Is It Too Late To Plant Daffodil Bulbs?

*Photo By Tyla MacAllister January 2009



If you still have daffodil bulbs sitting in the crisper drawer of your fridge or in bags in your garage you're probably wondering if it's worth it to bother planting them at this late date. Well I say if they are still alive and your ground isn't frozen you should get to digging and get those bulbs in the ground.There is still about 8-10 weeks of cool weather left in the late winter and early spring and this should be enough to get your bulbs growing although it is somewhat of a gamble. Be aware that you might have few or no blooms this year especially if your daffodils are a late blooming type. But it's still better than just letting them wither and die.

For Warm Winter Climates
If you live in a warm Southern planting zone and you have daffodil bulbs that don't require a cold period such as jonquillas or tazettas it's actually an ideal time to plant your bulbs. Trumpet and Large cupped daffodils are more iffy since many of them are already in bloom in the south.If you were smart and put them in the refrigerator they should be fine and will probably bloom in just a few weeks.

If Your Soil Is Wet Or Frozen Plant Your Daffodils In Containers
If your ground is still frozen or if it's too wet and muddy to dig you can plant your bulbs in containers.You can follow these directions for growing daffodils indoors or you can put them outside in a protected area. If you still have a lot of frigid weather left you can pot your bulbs up in containers and cover them with a thick layer of straw or leaves (or let the snow cover them) until the weather warms up. Of course you wouldn't want to use terra cotta or ceramic containers for this.

Make Sure Your Bulbs Are Still Viable Before You Plant
Before you plant your bulbs you need to check and make sure they are still viable. You might want to check out my older post How To Select a Healthy Daffodil Bulb. Basically,you want to make sure the bulbs feel nice and heavy in your hand and are not dried out or mushy. Check also for bruised looking soft spots as this could be signs of a fungal disease. If the bulbs check out health wise you're good to go.

If You Didn't Get Around To Buying Bulbs This Year There's Still Time To Give Some Daffodils A Good Home If You Act Now
If you have seen my Squidoo lenses on Growing Daffodils you may have noticed that there are daffodils offered for sale there. They are offered by sellers on Ebay and Amazon. I didn't realize until a couple of years ago that you could buy live plants on Ebay but you can. I bought over a hundred bulbs on Ebay this year and I was really impressed with the quality. Most of the bulb and plant sellers on Ebay are major retailers that are offering smaller quantities of their surplus stock.

In the interest of full disclosure,if you order from one of my lenses I will get a small commission. Actually Squidoo gets the commission and splits it with me.This is how Squidoo pays their bills and they also give a lot of their profits to worthy charities.

These merchants are offering their final bulbs of the season and they will be gone within days so you have to act now if you want to take advantage of these last minute deals. Yes I would appreciate it if you bought a few bulbs from my lenses but if you can't plant them immediately when you receive them I don't want you to waste your money.

If you would like to take advantage of these time sensitive deals here are the links:

Paperwhite Narcissus Bulbs

Daffodils For Hot Climates

Daffodils For Cold Climates

Growing Daffodils:A Guide For Beginners

Thanks for reading and have a great week!