Expert: Kenneth Joergensen - 3/24/2004

Question
I would like to know if daffodils should be deadheaded or not also how long do the bulbs last. We keep putting them in but a lot don't come up the following year and when they do a lot don't bloom. We live on Vancouver Island and they are all blooming now.

Answer
Yes, deadhead after flower is spent.

Fertilize the bulbs as they break ground, and just as they flower. then fertilize the same area in fall when daytime temperatures go down.

If you restrict the green foliage (cut it off, braid it, roll it up, etc) then the bulb can not recharge for next year's bloom. Therefore, leave the foliage intact without restricting it until it turns yellow and die back in summer (can seems like forever, but it is required).

In vancouver island you could have problems with bulbs rotting due to your very wet winters. If this is a problem, try to mix in plenty of sand and compost into the planting hole (dig deep and amend well below the bulbs) or plant in taller plants/raised beds.

Another potential issue is your winter .. or lack of same. if temperatures do not stay consistently below 45 deg F for 15 weeks the winter flower induction may not be enough. In that case you may get foliage but no flowers. this will change from year to year. My friends in California grow daffodils but they only flower when they have 'hard winters' (if you can talk about that in Los Angles).

Vancouver island would be zone8 and usually should be enough cold to vernalize the bulbs without you having to treat them as annuals as most southern gardeners do.

I think your problem is either wet soil/poor drainage and/or lack of fertilizer/deadheadding. Fertilizer and deadheading is needed for next years bloom. Good drainage is needed for the bulbs to survive in the first place. If neither of these help, then I suspect temperatures.

Kenneth