- Planting daffodils: The right planting time
- Planting daffodils: The right approach
- Planting daffodils: in beds or in pots
- Propagate or buy daffodils yourself
- Daffodils: diversity in flower color and flower shape
- Growing daffodils: the right care
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With the first warmer days in early spring, the daffodils sprout and open their flowers. Here you can find out everything about planting daffodils.
Daffodils (Narcissus) belong to the amaryllis family (Amaryllidaceae). The wild species are distributed in south-western Europe and north-western Africa. However, these Easter heralds have long been at home in our gardens. How popular the narcissus is is shown by its 24,000 cultivated forms.
The yellow, white to orange bell-shaped flowers of the daffodil bloom from February to May and herald spring in the hundreds in meadows, gardens or city parks around Easter. No wonder some people only know daffodils as daffodils.
Planting daffodils: The right planting time
The narcissus is a bulb flower. It forms an onion as a storage organ, which it brings over the winter. All other plant organs die off. Daffodil bulbs are planted in September. This allows the first roots to form before the first longer frost. If necessary, planting is also possible in spring.
Planting daffodils: The right approach
So that the daffodils ring out in the garden in spring, there are a few things to consider when planting.
- Soil: garden soil possibly mixed with sand; neutral pH
- Planting hole: two to three times as deep as the bulb is high
- Planting distance: 12 to 15 cm
- Put the onion in the planting hole with the tip pointing up
- Fill the planting hole loosely with soil
Only heavy garden soils are mixed with sand. A slightly deeper planting depth makes the bulbs less likely to dry out. After planting, it should be watered thoroughly - this accelerates root formation.
Tip: If you want to create optimal conditions for your daffodils, use a high-quality organic soil such as our Plantura organic potting soil.
Planting daffodils: in beds or in pots
If you take into account the right location and at theIf everything important is taken into account when planting, the 15 to 40 cm high plants feel at home almost anywhere. They can be planted in beds, pots, meadows, lawns or rock gardens. An Easter without daffodils in the garden would be hard to imagine.
- Plant the bulb as described in "Planting Daffodils: The Right Procedure"
- Location: sun to partial shade
- Moist soil and sunny in spring, dry in summer
Planting daffodils in the bed
Planted in the bed, they are one of the first flowers in the starting blocks. Along with other early bloomers such as crocus (Crocus), snowdrop (Galanthus), lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis) , daylilies (Hemerocallis) or lungwort (Pulmonaria) you can declare war on winter as early as February. Some varieties such as cyclamen daffodils (Narcissus cyclamineus) or trumpet daffodils can be naturalized well. These varieties reproduce independently and thus spread all by themselves.
Planting daffodils in pots
A large pot with blooming daffodils makes every house entrance shine. Planting takes place in September as usual. The minimum dimensions for the pot are 25 cm deep and 20 cm wide. When planting in a pot, the following should be considered:
- Fill the pot with a mixture of Plantura organic potting soil and sand
- Plant the bulb as described in "Planting Daffodils: The Right Procedure"
- Location: dark place at 4°C
- Keep soil only moist
- From germination outdoors or other brighter, cooler locations
- watering well, but no waterlogging
Daffodils can also bring spring into your own four walls as indoor plants. Cooler temperatures around 15°C allow indoor daffodils to flower longer. You should also rotate the plants regularly because the flowers face the window.
Repotting Daffodils
After the plants have wilted, when all the above-ground parts have died, the bulb is taken out of the ground and dried. The bulbs are planted again in autumn.
Propagate or buy daffodils yourself
After a few colorful years, the flowering power will decrease. Now you can decide whether you want to take care of the propagation of your bulb flowers yourself or simply buy new bulbs. The brown onions are available in specialist shopsmany varieties to buy. If you want to propagate yourself, proceed as follows:
- Summer: Take the onion out of the ground and carefully remove the daughter bulbs by hand
- Store daughter tubers in a cool, dry place
- September: planting of daughter tubers
When dividing, a piece of the bottom plate of the onion must remain on the daughter onions. There the suction root is formed. Propagating your daffodils yourself by dividing them does not mean much effort. You can also sow daffodils yourself. However, it takes up to seven years for the daffodil to flower for the first time.
Daffodils: diversity in flower color and flower shape
The origin of our word narcissus is just as unusual as its trumpet-shaped flower. In Greek mythology, Narcissus was a hero who was so enamored with his own beauty that he wanted to embrace his reflection in a river and drowned. At the stake he turned into a daffodil.
The flowers of the daffodil range from white to yellow and orange tones. The structure of the flowers characterizes the 12 groups of daffodils. The various flowers smell intense. Nevertheless, they are unsuitable for a bee pasture due to their flowering time. If you're looking to support bee populations in your backyard, check out our article on the 10 Most Bee-Friendly Plants.
Growing daffodils: the right care
Once the bulbs are planted in the ground, you can enjoy the daffodil bells almost without doing anything else. With just a few simple steps, the Easter heralds usher in spring for years.
Pruning Daffodils
The cutting is not necessary. So that the plant does not unnecessarily invest energy in seed formation, the flower stem is removed after flowering. Only remove the leaves when they have yellowed. Nutrients are transferred to the bulb during wilting. The onion gets through the winter with better care. When planting in the lawn, you should therefore wait until the leaves have withered before mowing for the first time.
Water and fertilize daffodils
When watering, it is important to note that the soil must not be too dry over a longer period of time. Waterlogging should be avoided because of the risk of fungal infection with Fusarium. For a bulbous plant, however, the narcissus is verytolerant of wetness.
Like other early-flowering bulbs, fertilization takes place in the spring when the leaves sprout. It is fertilized with a primarily organic organic fertilizer or mature compost. Our Plantura long-acting organic flower fertilizer is an excellent choice for daffodils.
Summary of growing daffodils: the right care
- Remove stem after flowering
- Remove leaves after wilting
- Watering: No waterlogging, no dry balls
- Spring: Primarily organic fertilization when leaves sprout