You could plant the daffodils in pots now and put them into the gaps when you see them. You could also thin the current bulbs out as they flower less when crowded.

Regarding the Hostas - too late now but I don't think it was necessary to remove them. Daffodils cope perfectly well with moisture in the summer - they have to over here as we have roughly equal amounts of precipitation all year round. In fact our wild daffodil Narcissus pseudonarcissus grows for preference in moist meadows beside rivers and lakes.

In that the daffodils did improve post Hosta, there were other reasons to remove it.

It wilted a lot in the summer so I placed a soaker-hose to water it. It was then the proverbial perfect storm. East facing wall, hosta, and lotsa water. The slugs clinched my decision to remove it.

Come to think of it, don't daffodils naturally grow near water as Irises can?

Either way, it is gone...

Still, what can happen to bulbs planted in the spring?

P.S.: I already have a refrigerator full of potted bulbs to bloom in the winter on my window sills.

I meant to pot up the daffodil bulbs now, rather than plant in spring, but not to force them. Keep them at the same temperature the outdoors bulbs would experience. They should flower at the same time as the bulbs already in the ground and you can plant them straight into the gaps. That way you will get flowers this spring in the gaps.

Excellent idea.... Pot them to be planted in the spring.

There are 50 of them (-:

It would be easiest for work now and hole size in the spring if I use 4" pots. I also have a lot of 6" pots but they will take a lot of soil and much larger holes when they go in.

Thoughts?

Wait a minute,...
What about this idea that they should be 6" down?
Do I place these at the bottom of 6" pots?

I also see daffodils sprouting right now 4 months early and they are almost at the surface. I am so confused.....

Bulbs look far better in clumps than singles so I'd put 4 or 5 into a 6 inch wide pot. So that's only 10 pots. Put them about 2 x their own height down. Once you are ready to plant them into the bed tip them out of the pot and just pop them in the spaces. So it doesn't really matter if they are near the bottom of the pot. They'll root out into the surrounding soil soon enough.

Ignore the daffodils sprouting now. They sometimes do that but they'll hunker down when the cold weather comes and flower when they should.

Actually, I have a large clump of daffodils poking sprouts. I wonder if they will tolerate being moved now. I have so many, it really would not be much of a loss if they did not like the move.

I wonder if I would get reported to the A.S.P.C.P.

I like your sense of humor :-) They should do fine.

I am disturbed, dismayed by that green wire fence. If I lived there I would find it impossible to resist the urge to plant vines there to smother much of it. Also free-standing shrubs.

Narcissus and moisture: let us recall how they got their name. Narcissus was a handsome youth who bending over a pond saw his own reflection and . . . you know the rest, or much it.

Early descriptions have the flower leaning over water as if looking at its own reflected image. And some narcissus do naturally grow in marshy lands or by ponds and streams where the soil is frequently soggy. Narcissus are generally more moisture tolerant and rot-resistant than some other bulbs such as tulips.

This post was edited by Eimer on Sun, Nov 30, 14 at 12:17

The green wire fence belongs to the neighbor (Don't get me started on the border war there...) Fortunately, her bushes have grown to hide it.