It's Time To Enjoy Fresh Cut Daffodil Bouquets

Photo Courtesy Peggy MacAllister Copyright 2009

Fresh cut daffodil bouquets are one of the great pleasures of spring. Although the official start of spring is over a week away the daffodil season has begun in all but the coldest parts of the U.S. If your daffodils aren't blooming yet they will start soon. It's always nice to have fresh cut flowers from your own garden to brighten those cold days of late winter and early spring.

Cutting Your Daffodil Flowers Is Actually Good For Them

Cutting stems of daffodils is actually good for your bulbs as it will help them grow larger and produce more blooms next year. If you let seed pods form, your bulbs will stay small and may not flower very well next year. This is because the plant will put its energy into making seeds instead of growing by division. Cutting as many flowers as you can will save you from having to do a lot of late spring deadheading duties. For those who may not know,deadheading simply means removing the spent flowers before seeds can develop. It has nothing to do with psychedelic rock music from the 1960s. More about the importance of deadheading in a future post.

Harvesting Your Daffodil Flowers

The method I use to gather daffodils for a bouquet is very low-tech. I simply pinch the stem off at ground level. Make sure that you don't damage the leaves. You need to leave the leaves alone. You can use clean scissors or a sharp knife to cut the stems if you'd prefer. If you cut the stems you'll need to dip the blades in bleach between each cut to avoid spreading disease. Another method for cutting daffodil stems is to use a cigarette lighter and apply a flame to your cutting tool between cuts. Daffodils are susceptible to viruses so don't skip this step if you choose to cut your flowers rather than pinching them.

Be aware that daffodils stems will exude a sticky sap when cut so if you have sensitive skin you may want to wear gloves when gathering daffodil flowers for your bouquets. Remember when gathering flowers you should hold the stems with the flowers pointing down. If you're gathering a large number of flowers you can use a flower basket lined with paper towels.

Preparing Your Daffodils For The Vase

When you're ready to prepare your daffodil bouquet cut the bottom half inch or so of the stems. More sticky sap will run out. Put the flowers in a clean vase with about an inch of cool water. This is called conditioning. They only need a small amount of water so don't add too much. After a few hours the stems will probably soak up all of this water. You'll then need to rinse the vase and add fresh water. If you wish you can add floral food to the water according to package instructions.

If you're willing to repeat these steps daily your daffodil bouquet should last for several days. If some of your flowers are still in the bud stage when you harvest them your daffodil bouquet should last up to a week.

Using Daffodils In A Mixed Flower Bouquet

If you'd like to have a mixed flower bouquet that includes daffodils you'll have to condition the daffodils separately. That sticky sap that runs out of cut daffodils will clog the stems of tulips and other cut flowers and keep them from absorbing water in the vase. So don't just plop daffodils in the vase with other flowers.

Condition your daffodils as above. The daffodils will need to stay in the cool water isolated from the rest of your bouquet for 6-8 hours or overnight. You can then add the daffodils to the rest of your bouquet. To make all of your flowers last longer you can remove the daffodils every couple of days and repeat this treatment.
*Cut the bottom half-inch of the stems.
*Condition the stems in a separate container of cool water for 6-8 hours.
*Add them back to your mixed flower bouquet.
Remember to change the water in your vase daily and add floral food to make your bouquet last as long as possible. If you follow these instructions you'll be enjoying beautiful flower bouquets all spring long.

*About The Photo

The daffodils in the picture are from my mother's garden.She doesn't remember planting these beautiful trumpet daffodils. In fact she insists that she didn't plant them. No matter how they ended up in her yard they are beautiful and she enjoys them whenever they bloom.

The white vase and the dark blue table cloth set off this lovely bouquet of daffodils beautifully.


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