Bulb · Amaryllidaceae
Daffodil
Narcissus pseudonarcissus
Plant the bulbs in fall and they push up the first real color of spring, year after year.
Full sun
Every 7–14 days
USDA 4–8
12–18 in · 30–46 cm
Overview
Daffodils are the bulb most gardeners start with, rising from a fat, papery-skinned bulb on flat, grey-green strap leaves. They are planted once in autumn and lift their trumpet flowers in early spring, each bloom a flat ring of petals with a long cup or trumpet thrust out from the center. They belong to the genus Narcissus, return on their own each year, and the clump thickens as new bulbs crowd in.
What stands out up close is how plain and tough the plant looks for what it does. The blades shrug off cold to -29°F (-34°C), the roots take hold in almost any well-drained soil, and the deer and rodents that gnaw other bulbs leave these alone, since every part of the plant is poisonous. Give them sun and good drainage and the bulb handles the rest.
The flowers run far past the single yellow trumpet. Some stems carry several smaller blooms with swept-back petals, some set white petals around a short red-rimmed cup, and some open thick and ruffled with no single trumpet at all. Whichever form, the leaves are left to yellow and slowly brown on their own, because that long fade is how the bulb feeds next year's flowers.
Care
The short version: full sun to part shade, well-drained soil that never stays soggy, a light low-nitrogen feed in fall and again in spring, and patience to let the grey-green blades die back before you tidy up.
Light
Daffodils flower best in full sun, though they take partial shade in stride, which lets them sit happily under trees that leaf out only after the bulbs have bloomed. The more sun the blades catch, the thicker the flower stems and the fuller the blooms.
Water
The soil stays moist but never soggy while the green blades are growing, with a little extra in a hot or dry spring to stretch the bloom. Once the foliage browns and dies back the bulb goes dormant and wants almost nothing, since wet summer soil softens and rots it fastest.
Soil
The bulbs sit best in well-drained loam, clay, or rich soil, and drainage is the one thing they cannot do without. A pH of 6.0 to 7.0 suits them, but standing water around the pale bulb rots it faster than anything else.
Temperature
These are tough, cold-hardy bulbs that take everything from -29°F to 86°F (-34°C to 30°C). The bulb needs a cold winter spell underground to set its flowers, so the deep chill is a requirement, not a risk.
Humidity
Air moisture is nothing to manage with daffodils, so there is no target to hit. What counts is air moving freely around the blades, since crowded, damp foliage invites the fungal diseases that scorch and streak the leaves.
Feeding
The bulbs take a low-nitrogen complete fertilizer such as 10-10-10 with a little bone meal, worked into the soil in fall and again as the green shoots break the surface in spring. Feeding stops once flowering starts, because extra nitrogen then softens the bulb toward rot.
Pruning
The spent flowers are snapped off, but the grey-green blades stay standing for at least six weeks after bloom, until they yellow and brown on their own. The leaves are not cut or tied while still green, since that long fade is how the bulb refills for next year.
Repotting
Daffodils do best left undisturbed and need lifting only every 5 years, or sooner once the bulbs knot into a clump too crowded to flower. Tightly packed bulbs, smaller blooms, and a flush of leaves with few flowers are the signs it is time to divide.
Size & spacing
Plants reach 12 to 18 inches (30 to 46 cm) tall on slender stems above the blades and spread 9 to 12 inches (23 to 30 cm) wide. The bulbs are set 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 cm) deep, about two to three times their height, and 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 cm) apart.
When to plant
Daffodils run on a fall-to-spring clock. The pale bulbs go into the ground in mid-autumn, about six weeks before the first frost once the soil cools below 60°F (16°C), and they push white roots through winter before the green blades and buds break the surface in early spring.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: Mid-autumn, about 6 weeks before first frost, once soil temperature stays below 60 degrees F
- Harvest: Early spring
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 4–8
Temperature: down to -34°C
Troubleshooting
A healthy daffodil rarely falters, and the few problems it does meet usually begin out of sight inside the bulb. They surface as soft rot, scorched and spotted blades, or a clump that thickens with leaves but stops throwing flowers. Match what you see below and act before it reaches the bulbs alongside it.
Stunted plants and bulbs gone soft and rotten
Behind the early yellowing sits basal rot, a Fusarium fungus that eats into the base of the bulb, and soggy ground with heavy feeding only deepen it. Split a suspect bulb and the base is soft and brown, threaded with white or pink mold that webs between the pale scales. The infected bulbs are thrown out, only firm, healthy ones go back into fresh, free-draining ground, and the feeding eases off.
Fix:
- Discard infected bulbs
- Plant only firm, healthy or hot-water-treated bulbs
- Improve drainage and replant in a new site
Swollen, twisted leaves over soft, light bulbs
Two pests leave the leaves swollen and twisted and the bulb hollow, and a crosswise cut tells them apart. Stem and bulb nematodes print dark brown concentric rings through the pale flesh, while narcissus bulb fly larvae leave a scooped-out center cradling one fat, pale grub. The bulb is light and soft in the hand either way, so it is dug up and destroyed, and only certified clean stock goes back.
Fix:
- Dig and destroy infested bulbs
- Plant only treated, healthy bulbs
Tan flecks on the petals that widen in wet weather
These tan flecks scattered across the petals are fire disease, named for the scorched look it leaves, and they widen until the whole bloom browns and the strap leaves carry long yellow streaks. Damp, crowded growth spreads it fast from petal to petal. The marked plants and flowers are pulled and destroyed, the rest are spaced so air moves between the leaves, and faded blooms come off before the spores travel.
Fix:
- Remove and destroy infected plants and flowers
- Apply a protective fungicide
Reddish-brown, singed-looking spots on new leaf tips
On the tips of the emerging green blades, leaf scorch prints reddish-brown spots ringed with yellow halos, as if the very ends had been touched by a flame. The marked foliage is cut away, hot-water-treated bulbs go in the following season, and water is kept off the leaves so the fungus has no damp film to settle into.
Fix:
- Remove affected foliage
- Plant hot-water-treated bulbs
- Apply a labeled fungicide
Toxicity
Every part of a daffodil is poisonous, from the grey-green blades to the pale bulb, and the bulb is the worst of it. It carries lycorine and other alkaloids along with sharp calcium oxalate crystals, and its layered, papery look passes so easily for an onion that people have been poisoned by mistake. The bulbs and plants stay away from pets, livestock, and children, and gloves go on for handling.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds · People
Cats Severe
A cat that bites into the fleshy bulb or stem drools and vomits within the hour, with diarrhea often close behind. The pale bulb holds the most toxin, and a large mouthful can drop blood pressure and bring on tremors or an irregular heartbeat.
Dogs Severe
A dog that digs up and chews the thick, layered bulb takes the worst of it, with heavy drooling, vomiting, and a sore stomach. A larger amount pushes past the gut into convulsions, low blood pressure, and a racing or skipping heart, so the vet is called at once.
Horses Severe
Grazing horses rarely tear at the strap leaves, but the alkaloids act strongly when they do, with salivation, retching, and colic. A large dose can set off tremors and dangerous heart-rhythm changes.
Rabbits Severe
The same lycorine runs through every part, from the green blades to the bulb, so a rabbit that nibbles drools and develops gut upset and tremors. The plants stay well out of reach, and trimmings are never passed along as forage.
Livestock Severe
Cattle, goats, and sheep are poisoned by the foliage or by pale bulbs turned up in a pasture. The signs are drooling, diarrhea, staggering, and in heavy cases an unsteady heartbeat.
Birds Severe
The alkaloids are toxic to birds, and even a small chip of the fleshy bulb is far too much for a small body. Daffodils and their bulbs stay clear of any pet bird or backyard flock.
People Caution
No part of the daffodil is food, and the layered bulb is the real hazard because it looks so much like an onion. Swallowing any part brings vomiting and drooling, and the sap from cut stems can leave the skin itchy and irritated.
Bulbs can be mistaken for onions but are poisonous; keep bulbs away from pets and children. Wear gloves when handling, since the sap can cause skin irritation known as daffodil itch.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222
Canada
Poison Centres: 1-844-764-7669
Varieties
Daffodils come in thousands of named forms, sorted into divisions by the shape of the flower. A few classics turn up again and again, and side by side they show how widely the bloom can vary.
King Alfred
It is the classic large daffodil, a single solid golden-yellow flower with a long, bold trumpet jutting from a flat ring of petals, the form most people picture at the name.
Thalia
A triandrus type, it hangs several small, pure white flowers from each stem, their petals swept back above nodding heads for a soft, woodland look.
Actaea
A poeticus daffodil, it spreads flat, crisp white petals around a shallow yellow cup neatly rimmed in red.
Tahiti
A double-flowered variety, it packs the bloom with ruffled, layered yellow and orange segments in place of a single open trumpet.
How to propagate
Daffodils multiply on their own as the bulb buds off small offsets, so most of the work is dividing what is already there. They also grow from seed, but only over years.
Offsets & pupsEasy
After foliage yellows and dies back, in late spring or early summer · 1-2 years to reach flowering size
Around the base of each mother bulb, small offset bulbs swell on their own, which makes this the easiest way to multiply daffodils. Once the foliage has yellowed and died back in late spring or early summer, a crowded clump is lifted and those firm little offsets are eased apart. They go back in at proper depth at once, or wait cool and dry until fall, and most reach flowering size in 1 to 2 years.
DivisionEasy
Every 5 years when clumps become crowded, after foliage dies back · 1-2 years
As the blooms thin and the bulbs knot into a tight congested mass, usually about every 5 years, the clump is dug and pulled apart after the foliage has died back. Prising the crowded bulbs loose relieves the crush and brings the flowering back, and the spaced divisions root in over 1 to 2 years.
SeedDemanding
Sow ripe seed in autumn · 5 years or more to flowering
From the small black seeds sown ripe in autumn, the route to a flowering bulb is long. The seedlings need 5 years or more to build a bulb large enough to bloom, which is why the method is mostly left to breeders working toward new varieties.
Myths
Daffodil bulbs are safe to eat because they look like onions.
That very likeness, a pale, layered bulb with papery skin, is what makes them dangerous, and people have been poisoned cooking a daffodil bulb in place of an onion. The bulb is the most toxic part of the plant, packed with lycorine and other alkaloids. No part of a daffodil is food, so keep the bulbs well away from the kitchen.