That seems extraordinarily deep to me, the norm is 2 1/2 times the size of the bulb. I plant daffs about 6" deep, or less, depending on how energetic I am feeling. If it were just a couple of inches too deep, I would say they would go ahead & come up late, but I doubt they could come up that far. I would just plant more on top of those this fall, unless you want to try to dig these up & plant more shallow. Of course, some varieties are later, but all of mine are at least up now.

Which one is right ?

Good rule of thumb is twice as deep as the bulb is tall. 12 inches seems awfully deep for me.

Where are you located?

12 inches is really too deep.

If/when they emerge, they may not bloom. What I would do, is lift them, and reset them at the proper depth...with the bottom of the bulb about 5-6 inches deep, (less for smaller varieties) but no deeper.

I hope you see some emergence soon.

Sue

You didn't give enough information that would be helpful in determining what happened:

Where do you garden? (We don't need your street address, but the Pacific Northwest climate for bulbs is vastly different from Nebraska, for instance.)

What daffs did you plant? Some jonquillas, have little bitty bulbs and 3-5 inches is fine. Huge trumpets can be planted deeper, using the general guidelines that others have already posted.

When did you plant these bulbs, and how long after you received them did you wait to plant? (I ordered when daffodils went to half price, and planted in January, but that has to do with gardening near Florida. I chilled my bulbs because we get so few days of really cold temps. If you're in a really cold climate, they go in about October and you see may blooms in April.)

My 'Fruit Cup' daffodils from B&B are in bloom now. I despaired that they might not come up, but they just took their time. They're lovely.

You might try what I did: I dug down carefully where I was SURE there was a bulb hiding. Sure enough, as I carefully pulled away the soil, I found pale leaves heading for the surface. I watered them and they came right up. At twelve inches deep, if the soil is loose, large cultivars should be able to reach the surface.

Let us know what daffodils, the region where they were planted, the kind of soil and the timing and we can better help you decide what to expect.

Nell

12" deep daffs may still come up. We live in zone 3 and plant daffs about 6 to 8". No need to dig your daffs up. Just plant over top.

Also, the cheap bulk bulbs are every bit as good as those more expensive ones. Special order of daffs, tulips, etc. have purpose if there is a specific variety you want...they aren't 'better'. We order for the variety but if it's just color then buy the 50 bulb bags from the box stores for a few dollars. The bulk bulbs are proven reliable varieties over the decades.

Don't give up yet!
Newly planted fall bulbs are ALWAYS later to grow and bloom than bulbs from the year before.... plus if they are deeper than normal then they will be even later.
You could try digging a little to see what's going on underground. But I can almost guarantee your shovel will slice through at least one or two bulbs, that's what always happens to me.
As long as your soil's drainage is ok and they didn't rot in water there's still hope.

If they do sprout I would just leave them where they are. 12 inches is alot of digging and the bulbs will adapt. Also a nice benefit of deep planting is you can put smaller bulbs such as crocus on top next fall..... just don't dig into the daffs!