When to Dig Daffodil Bulbs

Digging Daffodils

When is is safe to dig daffodil bulbs? That is the question that begins to be asked at this time of the year. The stock answer is, anytime after about six weeks from the end of the blooming season, or when the foliage begins to turn brown. It can be no more simple then that, if it were not for all the exceptions.

This daffodil foliage is still growing 4 weeks after the bloom and is too early to cut, or to dig the bulbs.

• 6 to 8 weeks after bloom
• either cut foliage back or dig bulbs.
• dig before the foliage disappears so you can find the bulbs
• store bulbs in a dry, cool location for the summer

This picture shows daffodil foliage that has started to turn brown and has lost it's vigor. A slight wind blew it down, as it is no longer growing. The foliage is a mixture of brown and green, but mostly brown. It's at the early point for cutting and digging, but can be either cut, or the bulbs dug.

Leave the Bulbs in the Ground.

There is a strong arguement that daffodil bulbs belong in the ground and not in storage. I don't have an arguement with that, but I don't practice that method either, even when it is worth exploring. The essence of that theory is that daffodils should be dug for thinning, and for moving only.

• When a clump of daffodil gets overcrowded, dig, divide and leave the bulbs that are to be kept in the ground.
• To move bulbs, dig and immediately move to the new location and put them back into the ground.

Dig and Store. The more common practice that growers, hybridizers, and commercial providers have pursued for hundreds of years is to dig the bulbs, "dry" them, and store the bulbs until replanting time in the fall. This method will be discussed in detail in the next three articles.

Exceptions. Daffodil bulbs that are dug out of season will survive if handled properly.

• Transplant in the Green. I have dug and sucessfully transplanted daffodils while they are in full bloom. If they are replanted before the dirt ball has a chance to dry, and watered, the daffodils will continue as if nothing happened.
• Growing daffodil roots will be white and slightly stiff. Save as much of this root as possible when transplanting.
  The copyright of the article When to Dig Daffodil Bulbs in Daffodil Growing & Showing is owned by Clay Higgins. Permission to republish When to Dig Daffodil Bulbs in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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