Daffodil
NARCISSUS
ALL DAFFODILS—FROM BIG YELLOW TRUMPETS TO TINY ROCK-GARDEN DELICACIES, AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN—HAVE THREE ESSENTIAL CHARACTERISTICS THAT MAKE THEM THE ULTIMATE NO-FUSS PERENNIALS: DEER- AND OTHER PEST-PROOF QUALITIES, THE DESIRE TO BLOOM AND MULTIPLY, AND UNABASHED GOOD CHEER.
In Katonah, an area plagued by rampant deer, I originally planned to protect only small portions of my garden with fencing. After a few years of planting thousands of daffodils, boxwood, and shade-loving plants disliked by these large and always-hungry four-legged creatures, I decided to surround the entire 150 acres with an 8-foot fence. The fence has been a tremendous help in permitting me to plant pretty much anything I want, and new trees, shrubs, and flowers are undisturbed by the burgeoning deer population.
The best thing I did during those indecisive, pre-fence years, however, was to begin planting a long, wide daffodil border down one side of my property. That portion of the farm runs alongside Maple Avenue, a glorious dirt road lined with ancient maple trees, where many people hike, run, and walk their dogs.
At first I thought I would plant the bulbs outside the stone wall that borders all the road frontage. There is a wide swath of grass outside the wall adjoining the road, and I believed I would be beautifying the neighborhood. When I discovered how much my first ten thousand daffodil bulbs were going to cost, I reconsidered and planted the entire ten thousand inside the wall where I could actually see them, smell them, and enjoy them up close!
Choosing bulbs for naturalizing requires a great deal of research and ultimately experimentation. I called my friends at Brent and Becky’s Bulbs in Virginia to discuss their most successful naturalizers, or perennializers, as Brent calls bulbs that will continually grow and multiply and flower year after year. I also conferred with the folks at Van Engelen in Connecticut, who were very helpful in steering me toward bulbs that would grow well in Westchester County.
Then I immersed myself in the methods of planting thousands of bulbs and came up with the useful practice of preparing a low area in the garden, laying the bulbs out en masse, and covering them with amended soils. I find this so much easier than digging individual holes, which becomes extremely tiring after the first hundred or so bulbs.
For the most part, the daffodil borders (I have now planted more than just the Maple Avenue border) are wonderful—colorful, long lived, and useful for cut flowers. Over the years, I have planted more than sixty thousand daffodils on the property, and each spring I invite my daughter and a small group of friends to pick handfuls of their favorites. Not all the naturalizing types are great for arranging, but all are beautiful in bloom, and those that cut well and have longevity as cut flowers are invaluable additions to any garden.
A note to the decorative gardener: Daffodils are best planted alone, in masses, in places where they can be enjoyed in early spring but that are not in full view all year long. Daffodil foliage requires a long period of drying after the blooms disappear, and that portion of your garden is best left alone until the dried foliage can be removed. Also, feeding before and after blooming helps with bulb naturalizing and multiplication.
A solo daffodil or small grouping of blooms can offer just as much impact as a large bouquet, and leaves more of the flowers for you to enjoy in the garden. The small-scale display lets you appreciate the incredible form of the flower. Put a bloom in a bud vase or a flip glass with one of its own leaves, or place three or four flowers in a little ceramic pitcher. Cut their stems at different lengths for visual interest. Group a bunch of dwarf blooms (such as ‘Tazetta’, mixed with doubles and trumpets) together in a simple ceramic vessel.
Naturalized daffodils at the farm are massed fairly close together in clusters of the same variety—about twenty varieties among three thousand daffodils. Make sure when you’re naturalizing to choose an area that has good drainage and receives some sun. Early-blooming cultivars can be planted at the edge of a wood, as they will receive enough sun to ripen the foliage before the trees mature their own foliage. Also choose an area where the grass can be left unmowed until foliage has matured.
GROWING & ARRANGING
THE DISTINCT ADVANTAGE TO PLANTING MASSES OF DAFFODILS INSTEAD OF OTHER BULBS, SUCH AS TULIPS AND HYACINTHS, IS THAT THEY ARE A DETERRENT TO DEER AND RODENTS. A BORDER OF TULIPS COULD BE COMPLETELY DESTROYED BY HUNGRY DEER, BUT DAFFODILS? THEY SHOULD LAST FOR YEARS IN YOUR GARDEN.
An unused bocce court—8 inches below the level of the shade garden—proved to be the perfect site for naturalizing daffodils. Finding an existing hollow or depressed area in your garden allows you to use the “no-dig” method of planting. Create a plan and map it out in the soil (see Naturalizing Daffodils, this page). For the three thousand bulbs we planted, we used granular lime to demarcate small sections that would each hold twenty-five to fifty bulbs (depending on the size), laid them all out at once, and then covered the entirety with soil and compost.
HOW TO GROW
When choosing daffodils, plant some early bloomers (Narcissus ‘Rijnveld’s Early Sensation’, ‘February Gold’), midseason bloomers (‘Ice Wings’, ‘Katie Heath’), and late bloomers (‘Intrigue’, N. poeticus var. recurvus). That way, you can stretch the season to six or eight weeks—or even longer.
ZONE Narcissus grows in a wide range of zones, often from Zones 4 or 5 through Zones 7 or 8, but many tolerate as cold as Zone 3 or as warm as Zone 9. Check specific plant descriptions if you live in one of the extremes.
SOIL Narcissus can tolerate most soils as long as the drainage is good. Hillsides and raised beds are your best options. If the composition of your soil leans toward clay, improve it with well-rotted compost, soil amendment, or planting mix, and raise the bed. Slightly acidic soil is best, so consider adding soil sulfur if you have alkaline soil.
LIGHT Daffodils prefer exposure to the sun at least half of the day, and can tolerate partial shade. The exceptions are pink-cupped varieties, which thrive in partial shade (full sun bleaches them out).
CHOOSING Since you can plant bulbs right up to the time the soil is frozen, you can take advantage of late-season bulb sales. When you purchase bulbs, discard any with signs of white or pink fungus (they may have narcissus basal rot). Choose bulbs that are firm and have retained their papery layers, with tips that have not sprouted. Select a mix of heights, flower types, and bloom times.
PLANTING Autumn is the time to plant daffodils. The plants grow roots in the fall, once the soil temperature at the depth of the bulb falls below 60 degrees (this occurs well after the first frost). Roots stop growing once the ground freezes, then restart in the spring when the soil thaws.
Plant the bulbs with the pointed end up, at a depth three to four times the height of the bulb. Amend the soil with bone meal, superphosphate, and rich compost if needed. For a large plot, apply the fertilizer and then fork-dig to a depth of 8 inches. If you’re planting bulbs in individual holes, sprinkle fertilizer in each hole and mix well. It’s important to make sure that the fertilizer doesn’t touch the bulb directly or it will burn it.
Daffodil plantings should feel natural, not “gardened.” (See Naturalizing Daffodils, this page.) Mass them fairly close together in clusters of the same variety (against deciduous trees or evergreen shrubs, or tucked among ground cover). Or toss them onto the prepared ground, planting them where they fall.
To make planting easier, consider using a bulb planter instead of a trowel. Daffodils can also grow in containers as long as there is room to multiply, and for the roots to fill out. They can bloom well in containers for one to two years—after that, it’s best to move them to a spot in the ground.
WATERING Give daffodils plenty of water after planting, during bloom, and while the foliage is still green. Gradually decrease watering as the flowers fade and the leaves begin to turn yellow, and stop completely when they turn brown and dry (seasonal rain should give them the water they need).
FERTILIZING If the daffodil display begins to slow down after a few years, a fall application of slow-release, potassium-rich fertilizer (such as 10:10:20) may improve things. Top-dress with bulb booster and potash (just before a rain, if possible) in the fall and then just as the shoots are emerging from the ground in spring.
PRUNING Daffodils never require dividing, never need deadheading, and should never have their foliage cut, braided, or wrapped with rubber bands to appear neater. That foliage has to be fully exposed to sunlight to supply enough energy for next year’s display and for the bulbs to multiply. Until the leaves go yellow, they are hard at work. Unsightly foliage is better dealt with through clever planting combinations—plant daffodils with perennials, annuals, or even vegetables that will grow tall enough or leaf out sufficiently to hide dying foliage. Once brown and dry, foliage can be removed.
TROUBLESHOOTING Overall, daffodils are low-maintenance and generally worry-free: Animals don’t eat them (their bulbs are poisonous and have an unattractive flavor to rodents and deer), diseases and pests are rare, and they don’t require much—if any—regular maintenance. However, yellow to white striped leaves or dead tips can indicate a virus; simply dig up and discard any affected plants. Pests such as the narcissus bulb fly are rare but something to be aware of; if you have any issues with them, try mowing or cutting the leaves back in late spring to discourage the pests.
Daffodils are wonderful on their own, but they actually play well with the shapes and colors of their sister spring-garden blooms. Here, daffodil trumpets (‘Quail’, ‘Professor Einstein’, and ‘Delibes’) meet fiery-orange and pale-yellow tulips, delicate white lily of the valley, viburnum, and lady’s mantle. Just remember before mixing them with other flowers to let daffodil stems drain in lukewarm water so that the toxic sap dissipates (see this page). Play with informal vessels, too. Add texture such as a woven willow basket or a galvanized bucket for a kitchen or outdoor display.
Just because daffodils have a limited spectrum of petal hues (they come in shades of yellow, white, orange, and pink) doesn’t mean you can’t make a bold color statement. Use one type of daffodil in several variations, such as the large cup and trumpet forms seen here, to create a yellow-on-yellow arrangement. Arrange the flowers in color order, moving from light to dark to build an ombré effect. Daffodils aren’t especially tall flowers, so don’t look to them for soaring arrangements. Instead, place them in a bubble bowl or mixing bowl that complements their profile and allows the color effects of the flower heads to make the impact.
HOW TO ARRANGE
CUTTING The weather can affect the longevity of these spring flowers. Whereas cool, cloudy days help preserve a bed of blooms for up to three weeks, one hot, sunny afternoon may cause them to fade overnight. To prevent the weather from wreaking havoc on daffodils at bloom time, cut the flowers in the morning and use them for indoor arrangements. Daffodils harvested when the buds are tightly closed and still green will keep well in a vase for up to a week. Before arranging them, condition thoroughly by letting the stems soak in tepid water. The freshly cut ends emit crystals of calcium oxalate, an irritant that may shorten their life and poison other flowers in the arrangement. Change the water every few minutes until the thick sap no longer appears, at which point the daffodils are safe to combine with other blossoms.
ARRANGING Because they’re not especially tall flowers, a bubble bowl works well for daffodils. Kevin appreciates the beauty of the green stems, so he prefers to use a clear glass vessel. Galvanized metal buckets and wicker baskets are good informal choices. Use the daffodils in a bunch or with other spring favorites (lilacs and tulips) when the color palette is right. If you mix varieties of daffodils, keep the scale in mind, as well as the composition of the blossoms and the color.
Don’t overlook grass when arranging daffodils—or other flowers. It can work with the flower’s own slender stem to add a touch of green. Here, in an Edwardian-era pressed-glass trumpet vase, the long, curvy lines of grass from the farm’s pasture complement the graceful shape of ‘Hawera’ narcissus, a triandrus type (with two or more tiny pale-yellow blossoms on each stem). Grasses like these help to provide movement within an arrangement—the flower stems standing upright, the grasses bending at will—without crowding the blooms.
If you’re going big, go all out. A vessel like this tower of cones holds a half dozen yellow and white varieties (including ‘Fortune’, ‘Actaea’, ‘Primeur’, ‘Fortissimo’, and ‘Arkle’) at once, each with its own space to shine. This is the opposite of the low-key, one-bloom strategy, and best for an occasion when you want to make a strong statement. It also works on a shorter scale—put a different variety of daffodil in each of several low vases, arranged down a table.
Beyond familiar yellows, there are so many creamy-colored daffodils to love, including ‘Accent’, with an apricot-colored cup, the pink split-cupped ‘Palmares’, the pink-rimmed ‘Elizabeth Ann’, and the pure white ‘Thalia’. Similar varieties include ‘Salome’, ‘Precocious’, and ‘Candy Princess’. Their dark stems intertwine and are visible in this glass apothecary jar, offering a frothy mix of blooms above a rich green base.