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One of the first sure harbingers of spring and certainly the easiest and most carefree of bulbs to grow, the daffodil (or jonquil, as it's known in the Southeast) should be high on every gardener's list of must-grow plants. Few perennials offer so much. Daffodils are easy to plant, will bloom the first spring after they're planted (and every spring thereafter), and they'll increase in number with each passing year. Even better, furry varmints (such as deer, rabbits, woodchucks, voles, and squirrels) find them completely unpalatable, and neither insects nor diseases are a major problem. But the real reason to plant daffodils is for their bright, cheery blooms that help chase away the gray of winter while signaling the beginning of another season of life and growth. So whether you know them as daffodils or jonquils, you should make planting Narcissus (their botanical name) a regular part of your gardening year, a fall ritual for which you'll be rewarded each spring, year in and year out.
Within the genus Narcissus, there are many different species and over 25,000 different hybrid daffodils. The basic classification, however, falls into 12 main categories established by the Royal Horticultural Society in England, but used internationally. These include the familiar Trumpets (Division I), Large-Cupped (Division II), Small-Cupped (Division III), and range to the Cyclamineus (Division VII), Poeticus (Division IX), and Species and Wild Forms (Division X). These divisions may be of use to those who are hybridizing or showing daffodils, but all the average gardener really needs to know---height, bloom time, color, fragrance (or not)---is generally found in the vendors' catalogs.
Daffodils can be planted in formal beds, used in conjunction with other bulbs, annuals, perennials, and shrubs in mixed beds and borders, and can be planted right in the lawn to naturalize over time. They can even be grown successfully in lightly shaded woodlands, because they bloom and photosynthesize (thereby "recharging" the bulb, as it were) before most deciduous trees have even leafed out. (Don't plant them in an evergreen woodland, though, because they won't get enough sunlight.)
When deciding where to plant daffodils it's important to keep just two requirements in mind. Daffodils need at least a half-day of sun and they must be planted in well-drained soil; they simply won't tolerate soggy, wet soil. You'll also want to remember when planning where to put daffodils that their foliage should not be cut back until it has started to brown and wither---typically 8-12 weeks after bloom, depending on the variety. Fortunately, there are many, many beautiful companion plants (more on this subject below) that can be planted over daffodils and which will grow on at such a pace as to cover up the daffodil's foliage just as it's starting to look tatty, but not before the bulb has had a chance to store sufficient energy for the following year's show.
The Planting Season Varies Depending on Where You Live
Daffodils are generally best planted in the fall, after the soil temperature has finally dropped back below 60F, but with enough of a season left before the ground freezes solid for the bulbs to put down some good roots---6-8 weeks is ideal. What this means is that in the far north you might plant as early as late August, whereas in the Southeast, by contrast, you can often plant bulbs until Christmas or New Year's Day.
Plant Bulbs Three Times as Deep as They Are Tall
The common advice for bulbs of all types---and it works well for daffodils---is to plant at a depth three times the height of the bulb, measuring to the top of the bulb. Spacing recommendations are about the same. Also, if you're looking for more specific information, most bulb vendors provide recommendations for the particular varieties they're selling. You don't have to be slavish about these distances, however, so long as you don't crowd the bulbs too badly. Depth is the more critical factor, and daffodils are quite forgiving.
Pick the Right Tool for the Job
Planting techniques vary and every gardener has his or her own preferences, but if you're planting small clusters of bulbs, whether in an existing garden bed or in the woods, lawn, or elsewhere, one of the easiest ways to do it is to dig a hole a foot or so in diameter and 6-8 in. deep. Then plant five or six bulbs together in the hole, spacing the individual bulbs at least a hand's width apart.
If you're planting large drifts of bulbs in a lawn, though---which can create a truly dramatic effect come spring---that's another story altogether. For that job, you want a naturalizing tool, which is a heavy steel bar with a T-handle at the top and a forked wedge at bottom. This tool allows you to plant several bulbs a minute, simply by stepping (or jumping) onto the foot bars, levering the bar back and forth, then removing it and dropping the bulb into place. The bulb is covered and the hole closed when you make the next hole, right behind (or beside) the first.
For planting in existing beds, with loose, friable, well-worked soil, a cylindrical bulb planter---either handheld or stand-up style, like the naturalizing tool---works well. Even a garden trowel can be used, but you'll find it difficult to get deep enough in all but the fluffiest of soils. Dibbles, while useful for smaller bulbs (crocus and many of the "minor" bulbs, for example), won't do you much good with daffodils. Regardless of where you're planting or what tool you're using, though, try to find someone to help. Two people---one to dig, one to plant---can make much faster progress putting in bulbs than one, and with the naturalizing tool in particular, once you establish a rhythm, you'll be amazed at how fast you're popping those bulbs into the ground.
Long-forgotten and thoroughly neglected daffodils at old, abandoned homesteads continue to bloom decades after any human has thought about them. That's one of the things that's so wonderful about daffodils. But with a little bit of care, your daffodils will be more vigorous and floriferous, and they'll multiply much more quickly, improving the show they provide each year.
Water Needs Are Minimal
Like most perennials, daffodils will do well with about 1 inch of water per week while they're actively growing and blooming---from March to May, or thereabouts. And, as is the case for other plants, mulch can be tremendously helpful in conserving what moisture you do receive (or provide). Unlike most perennials, daffodils actually prefer no supplemental water when they're dormant, during the summer months. In the fall, ½ in. or less of water a week will be sufficient to help the bulbs generate new root growth. Come winter, nature generally takes care of things itself, both by providing either snow or rain, depending on where you live, and by freezing the ground solid throughout much of the country.
Building Soil Fertility and Fertilizing
As with all other types of plants, the best thing you can do for your bulbs is provide them rich, well-drained soil with lots of organic matter in it---this way, you're feeding the soil, which is in turn feeding the plant, and doing so much more holistically and evenly than giving it a shot of fertilizer a few times a year. In a garden bed, this works well, but if you're naturalizing bulbs in a lawn, however, it's a bit less practical. Whether they're naturalized or in a bed, though, your bulbs are still consuming soil nutrients, which you can help replace by applying some type of bulb fertilizer, all of which are formulated to be higher in potassium and phosphorus than they are in nitrogen.
Most organic bulb fertilizers can be placed right into the planting hole (check the label of the product you select to be sure), because they're very gentle and nonburning. They also provide the additional benefit of adding naturally occurring, slow-release nutrients, which will continue to feed your bulbs (and either your lawn or whatever companion plants happen to be nearby) at a low level for several years. With synthetic fertilizers, which are much more fast-acting, you should topdress around where you plant the bulbs to reduce the likelihood of burning young roots.
Fertilizing should be done at planting time, then again in spring, just as the shoots are breaking the surface, and once more, after the blooms have passed, to feed the bulb itself. Follow the instructions on the fertilizer you choose regarding quantity.
Deadheading and Dealing with Foliage
Because most daffodils are sterile hybrids, deadheading, or removing the spent blooms, doesn't really contribute anything to the health or floriferousness of daffodils in the way that it does other perennials (and even other bulbs). Still, many gardeners prefer to tidy up the spring garden in anticipation of the glories of summer. If you like, you can just snap the spent blooms off right at the neck. Don't cut, braid, tie, or reduce the surface area of the foliage in any way, though. For the health of the bulb, these chlorophyll-laden surfaces must be allowed to photosynthesize until the bulb goes dormant.
Many different plants make good companions for daffodils---far too many to list. What makes a plant a good companion is that it has similar requirements---it should prefer at least half a day of sun and well-drained soil for starters---and a not-overly competitive nature. Plants that are shallow rooted and fairly light feeders are ideal---think of yarrow, cleome, pansies and violas, and so on. For daffodils in areas that get shadier as spring gives way to summer and trees leaf out, hostas, astilbes, and ferns are popular choices. Perhaps the most famous example of all, though, is the Daylily-Daffodil Walk at the New York Botanical Garden, an extravagant planting of thousands of daffodils, which gives way, as its name indicates, to an equally spectacular display of daylilies a little later in the season, while hiding the daffodils' fading foliage. Pay attention to daffodil plantings you admire in April, then check back in June. You'll see all kinds of colorful, ingenious solutions---there are as many creative combinations as there are gardeners.
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