Steve...I've grown daffs for years and I'm farther south than you. I never dig them up and toss them. They come back each year in bigger and bigger clumps, and bloom like crazy. I'm not just talking about your typical yellow daff, but I grow lots of different varieties and they all do well for me. You do need to divide them when the clumps get too large however. I don't know who that guy was, but he evidently doesn't know much about growing daffs.
I hope this answers some of your questions.
Jan

Hi Steve, I know daffodils do well here in northern St.Clair county. I have bulbs from years & years ago, never have I dug them up, & they bloom yearly. It is time to divide them, if the rain lets up.
They are some bulbs that should be dug up for winter, maybe freesias, but not daffodils. Joyce

Are you sure that the person at Bennett's was talking about daffodils and not tulips? I'm betting that there was a miscommunication somewhere along the line.

Thank you all. It is good to know that my current plan can be low maintenance.

Rizo,
There may have been a mis-Q, but I am pretty sure I said daffodil...

Steve

Yeah, winters aren't really cold enough for tulips here, I was thinking the same thing. Maybe he was having an off day or something and heard something other than what you said!

The big problem with tulips are that the foliage goes dormany in our early heat so they don't feed enough into the bulb to cause it to re-bloom. Most tulips should be treated like annuals but daffs come back fine. Jut be sure to allow the foliage to die back on its own. Don't cut or remove the foliage.

Yes, they have always been very helpful at Bennett and all of their info except this has seemed spot on. So I agree, we may have just had a miss communication or something. All in all, I recommend Bennett quite often to friends. I just wish they had more organic products in their inventory, but they are coming around there as well.

Steve

I live in B'ham, so we're a tad warmer than you. We have mounds of daffodils from Jan-March and we've never done what this guy said. Just divide them every few years, don't mow/cut off the foliage while it's green, and fertilize them at some point.

Went bulb hunting at an abandoned farm near Auburn, Ala. The WHOLE PLACE was full of daffodils! It was gorgeous! They were those old-fashioned varieties - small flowers, amazing scent. My favorite kind!