THE FIRST URGENT QUESTION asked on our new Urgent Garden Question Forums was truly the crisis of the moment: “My daffodil leaves are lush and green this year but I have a total of three that have buds/blooms. (This is out of about 70 bulbs in a garden bed.) Could it be over the last several years of wonderful blooms they have just exhausted themselves? Could they possibly now be buried too deep? (I did add several inches of soil/compost last fall.)”—Kenn What causes sparse flowering, as in the photo above?
When flowering plants don’t bloom well it’s usually an issue of either not enough light; too much Nitrogen (which makes green, not flowers) or not enough of the nutrients they need because of competition with other plants; or overcrowding. But I wanted to look it up and get more info, because I had always thought my daffodil drifts were “forever.” And forever just came to an end, apparently.
ALL OF THOSE REASONS, AND MORE
The American Daffodil Society website confirms that any/all of the above can be the culprit, as can a soggy location; cutting off the foliage too early before the bulb ripens; an early heatwave the previous spring that similarly prevented ripening; and a few more remote possibilities like viruses.
So I’ve been outdoors this morning examining my many drifts of non-blooming narcissus, versus the clumps that are performing well, to figure out who needs what from me. All the while I was hoping against hope the answer isn’t “overcrowding,” because with thousands of bulbs, I cannot imagine how they’re all going to get lifted, divided, replanted.
The ADS says to divide every three to five years, meaning many of my drifts are 10 years overdue. (Do I see any A Way to Garden volunteers stepping forward to participate in The Big Dig?)
I’m going to try feeding, but with an all-natural organic food that I know won’t be an instant answer. I’ve pruned the apple trees that some of the worst-performing clumps were under, to let in more light. I will water well while the bulbs are up and growing because I know the tree roots are depriving the bulbs of needed moisture—another reason bulbs fail.
Want to know more about growing Narcissus? The American Daffodil Society is a great place to begin. Or jump into the discussion on our Bulb Forum, where Kenn started the whole thing.
moving bulbs 
Okay Margaret, pack a picnic.. we’re digging daffodils! (as a last resort of course!) Thank you for the link and info.. here’s hoping next spring I can share good news in the Narcissus department!
The old gardeners in Stanley Park, Vancouver, where I was the Communication person for many decades, put down non-flowering daffs to two prime reasons: the “narcissus fly” and soil that is far too rich. They planted drifts on park fringes in dry turf and left the leaves to die down before mowing in the fall. They purported that cutting narcissus too early made it easier for the “fly”, later grub, to invade the plant.
I have nothing to backup their therory except the exceptional early daffs of all descriptions that they were able to foster season after season.
Terri
Hi
I just moved onto my new husband’s property with an old neglected landscape. There are thousands of daffodils located all around the property. The ones along the many stonewalls bloom beautifully however there are hundreds that do not. I realize the issue of light, adequate water and the depths of the bulbs. The depth of these old bulbs may be the issue however I thought I might try feeding them first. Can you recommend a good fertilizer ( including organic and synthetic). Also, I was wondering if I should feed them in the fall to get them to bloom in the spring. This property would be unbelievable if I could get them to bloom. A show stopper! Thank you!
Jane
Welcome, Jane. The products by Espoma are good (like Bulb Tone). They have been in the business a long time. You should feed when they are pushing up, before bloom, like now in my area. They need nutrition as they get up and growing. Then keep an eye out to watering, and perhaps some judicious pruning to increase light in the season to come. If no go still, you will have to divine and relocate them. Hope to see you again soon.
I am a recent bulb-planter and I am uncomfortable with the implied damage to tree and shrub roots both when planting and when digging to divide. How can one avoid — or psychologically manage! — this issue?
Welcome, Naomi. It is potentially a rather brutal matter, isn’t it? I try to be as careful as I can, using only as big and invasive a tool as is necessary, but you are correct; roots will be disturbed and even cut. You can minimize when planting by using a drill auger (there are special ones for bulb-planting) that just cuts a bulb-sized hole in the soil, instead of digging big holes. Best of all is planting your bulbs before or with the woodies, so they can grow together, I suppose. I don’t try to make room for huge swaths of bulbs in well-established root zones (or if I want a little early color I tuck in minor bulbs that aren’t hard to make way for).