Turning Around British Isles Daffodils

Have you every wondered why those Dutch or overseas bulbs that you ordered had such "hugh" and glorious flowers that first year, and "chopped liver" thereafter. Most of use never take the time to analyse this issue, just treat them like annuals and order new each fall. But those of use that are not only gardeners, but also show exhibitors, take a long look at that expensive bulb that produces bad quality 2nd year flowers.

Not to mention, no one ever said that show daffodil bulbs were cheap and I don't like to throw my money away like that. We often find it frustrating because we prepared our garden beds right, with organic matter, sand, etc., and dug it deep for the roots, and spend the money on the best of bulbs. Then the second year we exclaim, "yuck! What happened to my flowers?!"

Bulbs on Steroids

Sometimes I think the international bulb growers have their bulbs on "steroids" when they ship them to us. Their bulbs are bigger than those that I can produce, no matter what I do, and that first year bloom is a spectacular joy to behold. So how do we get them to bloom with any vitality that second year? The truth is, you may not, the climate may be against you.

Turning Daffodils Around

I've given up on expecting great daffodil blooms the second year from my daffodils imported from the British Isles. Some of the daffodils will do well that second year, but I just don't count on that happening. Any great second year blooms are just considered bonuses to my showing regiment. Here's the reasons why:

• The fact is that the growing climates for bulbs in Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Britian are different than those in the United States.
• Growing conditions are different from where the bulbs have grown acustomed.
• The soil conditions are different from where the bulbs have grown for the past three years.

When I was first introduced to daffodil growing for show purposes, my mentor trained me for about six or seven years before I ever put my first daffodil in the show. I helped her do her daffodil gardening, to including digging beds, planting bulbs, and selecting show flowers. It was from this culture emersion that I soaked up the knowledge that she had on turning bulbs around. She would plant imported bulbs in a "reserve" bed that she didn't expect much of, and let them do their thing for three to five years, while she evaluated them. Each spring they were checked over for possible show flowers, but without much anticipation. The second year they hardly got any notice, but begin to get strong notice that third and fourth year. After the fourth year, they were dug and added into her show flower bed, or given away at the local bulb exchanges, if the flower showed no potential.

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