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Selecting Daffodils at Local Garden Stores

© Mary Lou Gripshover

Have you seen them? They're baaaaack! Daffodil bulbs for planting now are at your local garden store. Some stores have a large selection, others only a few. But in either case, how do you know which bulbs you should add to your garden?

The bulbs which are on sale at garden centers now all came from Holland. Most should perform well, at least the first year. I can tell you what NOT to buy -- 'King Alfred.' What they're selling is the name, and supplying different yellow trumpet daffodils. The latest statistics from Holland indicate that only .26 hectare out of 1512 hectares devoted to narcissus are planted with 'King Alfred.' A hectare is about 2-1/2 acres. They couldn't possibly be supplying all the 'King Alfred' bulbs you see in the stores. If you REALLY want 'King Alfred,' you should probably look for a supplier of heirloom bulbs. Reliable mail order sources sometimes sell "'King Alfred'-type" daffodils. Also, don't bother buying bone meal. It's such a slow-acting fertilizer that it won't do your bulbs any good. Instead, look for a low-nitrogen all-purpose fertilizer, like 5-10-10, or 3-6-6. But we'll get into planting another time. And of course, you shouldn't buy any bulbs that are soft, or dried shells of bulbs. It's not necessary to buy dozens of the same cultivar, either. Three double-nosed bulbs (or five of a miniature) tucked in here and there in the garden will soon increase to a sizeable clump. But if you DO want to plant a great sweep of daffodils, use only one variety. Don't plant a mixture.

By proper selection, you can have daffodils in bloom over a six- or eight-week period. 'Tete-a-Tete' is a miniature daffodil which blooms early in the season, and 'Baby Moon,' also a miniature, is one of the very last to bloom. These two daffodils have more than one bloom to the stem, making small bouquets in the garden with only a few bulbs. 'Baby Moon' has the added bonus of a delicious fragrance.

Others that would do well in most areas of the country include 'Accent,' 'Salome,' 'Ice Follies,' and 'Peeping Tom,' all of which have received the American Daffodil Society Wister Award for an outstanding garden flower. The American-bred 'Accent' has a solid pink cup, while 'Salome' has a pink cup, bordered in yellow. 'Ice Follies' opens as a white and yellow and fades to nearly all white. 'Peeping Tom' is an all yellow cyclamineus hybrid, with its yellow petals swept back.

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