In summer, the bulbs just sits dormant so it can go very dry, completely dry.

If you planted it in a container to force, keep the soil just barely damp all the time from planting until it starts growing, when the top is growing it will need a little more water until it finishes blooming. It must not dry out completely while it is rooting, and once in growth it uses more water. Use your finger to dig into the soil and see if you need to water. This is a little tricky because you do not want to overwater it, that could make the bulb rot. You want damp soil not saturated, sopping wet soil.

If it is a paperwhite and you planted it in gravel, keep the water level just below the bottom of the bulb. You will need to top it up from time to time during the rooting phase, and once it starts growing stems and leaves you may need to top it up daily. At that stage it uses a lot of water.

I hope this helps!

-- posted by Cottage_Garden