How to Grow Daffodils

What’s spring without a stunning display of daffodils? Welcome the sunny days to your outside space with your very own fully grown daffodil bulbs this springtime when you grow Mr Fothergill’s range in your garden. It’s never too early to plan ahead! Whilst you may have pumpkins, ghouls, trick or treating and even Christmas presents on your mind, autumn is the perfect time to start looking forward to seeing your spring garden in full action.

Let’s be honest: if you’re planting spring flowering bulbs, there’s no better choice than the vibrant and stunning daffodil! Like a Christmas tree in winter or suncream in summertime, daffodils are a distinct symbol of the season! In this guide, we’ll be covering all the important bits, like how to grow daffodil bulbs, how to plant daffodil bulbs, and how to care for these flower plants! 

So keep reading to discover all of the best practices when it comes to how to grow daffodil bulbs.

Creating the perfect environment in which to plant your daffodil bulbs is important, so we recommend taking the time to prepare your soil! Loosen up your soil by digging over it and removing any weeds. If you want to go that extra mile, introduce some organic matter and plant fertiliser to your soil to better the health of your daffodil bulbs.

In order to enjoy full blooms come springtime, we recommend planting your daffodil bulbs between September and November. Planting in autumn means that your daffodils can establish long and healthy roots before winter and begin to flower just as the sun comes back out.

How to plant daffodil bulbs?

Planting daffodil bulbs is simple, really! Plant your daffodil bulbs around 10cm deep into the soil - about three times the depth of the bulb itself. To avoid congestion, don’t plant any more than six bulbs together. 

Your job doesn’t end there! There are plenty of ways you can nurture your daffodil bulbs by giving them that little extra bit of TLC! Here’s what we recommend:

Watering

Once your daffodil bulbs are in the ground, settle the soil by watering and composting the surrounding area of the bulbs. Past that point, your bulbs shouldn’t really need any further watering unless the weather is particularly dry during growing.

Mulching

As for mulching, your daffodil bulbs may benefit from organic matter in autumn or spring. This works to fight off any potential weeds whilst also keeping your soil nice and moist.

Deadheading

In order to keep your plants strong and healthy for as long as possible and guarantee strong and beautiful blooms, deadheading is important. When a flower’s head begins to fade, you should actively remove it to prevent it from becoming a seed head. This allows your daffodil plant to put all of its energy into strengthening its bulb for next year.

Pruning

We know it’s tempting to step in and tidy up your flower beds whenever you feel like things are getting a little bit wild and messy, but sometimes, your flowers are growing like that for an important reason! Daffodils grow leaves, which you may be tempted to tie or trim, but they’re vital for photosynthesis and storing energy for next year’s heads.

We recommend waiting until the leaves have turned yellow before cutting them down, which tends to happen around six weeks after flowering.

What are you waiting for? Your growing journey starts right here at Mr Fothergill’s! Shop our daffodil bulbs today as part of our extensive flower bulbs range and let us help get your daffodil garden going.

If you have any further questions about how to grow daffodils or have curiosities about any of our other products, don’t hesitate to contact us or take a deeper dive into our gardening blog!