Expert: C.L. Fornari - 2/27/2008

Question
I bought a mini daffodils plant,the flowers are bright. Now I want to trans plant them. What kind of soil should I use? Right now the soil they are in looks like sand? I live in northern Calif(Bay Area). I have all my plants in pots,so I don't have a yard.How big of pot should I use?Can they handle rain? Hope you can help. By the way where can a person find air ferns? Thank you.

Answer
Gary,
The mini-daffodils that we buy in the stores at this time of year will live from year to year - they are grown in sand by commercial growers because it drains well and supports the bulbs in that small area.  You'd want to transplant them into a well drained potting mix - cactus mix would work well. Be sure that the pot has a drainage hole if rain is abundant in your area.  Fertilize them now before the foliage dies with a liquid fertilizer, and give the pot some organic fertilizer every year to keep the bulb strength up.  If they live for three years or more, divide the bulbs after the third year and give them all fresh soil.

You could plant these in a large pot that you will put annuals in for the summer - then leave the pot outside next winter and they'll sprout and bloom again in the spring.  If you want to plant them in a larger pot where you'll have other annuals, break the individual bulbs apart and plant them a few inches away from each other.  Most small pots of these daffodils contain at least three and often five bulbs.

Air ferns can be bought on-line at www.airfern.com (!) but I'm sure you know that they aren't real plants....they are the the skeletal remains of a sea animal called Sertularia, a distant relative of coral.  If you google "air ferns" you'll find several articles about them.  Interesting and they never need water, but they never grow either!

all the best,
C.L.
www.gardenlady.com