Expert: Laura Walker - 10/2/2006

Question
How is the best way to transplant daffodills? I live in southern Ohio.

Answer
Barbara,
You are in my plant zone 6. I always wait until mid or even late November to plant my bulbs for several reasons.One,they sometimes try to sprout when we get a warm spell in October,which is notorious for it's unpredictable weather. So I say as long as the ground is not frozen,it's never too late to plant spring blooming bulbs.The second reason is the critters like to dig around bulb beds foraging for food and they could easily disturb them at this time of year when they are gathering winter food.Actually moles do not like Daffodils,but if you have Tulips planted with them,watch out.They will dig tunnels to get to the Tulips but also disturb the Daffodil bulbs.
If you would like to transplant them,you don't have to do it all in one day. Just dig up a big clump of them IF you know exactly where they are. If you have left your brown foliage and have yet to cut it off,do so before you replant them or even before you dig them up. Cut them back to about
4 inches. Then just shake the clump until it loosens and then pry them apart.It doesn't take a lot of force to get them apart once you have loosened the soil around them. Then,if you want to transplant right away dig a hole about 7 inches deep and place 3 to 4 bulbs in each hole about 3 inches apart with the tip pointing upward.Cover them with soil.They are not picky about the soil as long as it isn't pure clay or sand.No need to water.
Or you can dig them all up one day,seperate them and place them in a cool dry place without them touching on some old newspaper or brown paper.Then you can wait until we have a relatively cool spell in mid to late November and then you can plant them.
Hope this is helpful info.Have a great time gardening in the beautiful fall weather!