Indoor Narcissus

My patients that I take care of received a vase with two large Narcissus in water. They are just about finished blooming. Can we plant them outside and will they come up in the spring. Should we fold the tops down and how deep do I need to plant them. They love their flowers and I like to plant for them.

Sami

I throw mine out. It is my understanding that these bulbs that are grown in water cannot be planted out with any success. Probably no nutrients in the water for the bulb to start regenerating.

They could be planted outside and will live, however this year's cicle is over and they will go dormant after a while. Then if you would plant them outside about now then in the Fall they will come up again, but way too early and the chance that the flowerbuds will freeze is about 100% and then all you have is green foliage. I have tried it in Atlanta and each year the flowers are gone. So, unless you are way down South it will not do you any good.

Thanks Bleek and FancyVan I kind of thought that but was not sure.

Sami

It might be worth planting them in compost now to let the leaves die down naturally. Then plant them outside and feed them in the spring. You never know, they might flower again. Worth a try!

Mother Nature just made a liar out of me.......I have some Paperwhites flowering outside in the garden from bulbs I planted about 10 years ago and this is the first time they did this....all the other years the flowerbuds froze.

My mom has always replanted her Christmas forced bulbs outside -- paperwhites and amaryllis. And she has gotten a lot of blooms off them over the years.

It depends A LOT on what zone you're in. The reason narcissus are so easy to force is they don't require a winter (chilling) before they bloom. They still need a full cycle (their roots getting nutrients from the earth, their leaves getting energy from the sun) in order to store up enough (in their bulb) to bloom again. Down in zones 8+, where it never freezes and is often warm or hot, it is definitely worth a try. Where I live, we put Amaryllis outside for the summer get the energy from the sun in the summer and then bring them back inside in the fall. Amaryllis would get ruined if they froze. Planting them outside might work, Sami, if it's not too late, give it a try.

xxx, Carrie