Bulb Information, Growing Daffodils

best time to lift daff bulbs; source for bulb nets

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To all,

So far, I’ve usually left most of the daffodils where I had originally planted them.  This autumn, I’d like to shuffle some of the daffodils around to rearrange them a bit.  When is the best time to lift the bulbs and what is the best way to store them?  Does anyone have a good source for bulb nets, which I would like to use to hang up the daffodil bulbs before planting them this September?  We don’t eat enough onions or potatoes, so I can’t really reuse these nets!

Thanks,
Niels

3 comments for “best time to lift daff bulbs; source for bulb nets”


  1. In a message dated 5/23/2009 12:11:20 PM Eastern Standard Time, title= writes:

    When is the best time to lift the bulbs and what is the best way to store them?  Does anyone have a good source for bulb nets, which I would like to use to hang up the daffodil bulbs before planting them this September?  We don’t eat enough onions or potatoes, so I can’t really reuse these nets!

    I moved my whole daffodil garden to the other side of town by digging whole clumps while the foliage was still green, putting each clump in a supermarket bag, driving to the new location and replanting immediately, watering in of course. It worked well.
    If you’d rather store them until fall, best time to dig is as the foliage is yellowing. If you let them dry a day or two you can fairly easily divide them and rub off the excess dirt. Then store in a cool, well-ventilated place until ready to plant in the fall.
    My Cincinnati grouop buys 12″ x 24″ mesh bags from the Marcus-James Co. in deSoto Missouri for $18.00 per 1,000 several years ago. The price is probably a little higher now. Their phone number is 636-586-1850. Tell them you’re in a daffodil group.
    Bill Lee

  2. Hi Niels,
    Bill Lee’s advice about digging bulbs was great.  I’ve also dug bulbs still in bloom and kept them laid out flat under the deck of the house until fall and planted them then.  This is probably not the best way, but it worked, and surprisingly there was lots of bloom the following year.  And the circumstances required it–a move from one house to another that had no garden at the time.
    You might see if your supermarket would sell you bags that they package the onions and potatoes in.  I’ve done that in the past, and while the produce manager gave me a strange look, he did sell me some bags.
    Mary Lou

  3. When rescuing daffodils from  demolition sites in the spring I’ve done the same thing with very good results, particularly if it was a rainy day which seems to have eased the shock and made for easier removal. If the clump was overgrown with itself, I then waited until the leaves yellowed  and separated them before replanting – and got more blooms the following spring than I’d ever anticipated. 

    Chris Durrill

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