Eyes on the Sun by Handcanons
TheGardenLady received this question from Fran.
I was given some daffodils at my garden club meeting this week. They had bloomed already and there were just bulbs with green leaves on them. I live in zone 8 in Florida and was told that I could grow daffodils in Florida. I was not aware of this. Is this true and how did this lady grow them here in Florida?
Daffodils are grown throughout most of the US. And Florida is no exception. There is an American daffodil society and there are regional daffodil societies including a Florida daffodil society. See here.
Since you received the plant from someone who grew them in your area, that bulb should grow for you and re-flower. In one of the popular catalogs that sells bulbs from Holland it seems that all their daffodil bulbs are guaranteed to bloom in zones 3 through 8. And if you go online or go to your garden stores, there are even daffodils that will bloom for those who live in warmer zones.
Because daffodils prefer cooler weather, there is some advice one should follow. See here. You can also read a previous post I did on the topic here.
For example, you don’t want your soil to be too wet or you can get bulb rot. Do not irrigate the daffodils in the summer. But because they won’t bloom well because of drought, they have to be watered in the fall, winter and spring – From October first to April first.
Don’t plant the bulbs in a wet spot. They need good drainage.
Plant the daffodils deep (6-8 inches) for a more even soil temperature.
Mulch the area with chopped leaves, pine straw or mini pine bark nuggets – Do not use a rich mushroom compost.
Don’t plant them near heavy feeders like roses and daylillies.
Plant them in an area that gets sun through March and then is in summer shade for coolness.
They do not want fertilizer except for some potash and they prefer a neutral soil. You can lightly fertilize them right after blooming or in the fall with a low nitrogen fertilizer- something that might say 5-10-10. But don’t use a slow release fertilizer unless it is specifically for daffodils in your area.
Do not cut off the leaves when the daffodils finish blooming- leave them until they turn yellow and then remove the leaves. But when the leaves are limp, overplant or plant just in front of the daffodil leaf stems with drought tolerant and shade tolerant annuals.
Some good general guidelines for planting daffodils around the country can be found here.