I am wondering if the "heaved" bulb may have been dug up accidently by a squirrel or something else and when it found out it was a daffodill they just left it. Then it froze and rotted. I would not blame the raised bed and your hard work don't give up. See how things go this spring and summer with the bed and plant more in the fall.

It sounds as if the bulbs were not good, or they were good and were stored improperly or planted too late. The main thing is that your wonderful raised bed can be beautiful with other plants this season and you can buy bulbs from a good source and get them in the ground early this fall. Good luck and don't give up!

Ken, I remember the pictures of that raised bed, and it is beautiful! Don't give up yet. Just because you have a few bad daffodils isn't the end of the garden. Perhaps others have daffs in full bloom because they are earlier varieties, and you planted later-blooming varieties?

If you've only seen the one bad bulb, I wouldn't despair just yet. Give it some time, and if worse comes to worst, take it as a learning experience. Did you buy from a reputable bulb company? Did you research your bulbs regarding bloom time, etc.? By this I mean do you know that they are supposed to be in bloom now, or are you just going by what your neighbors have? I'm sure as spring wears on and other things start to grow, you won't be so disappointed.

Keep your chin up!
:)
Dee

Thanks Everyone!

Shadeyplace, the dug up bulb gave me hope,that is till I went out this morning to take a look. One of the 3 stems did not look to good and I gave it a slight tug and it came up with a rotten bulb. :c(

ginny12, not sure if they were planted at the right time or not. I bought it in a 10 inch pot from a local nursery while it was in full bloom. This was almost 1 year to the day. I planted it in the garden and it stayed green for a long time. Actually towards the middle of the summer some animal dug down to the bulbs and stopped. I think I posted about that here and that is when I found out that daffodil bulbs are not eaten by critters. LOL. The bulbs looked good and healthy and had good roots.

diggerdee! thanks for all your help in the past. As I just mentioned to ginny12, I got them from the local nursery and did not think to check growing season. I guess one thing is a given. They were in full bloom and probably grown in a greenhouse, so perhaps they would be later this year grown out in the field, but I would think, with these early bloomers, that a good nursery would schedule the bloom with normal time? Even so... the good news is that, with the exception of just a few, all of my other plants have tiny signs of life. Actually I am surprised that the butterfly bushes don't. I am waiting to see first buds before I cut them down. Good news is that if I scrape some bark the core is still green.

Thanks everyone! Your replies are appreciated!

Hi again Ken. Regarding the butterfly bushes, I think these are late to show. I say "think" because I only have one, which I bought last spring, and so this is my first real spring with it. But if I recall correctly off the top of my head, these are slow to show new growth.

:)
Dee

Ken,
I've never planted daffodils that were already blooming in a pot.
Another thought I had, maybe the depth of the bulbs planted in the pot was not deep enough. Over the winter there could have been significant freeze/thaw cycles that caused bulb rot.

Ken, I think you have identified the problem. Bulbs bought already blooming in a pot have been forced. Forced bulbs almost never do as well the next year, and often don't come back at all, tho you do have a better chance with daffodils rather than tulips, for example. Forced bulbs are exhausted bulbs. That's your problem, for sure. So this year, start with healthy un-forced bulbs from a good source like Scheepers. Others can recommend other sources as well.

I actually have had luck with forced bulbs - i.e. planting pots of daffs which were bought in bloom. I don't even bother with tulips, but I give the daffs a shot. I figure what have I got to lose? I don't always have success, but occasionally I have had some bulbs live and bloom.

But, I agree with Ginny. In this particular case, that could be your problem. I also second the Scheepers suggestion.

However, this won't stop me from planting forced bulbs, lol. I've got a pot of bloomed-and-gone forced crocus in my living room that I will be planting out this week. I'll just keep my fingers crossed for next year!

:)
Dee

Thanks again everyone!

I wonder if the potted plant issue had anything to do with the liatris pulling out. I mentioned that here a little while ago. There seems to be more resistance to them moving, so I gather they are sending new roots out, but when it came out of the ground fairly easily the "bottom" of the bulbs, or what ever liatris has, was probably no more than 3 to 4 inches down.

Ken

Ken, as for the butterfly bushes, I am farther south than you...uh...guess I'm a lot farther south! LOL~~ But my butterfly bushes have just now begun to put on new leaves. Last year, mine didn't bloom until sometime in May...so don't dispair!

Beverly

Ken, I'm here in the Garden State, too - go ahead and cut
those butterfly bushes down, you don't need to wait for
signs of growth. . .mine were cut back this past week (also
did five others for all the neighbors!) Six inches off the
ground is fine.

Recycling "forced" bulbs is one of my favorite "bargain"
chores - my church here is awash with pots of daffs and
hyacinths at Easter, and when I accidentally discovered
that a lot of them are dumped in the trash after blooming,
I arranged with the sexton (janitor) to save me any left-overs that weren't claimed. . .that was seven years ago,
and each Easter since I've salvaged a dozen or more every
year. . .I now have a naturalized slope of gorgeous purple
hyacinths and clumps of daffodils everywhere!. . .and it
didn't cost a dime. . .

And, yes, the most common mistake folks seem to make when
they plant out these bloomed-out bulbs is setting them in
at pot level, a BIG mistake - potted or not, they still
need to go in at least 6 inches down, and leaving all the
leaves to wither naturally. . .a spoonful of bonemeal in
the bottom of each hole is also a huge boost!

If you don't happen to have a church for a free source, just try cruising around town on "trash day" soon after
Easter. . .you can take your pick of all the bloomed-out
goodies at the curb! Easter lilies can be recylced as
well, although personally I don't find them particularly
garden-worthy. . .someone else, of course, might just love
a field of lilies!

Carl