Premature Daffodil Sprouting

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pupfoster1 Olney, MD Oct 10, 2011

Hello everyone,

I have several areas of daffodil bulbs planted that for the past 2 years start sprouting again in the fall. This past year I got no blooms at all in the spring and I'm hoping to avoid that happening again.

Do you think they are not planted deep enough? If that's the case should I dig them all up or just layer on more soil? I have some others that were planted before we bought the house and they do beautifully every year.

Thanks in advance for any advance you might have!

Sharon

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PhyllisMihalik Chardon, OH Oct 10, 2011

One of 3 possibilities:
The bulbs are too shallow. Daffs in your area need to be down 6"+. That's from the TOP of the bulb. What is happening is that the bulbs use their energy outting out leaves then dont have enough left to flower. Easiest solution is to just add soil.
The bulbs are not getting enough sun to the leaves. Either they are planted in the shade or the leaves have been removed/bundled before they turned brown. In either case the result is the same. The leaves have not been able to produce enough sugar for the bulb to bloom the next year. If the bulbs are in the shade, move them. If you are removing the leaves before they start to turn brown or are bundling them, the bulbs that came with the house will eventually stop blooming too.
The bulbs need fertilizer. Do this anyway, during the entire growing season-when leaves are green.

Hope this helps.

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shune Burien, WA(Zone 7b) Oct 11, 2011

Are they crowded? The bulbs multiply over the years and when they are too crowded they don't bloom well. Just a thought. If that's the case, they should be dug up and replanted with more space between.

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pirl (Arlene) Southold, NY(Zone 7a) Oct 12, 2011

Daffodils here always send up 2 to 3" of green growth in autumn. It will not affect next year's flowers.

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JasperDale Long Beach, CA(Zone 10a) Oct 27, 2011

My daffodils do the same thing: Sprouts come up now, then sort of sit there until spring. Same for dutch iris, tritonia, and watsonia. They still bloom at their correct time.

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coastalzonepush Orlando, FL(Zone 9b) Oct 29, 2011

It's possible that your daffodils are the warm climate types. paperwhites and other types of daffodils/narcissus grow in the mild weather. i planted paperwhites in new york (7a) and was lucky to have a mildish winter (otherwise they would have died). i was given the gift of sprouts throughout winter, unfazed by some snowfall, and then tons of white musky flowers in spring. do you have a label from when you bought the bulbs? maybe you can have them identified better. hope this helps

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