Daffodil (Narcissus hybrids and species).
Nothing says spring like a bright yellow Daffodil! Photo by: Ian S. Hemingway
- Type: Perennial Bulb. Native to the Mediterranean and Europe.
- Hardiness: Varies with selection. Most are hardy in zones 3-8.
- Uses: Early color, massing, naturalizing, drifts, containers, forcing indoors. Easy to grow, forgiving, and give much with little attention.
- Size: Upright habit, 6-24″ in height, depending on selection. Forms clumps and will spread over time.
- Growth rate: Slow. Bulbs multiply each year and are long lived. Will colonize and are great for naturalizing. Sometimes squirrels will move bulbs around.
Yellow trumpet with white petals...beautiful! Photo by: Ian S. Hemingway
- Light: Full sun to part shade. Do well in the dappled shade of deciduous trees as they will generally receive adequate light before the shade trees leaf out.
- Soil: Plant bulbs in the fall at a depth of 3 times the height of the bulb, pointed end up, in well drained, slightly acid, humussy soil. Bulbs will rot in poorly drained, boggy locations. Clay soils should be amended with organic matter and sand.
- Flower: Blooms in early spring, after crocus begin. Six petals, usually white or yellow, are arranged in a star-like pattern with a central trumpet or ring (corona). Corona color may be white, yellow, orange, red, green, or pinkish (apricot, peach).
Jonquil mix. Photo by: Ian s. Hemingway
- Fruit: Capsule or seed pod containing several roundish, dark brown seeds. Some selections will reproduce from seed, but they are not always “true” (the offspring will not always look like the parent).
- Leaf: Blue-green, strap like 1/2″-3/4″ wide by 6″ to 18″ long. Let the foliage die to the ground naturally to ensure that maximum energy goes to the bulbs.
- Cultivars: Endless named varieties, cultivars and many species. The American Daffodil Society cites 13 divisions: Trumpet, Large-cupped, Small-cupped, Double, Triandrus, Cyclamineus, Jonquilla, Tazetta, Poeticus, Bulbocodium, Split-Cupped, Miscellaneous, and Species, Wild Variants, and Wild Hybrids. Some HD favorites are: ‘King Alfred’, ‘Mount Hood’, ‘Lemon Glow’, ‘Fragrant Breeze’, ‘Faith’, ‘Wave’, and ‘Tete-a-tete’.
Sweet! Photo by: Ian S. Hemingway
- Design tip: Interplant Daffodils with Daylilies for an easy care, long blooming planting bed. the emerging Daylily foliage will help hide the fading Daffodil flowers and foliage, and will provide 8 weeks or more of low maintenance bloom in one planting bed.
- Additional notes: Daffodils are easy and fun to force for indoor winter color. Try potting them, in early November, in 6″ peat pots, 5-7 bulbs per pot. Use regular potting soil mixed 50-50 with coarse, washed builder’s sand. Plant about 2-3″ deep. Water and allow to drain. Hold in a cold bulkhead, breezeway, or shaded area outside, covered with evergreen boughs, where they are likely to stay cold (freezing is OK) and unlikely to freeze and thaw repeatedly. After 12 weeks, place in a bright, cool window. They’ll bloom in 1-2 weeks. Alternatively, keep the potted Daffodils cold until March and then, plant them directly in the ground. This method also works for Crocus, Tulip, Grape Hyacinth, Hyacinth, Scilla, Snowdrops, and Chionodoxa.
- Fun planting tip: For a random, natural effect, stand with your back to your planting bed and toss the Daffodil bulbs over your shoulder behind you. Wherever they land, plant them.
