Basics of Daffodil Growing
soaked. After that, the normal rainfall should take care of the watering requirements. In drier areas, watering once a week will be sufficient.
During blooming season, additional watering from soaker hoses will cause the blooms to be bigger and brighter. Do not water with sprinkler systems as they will cause the flowers to nod over and lay on the ground, as the flower is heavy from the start and the added weight of the water will cause it to fall. Daffodils like a dry summer and will sometimes rot when the area that they are growing is regularly watered for lawn or other flower bed needs.
A water meter can be purchased for about $20.00 from your local garden center but is not necessary. If you use a water meter, daffodils like it wet during bloom season and the water should read in the "wet" zones.
Basic Minimal Care
Daffodils are minimum care flowers, and have few pests or diseases. You plant them in the fall and they bloom in the spring, and will continue to bloom each spring for years to come. Every four or five years they will need to be dug and thinned, or the amount of flowers may become progressively less as the bulbs crowd each other for growing space and nutrients.
A light sprinkling of a 5-10-10 fertilizer in late September, early October when the roots start growing, and again in late February, early March when the spring growing season starts will cause the flowers to prosper. Do not over-fertilizer, as daffodils are not heavy feeders.
Daffodils like a rich soil with plenty of organic matter that can be added by using peat, or chopped and composted leaves, composted manure, or matter from your compost pile. However, do not put "green" organic matter into any flower bed, as the heat from the decomposing matter can damage your flowers.
Soil for daffodils, in addition to needing to be rich, needs to have good drainage, and the ability to go dry in the middle of the summer. Daffodils, generally, go dormant in the summer months and need that time to reconstitute for the future growing and blooming. Planting daffodils in raised beds or on the side of small hills is highly recommended to insure good drainage.
A side effect of daffodils is that after the blooming period, the foliage needs to be maintained for about 6 to 8
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