Daffodil Bulbs - Planting Questions

I've never grown Daffodils before, but yesterday at the local garden center I purchased 6 really large bulbs. I have 2 questions -

1) We are expecting sleet & possible snow accumulations around 1-3 inches on Tuesday & Wednesday. On Saturday, our weather warms back up with daytime temps in the 60's and low 70's and nighttime temps ranging from the low 40's to mid 50's. This warm weather will continue at least a week. Not sure after that, though. Is it ok to plant the Daffodil bulbs today or should I wait until Saturday?

2) What's the rule of thumb for planting depth and spacing for Daffodils?

If you want to plant in cold weather then go for it but if it were me I'd wait until it is comfortable to do the job. Normally you would do this in the fall but I've planted as late as March (talk about procrastination!) The problem with waiting too long is often the bulbs can dry out to nothing.

An inch deep at most for your area - do not plant at recommended depths which is usually for the north and that is a huge mistake for southern gardens. Spacing is subjective. If you want to space them feet apart and let them multiply over the years then you can do that but for immediate impact - plant them close together. Often a big planting bed or hole is dug and bulbs placed a couple inches apart and then backfilled for lots of bulbs. Speaking of I have 198 bulbs (daffodils, Dutch iris, and crocus) still to plant.

You can buy a bulb augur to use with a cordless drill for planting your bulbs. I highly recommend it since it is fairly quick unless you hit a big rock or a massive tree root. Usually you can find one at a hardware store or a garden center. Looks like the price has gone up on these since I bought mine years ago. I guess I need to find my two augurs instead of buying another one.

http://www.amazon.com/Heavy-Duty-Bulb-Auger-1-75/dp/B001A5SZ1A

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lewis-LifetimeTools-Yard-Butler-ROTO-Drill-BULB-PLANTER-24-Length-RP-3-NEW-/320943899247

I am interested to know why planting Daffodils in the south at a recommended depth is a big mistake. I have only planted Daffodils over the past couple of years, so not enough experience to have had any problems. I actually planted mine as deeply as I could with my trowel so that when planting perennials later I would not dig them up. They returned last year, and I planted more, already I am beginning to seem them popping up this year. I'd say on average I planted mine six to eight inches deep.

This message was edited Jan 27, 2014 1:21 PM

I think that, a least in theory, they will stand a better chance of getting the chilling hours they need.


To the original poster the bulbs will be fine either way. I have planted them witha pick axe in December when winter hit early and I'd procrastinated too long. My only concern would be have will they get enough chilling hours.

Another option would be to toss them in the back of your refrigerator for about 3 months and then plant them.

Well I have no idea about alabama. But here in michigan, we plant our bulbs in the late fall. And at twice the depth of the bulband they are so pretty in the spring. Ifyou get them to deep they will leaf out but not flower. Thats a bummer after all that work. I am surprised that you can grow bulbs in alabama at all cause the fact they new the cold season to bloom. Good luck on what you do and enjoy the beauty of the spring flowers.

Found this info on the web.
https://www.oldhousegardens.com/HeatLovingDaffodils.aspx
There are a few things here I seem to be doing wrong, I have mine mixed right in with my daylilies and other plants. So, I end up watering them right along with all the other plants. Did not see anything so far about the depth. I'll keep looking.
Reading further down I did find this:
“Deep planting (6 to 8 inches) provides a more even soil temperature and root space for large tazetta bulbs. This was recommended for zones 8 and 9.

This message was edited Jan 27, 2014 1:26 PM

Seedfork,Your planting methods is correct, Daffodils planted too shallow will be eaten by Rodents, suffer heat stroke due to not enough cover and the plants will not last for that many years, they should last for 20 years or more in normal planting conditions, even longer IF lifted after several years and the clumps split up, the bulbs reproduce every year but it takes maybe 2 more years for the offspring to become flowering size.

No Matter where you live, the rule of thumb for bulbs is to plant them 3 times the depth against the size of the bulb, IF the bulb measures 2 inches from root end to growing tip, then you would plant the bulbs to a depth of 6 inches and space AROUND 2 inches apart, IF you plant small bulbs for say, Snowdrops, these are about half inch at the most, so you plant them 1 1/2 inch.
never be confused between bulbs and TUBERS, tubers (as in Dahlias and other type of tuberous root plants are totally different and require to have the crown of the tuber JUST under top soil with tuber roots deeper down, add to the planting hole as much humus as possible to help feed, hold onto moisture and helps prevent the hot sun cooking the tubers.
Rhizomes again are look-a-like bulbs BUT need different treatment, these belong to Peonies, Iris and many other plants, need the Rhizome to be planted just on the level of top soil with roots into the soil, these like the sun to bake the Rhizomes but need plenty humus added to the soil also as this allows moisture to stay longer in the soil for the roots, adds air to soil and feeds the plants at the same time.
Hope this helps with any confusion regarding plant bulbs as some people are confused what the difference is between the above.
Also IF you live in a colder area, you can plant the BULBS only, an inch or so deeper.

Have fun, enjoy your Daffodils, hope you have a lovely show, remember you can plant the bulbs in pot's of compost to keep indoors till weather warms up and transplant them outside in prepared soil soon as frost / cold has passed, better that than the bulbs dying while waiting on unpredictable weather.
Best regards, WeeNel.

SavvyDaze,
My vote goes to plant them today(but Saturday should be fine).
I would plant them six to eight inches being you said they were large bulbs.
Hope we have not confused you.

I have planted daffodils deep in the past and often they fizzle out in the south but that is your call. By planting shallow they always come back here in the Atlanta area - often forming such thick clumps that they are almost sitting out of the ground (time to divide then). Peonies are another one to plant very shallow in the south. If you plant them too deep they will most likely die. By planting the eyes almost at soil level they will flourish - also plant in full sun for best results.

Tulips on other hand are best treated as annuals in the south but there may be a few that come back every year which looks rather weird - one black tulip here and a couple red and yellow over there after planting 100's just 2 to 3 years earlier.

I think we can all agree that Peonies, Iris and Dahlias need to be planted shallow, in the south or in the north I suppose. I have never planted any Peonies, I have heard they don't do well here, but there may be some varieties that would.

Daffodils are the same principle from what I read (many years ago). Plant shallow in the south so they get the cold they require. Plant deep in north to get some insulation because they will get plenty of cold and might actually freeze to death if planted shallow. Maybe the logic has changed in 30+ years.

Yes bearded iris must be planted with the top part of the rhizome exposed. Dutch, Japanese, and Siberia iris would be planted at ground level or slightly below depending on their requirements. Dahlias are iffy - most will come back fine here after winter but with the single digits cold weather we've had this winter I wonder if they will. Same thing with calla lilies - typically hardy and weedy to a degree but the extra cold may do them in. Crinum and eucomis are two more that I plant shallow. After disastrous outcomes from our first planting of daffodils and peonies over 30 years ago I've always planted shallow and not had any issues since then.

I did a little more searching and found this from the Georgia Gardener Walter Reeves.

The rule of thumb for bulb-planting depth is two to three times the diameter of large bulbs and three to four times the diameter of small bulbs. Remarkably, some bulbs can move themselves to the correct depth if you make a mistake. Their extensible roots slowly move the bulb into correct position. Even if you plant a bulb upside down, it will grow normal shoots, roots and flowers.
So if your bulbs move up close to the surface or down deeper they know where they belong. I guess they just have to live long enough to make the adjustment.

Ok, one more source on planting depth:
In the South, plant large bulbs 2" deeper than the normal recommendations
http://cdn.dutchbulbs.com/downloads/garden-guide.pdf

Now I think this just proves that there is no one way or maybe no right way, if you have success with something keep doing it, and suggested info about gardening is never a straight forward yes or no thing.
I always hate it when a site makes a suggestion for differing from the norm procedure without giving the reason way.
Why do you plant two inches deeper in the south? I assume to avoid the heat and keep an more even temperature.

This message was edited Jan 27, 2014 5:44 PM

This message was edited Jan 27, 2014 6:22 PM

Yep,, do what works for you.

Well, I didn't get around to planting them yesterday because I was too busy prepping my evergreen perennials for the impending ice storm Tues & Wed. When I picked the bulbs yesterday, I picked the ones that already had nice green growing points. I think I will get to planting them hopefully later this morning so they at least get some of the cold weather we're about to experience. If not, I will keep them in the refrigerator and plant them Saturday and hope for the best. As for what depth...I figure 5-6 inches sounds good lol

Thanks for all the input, everyone!

You can also pot them in a bulb pot and chill in a cold frame or just put some straw on top. Once they start coming up you can move back to the house to enjoy the blooms indoors.