Digging Daffodils in the Year 2000


WHEN TO DIG DAFFODIL BULBS

Gardening fork inserted into the soil and ready to lift daffodils.

Digging Daffodils

When is it 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.

Basic rules of digging and cutting back daffodils.

  • 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

Leave the Bulbs in the Ground.

There is a strong argument that daffodil bulbs belong in the ground and not in storage. I don't have an argument 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.

Gardens Daffodil bulbs need to be dug and thinned to maintain them at a high level of performance. Garden daffodils need to be dug and thinned from every 4 to 6 years, depending on how prolific the variety is at producing new bulbs. Bulbs start competing with themselves for nutrients, water, and space, and may not bloom. Sometimes, these overcrowded blooms can be "brought back" by fertilizer, and additional watering. However, the only thing you are doing is "buying" time, because the real solution is the thinning, not the forceing them to bloom again.

Show Daffodils In the regiment of growing show quality daffodils, dig daffodil bulbs on a two year rotation for thinning and inspection. When I asked why to a large number of successful growers, the reply was, "because the successful showers dig every two years." When I asked why a two year rotation, the reply was, "it saves on the labor to dig half each year."

The copyright of the article Digging Daffodils in the Year 2000 in Daffodil Growing & Showing is owned by Clay Higgins. Permission to republish Digging Daffodils in the Year 2000 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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