Question on planting bulbs

I've purchased a lot of daffodils at my local stores this year. Obviously, if they're already blooming, I can't plant them the full 6-8 inches deep. My question is, after the foliage dies down, should I dig them back up in the Fall and re-plant them at the recommended depth? Thank you.

flower,
have you already planted them? I pot mine up temporarily and them replant in the fall.

That's just what I'd do, flowerfrenzy.

Do you have to plant them that deep in zone 8a? In 7b we don't go that deep with daffs. Just wonderin'........

Robert.

I don't know. I guess I'd better check the specifics for my zone. How deep do you plant in your zone 7b?

Laura

The "standard" planting depth for Narcissus (and many others as well) is three times the "length" of the bulb. Imagine your bulb, in the ground, its "bottom" seated at the correct depth. On top of it, you could place two more bulbs bottoms to tops and the nose of the top bulb wouls be at the surface. That's 3x the bulb's size deep.

Many people around here don't necessarily get them that deep! Most Narcissi are very hardy here.

Happy Gardening!

Robert.

Thanks for the info. I'll remember that!

Laura

Robert, b/c of my health situation, combined with the cement-hard red clay I have to deal with, my 'daffs' and other bulbs are lucky if they get planted 2-3 inches. They seem to be fine though. Do you think this shallow depth will shorten their lives? I think I recall reading somewhere that some bulbs will self-adjust to their proper depth. Someone correct me if I have just made this up in my wacky brain.

Daf bulbs just get planted here z7b,I think they do adjust them selves,I put fill over where I had dafs and they came through the 4ft.fill,and bloomed the second year.That I do not understand.Mike

berrygirl~

2-3" of soil over the top of the bulb? They should be fine. You can always add soil over the top, bit by bit if you're worried, but I don't think you *need* to.

Robert.

Thanks Robert.

They are tough - I was out yesterday and found a bulb I must have dropped last fall, laying on its side, roots down in the ground and foliage turned and pointed to the sky. Ready to rip!

I remember reading some where that lots of bulbs (especially daff's) will pull themselves down into the soil over time. Since you are in zone 8a they shouldn't be planted as deeply as if you were in zone 5. When I lived in San Francisco I loved big beds of Freesia. I thought they had been eaten by critters or met some other bad end, not so. They had pulled themselves down to about 6" over a two year period. What a pleasant surprise.

dale,
So I DIDN'T just dream that fact up! Glad someone else knew that too.