Bulb Information, Growing Daffodils, Planting, Soil

is it possible to overdo a good thing?? i.e. planting so many daffodils that other plants (perennials) get smothered??

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Dear all,

Though my interest in daffodils and species narcissi is not more than a couple of years old, I may have gone slightly overboard in my planting sprees during the last planting seasons.  I’ve probably literally planted a couple of thousand of bulbs of daffodils and some hundreds of tulips.  They all seem to grow very very well, in fact (in northern Germany) well into the month of May.  My problem and question:  It seems that the perennials I’ve planted and hoped would bloom, taking their turns like the musicians in an orchestra seem not to want to grow very well.  The foxgloves and even the sunflowers seem to suffer by the daffodil foliage, competing for sun and air and soil nutrients.  Could that be??  Or, is it possible to plant daffodils and tulips in different depths of soil and safely plant perennials in between the tufts or immediately adjacent to them?? 

I’d appreciate any help.

Thanks,
Niels

1 comment for “is it possible to overdo a good thing?? i.e. planting so many daffodils that other plants (perennials) get smothered??”

  1. Hi Niels,
    I’ve planted perennials with my daffodils for years using a checkerboard pattern.  I’ve used daylilies, iris, peonies, etc, and eventually they get too big and crowd out the daffodils.  Then the perennials have to go.  :-)  Columbine and foxglove seem too fragile among the daffodils, so I plant them in other places. Neither is long-lived here, but seed around, and it will take another year before they bloom.  I don’t plant perennials on top of the bulbs, but you could plant annuals over the bulbs.  I’ve used California poppies (Eschscholzia californica) over the bulbs.  A pack of seed broadcast over the daffodils will look great after the daffs bloom.  But they are prolific seeders, and eventually their foliage interferes with the daffodils, so now I’m heartless about pulling out the excess.
    Mary Lou

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