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just_kazari

Daffodils (Narcissus) drooping....help?

kazari
16 years ago

Hello,

I bought a pot of daffodils about one to two weeks ago to decorate my windowsill (indoors). It grew amazingly and bloomed very quickly in short order, but now the leaves are drooping all over the place, and while the bulbs are still flowering to a certain extent, the blooms seem to dry up before they even get going.

The bulbs can't be done already, are they? I'd hoped to get a little more mileage out of them before prepping the bulbs for outdoor spring planting.

What should I do to keep them going longer, if that's possible? Any help on this or any other tips on care would be appreciated.

Thanks very much.

Comments (7)

  • saucer
    16 years ago

    I'm no expert on Narcissus, but from what I've been told this is pretty typical. The bulbs will go dormant when they're ready, even if you aren't. :) Mine is doing the same thing right now. I've found that sometimes plants just seem to sit at the nursery and/or garden center so long that, byt he time you buy them and take them home they're already pretty much done blooming.

  • shiver
    16 years ago

    I don't do indoor bulbs much anymore for the same reason----indoor light is just not enough to keep them from getting droopy. If you put them in full sun they'll be slightly less droopy, but usually even that isn't enough. Also, bulb blooms tend to be pretty short-lived indoors (more heat indoors vs outdoors = short-lived blooms).

    As for re-planting in the spring, you can, but don't expect great results. Bulbs that have been "forced" into blooming early lose most of their energy and never return to being great plants.

  • nandina
    16 years ago

    The idea has been tossing around GW that if you add a teaspoon of vodka to the water used on forced bulbs it will retard their height a bit and prevent the 'falling over/sprawling' problem. I tried it. Did not work for me. My Narcissus are now in full bloom, gathered together with a white ribbon around the clump that I have secured under the pot. Takes a bit of persuasion to make them cooperate.

  • albert_135   39.17°N 119.76°W 4695ft.
    16 years ago

    I planted some daffodil bulbs in a pot and the leaves are about eight inches tall. Now they are getting blossoms right at the soil surface. The leaves are six inches above the blossoms. Ever heard of this?

  • nanw_4wi
    16 years ago

    I would think that the indoor temperatures would be too high for Daffodils to last long, but I note that nandina states he/she is growing them indoors and they look good.

    As saucer stated, though, it may be that their time has come, as it is perfectly normal for the foliage to wilt/die back. My guess is, though, that the warm indoor temperatures had something to do with the timing.

  • shiver
    16 years ago

    Albert,

    Do you know about "plunging periods"?
    Plunging period = complete darkness, temps at 40F degrees. Both of these things have to be done for various lengths of time (depending on the type of bulb) to "force" bulbs to bloom early.

    My best guess as to what your problem is: did you give your bulbs a "plunging period" before you bloomed them? If the grower did not plunge them for you (and they should tell if they DID), you'll get all sorts of weirdness when they bloom. If you plunged them yourself, you likely messed up the length of time they needed to be in the dark, or you didn't get the temp right.

  • albert_135   39.17°N 119.76°W 4695ft.
    16 years ago

    Thanks shiver it could very well be plunging period. I had them in the fridge and the spouse took them out to rearrange something and so I just planted them. That is probably the explanation for the curiosity.

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