hi Philly gardener! Yeah, if you leave your daffodils to ripen fully, by not cutting or messing with their leaves after they bloom, your daffs should come back year after year and even reproduce! They are a super low maintenance addition to your garden, with the added bonus that most of the narcissus family are naturally safe from deer. I have a small planting of mixed tulips and daffs, and I did that to try to protect the tulips, because although a starving deer *might* eat a daff, they avoid them (daffs are toxic). Well, the deer came and carefully ate every tulip down to the ground, and entirely ignored the daffs right next to them. Enjoy your flowers and remember to leave the foliage to die back on its own, and they will come back year after year.
Lexi

Dafodils are about the most persistant (perennial) bulbs you will ever find. They require almost no care other than leaving the leaves on till they wither naturally, and none of the common varmits eat them or even eat their flowers. Daffodils can be seen growing along nearly every stream or roadside in a large part of the USA where they have escaped from gardens and naturalized. I personally have clumps I planted over 35 years ago, using bulbs from my wife's grandfather's farm where thay had grown happily for over 100 years. About the only thing that bothers them is the narcissus fly which lays eggs in the dying foliage, and the larva eats on the bulb. Fortunately, these are uncommon up here in the Northeast, and even they seldom totally kill off a good clump.

More bang-for-the-buck than any other bulb!

George

I have heard that some daffodils (specifically doubles) in some areas do not spread quite as readily as some, and after a few years will often times disappear completely. I have never had this experience, but then again most tulips tend to come back quite well for me. I have some red impression tulips that I planted in 1998 that are still coming on strong, and some double early tulips that are now coming up for the 4th or 5th year and about ready to bloom. I think some of it has to do with the climate in which they are planted, as well as whether or not a critter finds the bulbs...tulip bulbs are extremely tasty to most rodents and deer. As far as daffodils, they are poisonous to most creatures and they tend to stay away from them. You certainly can loose them to rot if the soil doesn't drain well enough, and there are a few insects that will bother them. The older/more common daffodils would be your best bet for coming back year after year, many of the newer hybrids do not naturalize as well. Also, when picking colors, keep in mind that most "pinks" are not truely pink. The vast majority of them are more of a apricot/peach color.

Thank you all for your responses!

Now I will definitely plant daffodils this fall!

Except in some VERY harsh areas of my garden (HUGE tree roots, no water, competing bearded iris, rocks, poor soil, etc...), my daffodils not only come back every year, they increase. I have to divide my established clumps about every 5 years.

Not all of them are in my garden. Minnow, Sundisc disappeared after a few years. Only 1 of 200 N. bulbocodium grew then disappeared all together.

Another long lived bulb is Leucojum aestivum 'Gravetye Giant'. It spreads fast too.

Here is a link that might be useful: Leucojum aestivum 'Gravetye Giant'

pitimpina, The only one I have lost so-far, was "Gold Ducat". They bloomed well and increased for 3 years, and then one spring thay were just not there Every single one had vanished, although no other varieties were damaged. It was a wet but cold winter with several freeze/thaw cycles, so I put it down to being a variety with marginal hardiness.

As for N. bulbocodium, my problem is growing them big enough to bloom. They multiply like wildfire, and want to go to grass. What few blooms I'll get are about a week from opening here. Buds were almost to the top of the foliage today.

George

Does anyone have any idea why some of my daffodils leaf, bud, and then the bud dries up? It is so heartbreaking. Some of them are just blooming their hearts out, and others just show up as clumps of leaves.
mystifying

threeorangeboys, The problem is called 'bud blast' and appears to affect some double varieties the most. It generally occurs in late blooming doubles when the spring has several up/down temperature cycles and higher than usual wind. No known proven cause or a cure.

George

Note to self: connect more "black spaghetti" (1/4" soaker line) to go through a bed where I'd like to put daffodils. It's too dry for daffs at the moment, and the other plants could tolerate just enough extra water to let the daffs do okay.

Lisa

I'll add a few comments. I have a number of different daffodils. Some increase reliably and return each year without fail. Others do not. Sorry to say. Still others, will not appear for a year or so, then back they'll come. I think, perhaps, there are some that are simply sporatic bloomers.

I have ordered for two years now (and will again this year) from Old House Gardens and the heirloom bulbs they provide have returned reliably. Another thing, their bulbs are the same, year after year. I have purchased some varities, Trepolo comes to mind, that the next year the blooms were not nearly as dramatic...although the foliage looked (and looks) wonderful.

I generally give them at least a couple years of "no-shows" before I decide they are truly gone.

I've also found that if you do not divide heavy clumps every few years they will stop blooming. I dug some up that hadn't bloomed for several years, divided them and gave them some bulb boost and they started blooming again. I don't know what variety they were but they were the narcissi with 2 tiny white blooms. They are blooming here now.

Nancy

N . Hawera, Thalia, Mt Hood, Sun Disc, and Actaea have increased enthusiastically for me. Jack Snipe and
Spellbinder have been slow and some disappeared.

George- thanks so much. Do you think I should just yank out the bulbs that have acted that way or give them another year? Maybe I should stick to more traditional basic daffodils. The ones that haven't bloomed are definitely the double varieties.

threeorangeboys, It's not a constant problem. Most years they don't do it. Only replace them if you need a guaranteed flower there.

George

The perennialest of perennials...

- Steve

Different Narcissus species (& hybrids) originate from varying climates and conditions. The ones that increase for you will not be the same ones that increase for a Texas gardener, or California, or mid-west, etc. Fine Gardening has had articles in the past on which Narcissus were suitable for what conditions & climates.

Much the same for hybrid Tulips except they almost exclusively require a hot, baking, dry summer (think Turkey, Armenia, Iran, etc.) to remain perennial. If you can provide those conditions, they'll come back as strong, year after year. I have been 'blessed' with two 115 year old Silver Maples with high canopies. The ground around them sees full sun for a good portion of the day and the second to none moisture sucking ability of the roots keeps many Mediterranean & Asia minor bulbs very happy.

Simon

Do daffodils revert? I had several different kinds in an old bed, and large cloggy clumps where they had not been moved in 10 years. They were dug out and divided when the bed was redone. We found ourselves with buckets full of bulbs. The first year after that (2005) there was very little bloom: I figured they were busy getting up to blooming size. This year we have lots of bloom but they are all the same! The Cheerfullness (Yellow and white versions) seem to be toatlly gone. And they were very reliable before.

We live in the mountains of So. California. Every year for the past five years we have planted 1000+ daffodils of many different varities. We let them naturalize and they are in full bloom at the moment. A true plant and forget.

I am not sure of the variities (wife knows) there are several, we order from White Flower Farms they have been great to deal with. My wife and I use a cordless drill and 2 inch auger to plant the bulbs at planting time.

We have several acres in bloom, despite the snow/rain/wind/cold and heat they look great. Could not live without them.

Take a look at the John Scheepers web site. They often note the daffs that naturalize well.

Other bulbs that naturalize well, even in partial shade, are Chinodoxia and Scilla siberica, both of which can multiply both by seed and by bulb division.

gvbill:

Let me guess: the "gv" in your screen name is for Green Valley Lake? If so, I live down the hill from you in San Berdoo. I bet your acreage is gorgeous in the spring! Have you posted photos of it here on the Garden Web? Do you know if the people in Running Springs with all the daffodils made it through the Old Fire?
Annabeth

I had a few 'wild' daffodils growing in the woods behind our house, and after our glorious Norwegian Forest male cat died I transplanted the 'daffs' to put over his resting spot. Only the green part of the flowers returned...the daff flowers did not. ?? Anyone?

The short answer is "yes". The right answer is "in some places". Every bulb is a perennial in some place. Most varieties of tulips are not perennial in most of the US. (They need cold winters and dry summers) Most daffodils are perennials in most of the US. The "fu fu" varieties will last years, the tougher varieties will last forever and multiply (in most places in the US.)

Also, most are squirrel and rabbit resistant.

Thank you

The first bulb I ever planted--probably in the late 1950s or very early 60s--was a Tazetta Narcissus 'Grand Soleil d'Or'; and it--or the clump which represents it--is still going strong there in the very same place. Half a century--I'd call that a true perennial.

Wow!

I find for me, that the old standards return, as long as they are large trumpet varieties: doubles, miniatures, fancy ones do not. Doubles and miniatures come back a second year, some of them, if I'm lucky. My first daffodil was Ice Follies, planted in 1987: that is so prolific I pull out baskets of them every year to bring to a plant swap. I love miniatures, but end up having to re-plant some every year.

I had a few 'wild' daffodils growing in the woods behind our house, and after our glorious Norwegian Forest male cat died I transplanted the 'daffs' to put over his resting spot. Only the green part of the flowers returned...the daff flowers did not. ?? Anyone?

bldion, are they growing in the sun? Shade will mean loss of flower.