From: Susan Connison
Subject: Non-Blooming Daffodils
Message Body:
Most of my daffodils are not blooming. I have planted the bulbs in clusters, the bulbs being smack, up, against each other. I recently read that bulbs are to be planted THREE INCHES APART. Does this mean that, in the hole, you plant several bulbs, but make a hole large enough so that 3 or 4 bulbs are 3 inches apart in that same hole? Or, does this mean that you plant only ONE bulb, in ONE hole, and make the various holes three inches apart? I was left confused. The daffodils are in a sunny location so I know lack of sun is not the problem. Thank you for any help and guidance you can give me on this matter.
Susan, how many bulbs per hole depends on what tool you’re making the hole with. If using a regular wide-bladed shovel you can probably fit 3-4 bulbs in that hole. I have a 2″ across long handled tree seedling planter and put one bulb per hole. 3″ is pretty close apart, but that is fine if you wanted instant impact from the blooms. I usually plant 5-6″ apart when I am planting in the lawn (perennializing or “naturalizing” the bulbs) so that they have room to multiply for some years before they will need to be dug and spread out.
Here are a few things to consider for why they didn’t bloom:
Did you fertilize them? Something like a 5-10-10 is recommended; if you fertilized them with too much nitrogen (the first number) that might encourage the bulbs to grow foliage and not bloom. Maybe a high nitrogen grass fertilizer was used in the area?
Are the bulbs good varieties for your zone? Check with local daffodil growers or let us know what varieties you planted and where you live. For example, in some areas certain varieties will “blast” meaning it forms a bud but then shrivels up. Here is middle Tennessee that happens to some doubles and tazettas.
Did you plant the bulbs last fall? Some years I am still planting very late (Jan – Feb) and some of those bulbs don’t bloom the first spring. That saying about perennials: “The first year they sleep; the second year the creep; the third year they leap” is not usually so true for daffodils, but especially if planted late, they may settle in the first year and do very well the second year.
The last thing I can think of is were they good blooming size bulbs to begin with. If you got them from a reputable company, they should be. If you got them from a bulb swap, it is possible the bulbs were not mature enough to bloom.