Help becoming a successful Breeder

I live if Ferndale WA which should be an ideal location to grow and breed daffodils.  Winter gets rain and down to maybe 15 °F.  Summer up to 85 °F.

 

I’ve been going about this for about 4 years.

 

I’ve been successful making seeds.

I’ve been successful in making 1 year starts in 4” pots left outside.

Past that I’ve been a failure. 

 

The 1 year bulblets just disappear. 

 

My assessment is:

 

Winter freezing them out.  It got down to 17 Deg last winter.  The pots were outside. or,

Moss chocking them out.  I’m not sure this is really a problem but the moss got pretty thick ¼”.

Insects or some other animal eating them.  Does this happen?

 

This year my 2010 seeds are in 4” pots in my unheated greenhouse and coming up like gangbusters.

Some of my 2009 seeds that did not come up last year are also coming up.

 

My plan is to let them grow this spring and then bury the pots in my garden outside or maybe bury them in my green house.

 

What would all you experts recommend so I can improve my odds of actually getting flowers. 

 

 

 

Bill Carter

Future Daffodil Breeder. 

 

2 comments for “Help becoming a successful Breeder

  1. Hi Bill,
    I have those same problems myself here outside Cincinnati, Ohio. (It can go below 0 in winter, and get into the mid- to high-90s in summer.)  I find I’m doing better now that I keep the pots in the cold garage over the winter, putting them outdoors whenever it’s above freezing.  Then after the foliage dies down, I bring the pots back into the garage, keeping them dry over the summer.  I put them back outside in early September and begin watering then.
    What do you use for a potting mix?  I use ProMix Professional, which is a soil-less mix, and I add some granite grit to aid in drainage.  I top the pot with the same granite grit.  I water with a fertilizer solution at least once a month during growing season.  I’m using Miracle-Gro Quick Start, a liquid that’s not too high in nitrogen.  I’m finding that this helps get the bulblets to blooming size quicker.  I usually plant the 3-year olds out in the open ground, unless the cross was for miniatures.  I keep them in the pots ’til they bloom, unless there are too many bulblets for the pot.
    Maybe someone closer to you can give better suggestions for your climate.
    Hope this helps.
    Mary Lou
  2. Hi Bill,
    I have those same problems myself here outside Cincinnati, Ohio. (It can go below 0 in winter, and get into the mid- to high-90s in summer.)  I find I’m doing better now that I keep the pots in the cold garage over the winter, putting them outdoors whenever it’s above freezing.  Then after the foliage dies down, I bring the pots back into the garage, keeping them dry over the summer.  I put them back outside in early September and begin watering then.
    What do you use for a potting mix?  I use ProMix Professional, which is a soil-less mix, and I add some granite grit to aid in drainage.  I top the pot with the same granite grit.  I water with a fertilizer solution at least once a month during growing season.  I’m using Miracle-Gro Quick Start, a liquid that’s not too high in nitrogen.  I’m finding that this helps get the bulblets to blooming size quicker.  I usually plant the 3-year olds out in the open ground, unless the cross was for miniatures.  I keep them in the pots ’til they bloom, unless there are too many bulblets for the pot.
    Maybe someone closer to you can give better suggestions for your climate.
    Hope this helps.
    Mary Lou

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