Narcissus daffodil quesiton

13 years ago

Hi all. I'd posted here a while back but never got two specific questions answered. I have a few bulbs from a daffodil someone gave me in the Spring. Once the flowers were spent, I removed the bulbs from the planter. The bulbs have been sitting out in the open on my porch ever since.

1) Can the bulbs continue to just sit out in the open on my porch, or am I supposed to 'store' them in some special way (i.e., in a cool dark place?) until I plant them in the ground before the first hard frost?

2) Once bulbs are in the ground and presumably flower in the Spring, can I then just leave the bulbs where they are and they will presumably re-flower each Spring? I've never worked with bulbs before but I thought I heard that some bulbs you need to remove from the ground and store somewhere, and then re-plant later in the year? Naturally I'd prefer if I could just leave these bulbs in the ground and forget about them.

Tx!

Comments (2)

agardenstateof_mind
13 years ago
1) It would have been preferable to store them in a cool, dark, dry place, but if they're still firm and free of mold or rot, they should be fine.

2) Narcissus bulbs are winter hardy, so you can leave them in the ground. In fact, they need a cold period of 14-16 weeks in order to bloom. With decent soil and sunlight, they should multiply over the years. The only bulbs that must be removed and stored for the winter are those that are not winter-hardy in our region - calla, canna, caladium, elephant ear, tuberose, etc.

With any bulbs, you can remove the dead flowers, but always leave the foliage until it has yellowed and withered. As long as the foliage is green, it is making food for the bulb ... and next year's flower. If you removed the foliage from those bulbs this past spring, plant them anyway - they may not bloom this year, but will put up leaves and will most likely bloom the next year.
Lynn Nevins
Original Author
13 years ago
thanks so much...very helpful!