Naturalizing Daffodils

I hate planting daffodil bulbs in October. There is no immediate reward for the work. But oh, when April comes it makes me so happy.

Our hillside is glowing yellow with beautiful flowers. I love naturalized daffodils for a variety of reasons including.....

• The deer don't eat them.
• They come back year after year.
• They grow where I can get nothing else to grow.
• Even a lady with brown thumb (me) can make them grow.
• They love a wooded site.

I try to buy a bag of bulbs every fall and add them to the collection.

Today, the hillside below our house is a sea of yellow, with a little white mixed in.

I have planted bulbs in all kinds of nooks and crannies.

They even come up in places I haven't planted them!

Naturalizing daffodils is the process of planting them willy nilly, not in a planned and orderly fashion.

I like mine in the woods but it can also be done in a grass lawn.  Here are some naturalizing steps:

                            

1. Choose an area to plant Scatter a couple dozen bulbs, allowing them to fall haphazardly to create random look.  Separate those that fall too close together so they have space to multiply.
2. With a sharp spade at an angle (slice into the earth.
3. Loosen the soil with your spade, and work a small handful of boneameal or balanced granular fertilizer or bulb-booster into the soil al few inches below where the base of the bulbs will rest when they’re planted.  Bulbs are planted at a depth of two or three times their height – usually 6-8 inches (15-20 cm) for daffodils.
4. Plant the bulbs, pointed end up.  Replace the earth, tamp it in place and water well.  Repeat the process with the remaining bulbs.
5. After they bloom in the spring: Remove the flowers as they fade, but allow the leaves to yellow before mowing.  The foliage feeds next year’s bloom.

Happy Spring everyone!

© 2013 Ashbee Design, Marji Roy

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