Bulb · Amaryllidaceae
Daffodil
Narcissus pseudonarcissus
Tuck the bulbs in this fall and they will give back 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 new gardeners begin with, and they really are a kind choice. You plant them just once in autumn, and they send up trumpet flowers in early spring while the rest of the garden is still half asleep. They belong to the genus Narcissus, they return on their own each year, and they spread into wider clumps as time goes by, so you grow more without lifting a finger.
The lovely thing is how little they ask of you. They take cold down to -29°F (-34°C), settle happily into almost any well-drained soil, and the deer and rodents that ruin other bulbs leave them alone, since every part of the plant is poisonous. Give them sun and good drainage and there is very little left for you to worry about.
The flowers reach well past the plain yellow trumpet, too. Some carry several blooms on a single stem, some pair white petals with a colored cup, and some open soft, ruffled, and double. Whatever you choose, one gentle habit matters most: let the leaves yellow and fade on their own, because that slow goodbye is how the bulb feeds next year's flowers.
Care
The short version: give them full sun to part shade, soil that drains and never sits soggy, a light low-nitrogen feed in fall and again in spring, and the patience to let the leaves fade before you tidy up.
Light
Daffodils flower best in full sun, but don't worry if your spot has some shade, because they take partial shade in stride. That easygoing nature makes them a happy fit beneath trees that leaf out after the bulbs have finished, and the more sun they get, the sturdier the stems and fuller the flowers.
Water
Keep the soil moist but never soggy while they are growing, and offer a little extra during a hot or dry spring to stretch the bloom along. Once the leaves die back the bulb goes dormant and wants almost nothing, so ease right off, because wet summer soil is the quickest way to rot it.
Soil
Plant them in well-drained loam, clay, or rich soil, and the one thing you really cannot skip is the drainage. A pH of 6.0 to 7.0 suits them nicely, but it is standing water at the bulb, more than anything else, that does daffodils in.
Temperature
These are tough, cold-hardy bulbs that take everything from -29°F to 86°F (-34°C to 30°C) without complaint. They actually need a cold winter stretch to set their flowers, so a hard chill is a help to them, not a worry for you.
Humidity
Air moisture is one thing you can simply forget about with daffodils, since there is no target to hit. What does count is air moving freely around the leaves, because crowded, damp foliage is what invites the fungal troubles they can be prone to.
Feeding
Reach for a low-nitrogen complete fertilizer such as 10-10-10 with a little bone meal, worked in during fall and again as the shoots break ground in spring. Once flowering starts, stop feeding, because extra nitrogen from then on only encourages bulb rot.
Pruning
Snip off the spent flowers, but let the foliage stand for at least six weeks after bloom, until it yellows and browns on its own. Try not to cut or tie the green leaves early, since that slow fade is exactly how the bulb stocks up for next year, so a little patience pays you back.
Repotting
Daffodils are happiest left undisturbed and only need lifting every 5 years, or sooner if a clump gets too crowded to flower well. Packed bulbs, smaller blooms, and lots of leaves with few flowers are the gentle signs that it is time to divide.
Size & spacing
Plants reach 12 to 18 inches (30 to 46 cm) tall and spread 9 to 12 inches (23 to 30 cm) wide. Set the bulbs 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 cm) deep, about two to three times their height, and space them 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 cm) apart.
When to plant
Daffodils keep a fall-to-spring rhythm, and it is an easy one to follow. Get the bulbs in the ground in mid-autumn, around six weeks before the first frost and once the soil has cooled below 60°F (16°C), and they will quietly root through winter before opening 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 seldom gives you grief, and when it does the trouble usually begins underground in the bulb. Most of it shows as rot, scorched leaves, or a clump that suddenly stops flowering. Find your symptom below and step in early, before it reaches the neighboring bulbs, and you will be fine.
Stunted plants with soft bulbs that have started to rot
Don't panic if you find this: it is basal rot, a Fusarium fungus that settles into the base of the bulb when the ground stays too wet and the feeding has been too heavy. If you lift one to check, a soft brown base with white or pink fuzz creeping between the scales gives it away. You can recover from it gladly by tossing the sick bulbs, replanting firm healthy ones in fresh, free-draining ground, and going lighter on the fertilizer next time.
Fix:
- Discard infected bulbs
- Plant only firm, healthy or hot-water-treated bulbs
- Improve drainage and replant in a new site
Twisted leaves, light soft bulbs, and hardly any flowers
Two pests cause this same sad look, and both eat the bulb out from the inside, so don't feel you missed something. Stem and bulb nematodes show brown rings when you slice a bulb across, while narcissus bulb fly larvae hollow the middle and leave a plump grub behind. Either way the bulb feels light and soft, so dig out and destroy what is infested and start fresh with certified clean stock, and your daffodils will bounce right back.
Fix:
- Dig and destroy infested bulbs
- Plant only treated, healthy bulbs
Tan flecks on the flowers that creep wider when it rains
This is fire disease, named for the scorched look it leaves behind, and it begins as small tan flecks that widen until the blooms brown and the leaves carry yellow streaks. Damp, crowded beds let it move quickly, so it helps to catch it early. Pull and burn anything affected, open the planting up so air can pass through, and clear faded flowers before the spores travel, and your patch will come back fine.
Fix:
- Remove and destroy infected plants and flowers
- Apply a protective fungicide
New leaf tips that look spotted and singed
These reddish-brown spots ringed in yellow on the tips of fresh leaves are leaf scorch, and they look worse than they are. Snip away the marked foliage so the plant can carry on, set out hot-water-treated bulbs the following season, and keep the leaves dry so the fungus finds no foothold. With a little care it clears up without much fuss.
Fix:
- Remove affected foliage
- Plant hot-water-treated bulbs
- Apply a labeled fungicide
Toxicity
Every part of a daffodil is poisonous, and the bulb is the worst of it, so this is worth knowing before you plant. It carries lycorine and other alkaloids along with sharp calcium oxalate crystals, and it looks so much like an onion that people have been poisoned by mistake. Keep the bulbs and plants away from pets, livestock, and children, and slip on gloves when you handle them.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds · People
Cats Severe
If a cat takes a bite of a daffodil, expect drooling and vomiting inside the hour, and often some diarrhea close behind. The bulb is the part to worry about most, since a big mouthful can lower blood pressure and bring on tremors or an uneven heartbeat, so reach out for help quickly.
Dogs Severe
A dog that digs up and chews a bulb tends to feel it the most, with plenty of drooling, vomiting, and a tender stomach. Once a larger amount goes down it can move into convulsions, low blood pressure, and a racing or skipping heart, so please ring the vet rather than wait and see.
Horses Severe
Horses out grazing seldom bother with daffodils, which is reassuring, but the alkaloids land hard on the rare occasion one does, bringing drooling, retching, and colic. A large dose can stir up tremors and worrying changes in heart rhythm, so it pays to keep them out of the pasture.
Rabbits Severe
Every part holds the same lycorine that troubles other animals, so a curious rabbit that nibbles can end up drooling, with an upset gut and tremors. Tuck daffodils well out of reach, and never hand over the trimmings as a treat.
Livestock Severe
Cattle, goats, and sheep can be poisoned by the leaves or by bulbs that work their way up into a pasture. Keep an eye out for drooling, diarrhea, an unsteady gait, and in the harder cases a wobbly heartbeat, and move them to safe ground.
Birds Severe
Birds are not spared either, and even a tiny scrap of bulb is far too much for a small body to handle. Keep daffodils and their bulbs well away from any pet bird or backyard flock and you will have nothing to fear.
People Caution
No part of a daffodil belongs on a plate, and the bulb is the real risk because it can pass for an onion at a glance. Swallowing any part brings vomiting and drooling, and handling cut stems can leave skin itchy, so a quick pair of gloves keeps everyone comfortable.
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, grouped into divisions by the shape of the flower. A handful of classics show up again and again, and they give you a friendly sense of the range.
King Alfred
This is the big, all-golden daffodil with a bold trumpet that comes to mind for most people the moment they hear the name.
Thalia
A gentle triandrus type, it hangs several nodding pure white flowers on each stem for a soft woodland feel.
Actaea
A poeticus daffodil, it sets crisp white petals around a small yellow cup neatly edged in red.
Tahiti
Instead of one trumpet, this double-flowered variety fills out with ruffled yellow and orange segments.
How to propagate
Daffodils multiply on their own, so most of the work is simply dividing what you already have. You can grow them from seed as well, though only if you have years to spare and the patience to match.
Offsets & pupsEasy
After foliage yellows and dies back, in late spring or early summer · 1-2 years to reach flowering size
Making more daffodils is wonderfully simple because the plant does most of it for you. Once the leaves have yellowed and died back in late spring or early summer, lift a crowded clump and ease apart the little offset bulbs that have formed around each mother. Settle them at the right depth straight away, or keep them cool and dry until fall, and most will reach flowering size in 1 to 2 years.
DivisionEasy
Every 5 years when clumps become crowded, after foliage dies back · 1-2 years
When the flowers grow sparse and the clumps look packed, usually about every 5 years, you can dig and divide them once the foliage has died back. Pulling the crowded bulbs apart relieves the crush and brings the blooms back, and the replanted pieces settle in comfortably over 1 to 2 years.
SeedDemanding
Sow ripe seed in autumn · 5 years or more to flowering
Growing daffodils from seed asks for real patience. Sow ripe seed in autumn and the young plants need 5 years or more before they bloom, which is why this slow path is mostly left to breeders working toward new varieties.
Myths
Daffodil bulbs are safe to eat because they look like onions.
Sadly that very likeness is the danger, and people really have been poisoned after cooking a daffodil bulb in place of an onion. The bulb is the most toxic part of the whole plant, packed with lycorine and other alkaloids. No part of a daffodil is food, so keep the bulbs well away from the kitchen and you are safe.