Daffodils are very popular spring flowers. They are distinguished by their unpretentiousness to soil and climatic conditions of cultivation, but at the same time they please with abundant flowering.
From our article, you will learn all about caring for daffodils in a pot at home, learn how to properly transplant and care for flowers, as well as the technology for storing daffodil bulbs.
- Post-flowering care
- Storage in the ground
Daffodil moisture and watering requirements
Daffodils are one of those plants that can be content with little grooming. In normal weather, they will not need regular watering even during flowering. Moreover, waterlogging of the soil for daffodils is very dangerous. But if the weather does not spoil or there is a very long drought, then for daffodils, maintenance watering is introduced during the periods of budding and flowering, as well as a month after them. One deeply soaking soil watering per week is enough (and at cool temperatures - and more rare).
Watering for daffodils is carried out carefully, preventing the flowers and buds from getting wet. The use of a spray arm is undesirable.
Advice
- If daffodils are growing on your lawn, do not mow the area until the aerial portion of the daffodils is completely dead.
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It is not by chance that daffodils have earned the title of unpretentious bulbous. They are some of the easiest spring flowering plants to grow, find the right conditions and just as simple to provide minimal maintenance. Daffodils do not require tireless care and constant attention, delighting with bright flower heads and beautiful leaves from year to year. Their cultivation is within the power of even inexperienced gardeners.
Growing and caring for daffodils.
Daffodils are grateful and unpretentious plants.The main care for them is in the spring and comes down to feeding and watering as needed. Transplanting is considered the most laborious in caring for these bulbs: although daffodils cannot be compared with tulips and Co., which require annual digging (with rare exceptions), they still require not so rare division and transplantation to preserve their decorative effect. In favorable years, when the weather pampers, plants almost do not need care and attention. Daffodils are crops that fit well into the concept of a "lazy" garden, which can significantly simplify the burden associated with gardening chores, but at the same time, even with minimal attention, please with a lush spring parade of fragrant flowers.
Weed control and soil loosening
Despite the fact that daffodils form dense groups and constantly grow, these plants suffer greatly from neglect of plantings. It is better to fight weeds constantly, without giving them any chance to interfere with your favorite spring stars. For these bulbs, hand weeding is preferred over mechanical weeding.
Weeding of daffodils is combined with gentle loosening of the soil, which is carried out shallowly, avoiding the risk of injury to the bulbs and roots.
The only way to get rid of weeding daffodils and regular loosening is to mulch the soil.
Pruning faded buds and tying daffodil leaves.
Planting in a seedless way
Planting in a seedless way should be carried out in accordance with the climatic and weather conditions of a particular region. In the middle lane, the most suitable time for planting is early-mid September, since the plant needs at least 3-4 weeks to take root.
Sparaxis planting and care in the open field
You can plant plants in a seedless way at any time of the year, except for summer. But for this, the planting material must be kept in the refrigerator for several months, otherwise the culture will not take root and disappear.
Spring planting
If the plant is planted in spring, then pre-dig the soil to the depth of the shovel bayonet. During digging, nitrophosphate, humus and sand are introduced into the soil. If this is not possible, then during planting a small handful of sand is poured into the hole, 2 tbsp. l ash, and cover the onion with a mixture of earth and compost. At the end, the plant is watered abundantly with clean water, and the hole is tamped.
Important! The optimal distance between the holes is 7-10 cm.
After planting, the soil must be mulched. For these purposes, it is best to use sawdust from hard trees, chopped straw, cut grass and nutshells. Thanks to mulching, the plot not only has a more attractive appearance, but also prevents the active growth of weeds.
Planting a daffodil in a reckless way
Autumn planting
If you plan to plant daffodils in the fall, then the site should be prepared in the summer. The soil is dug onto a shovel bayonet, peat and / or compost, as well as superphosphate and agriculture are introduced. Heavy soil must be "diluted" by adding rotted humus and sand to the composition. After that, the site is dug up again and left untouched until the bulbs are planted.
The algorithm of actions for the planting itself is completely identical to the spring procedure.
Pruning daffodil flowers and leaves
In daffodils, it is advisable to remove wilted flowers immediately, without delay, along with the peduncle. The formation of seeds in this bulbous should not be allowed (unless you leave several plants in order to collect seeds).
The leaves of daffodils are not removed until they not only turn yellow, but are also completely dry. In this plant, the leaves must die off on their own and naturally; despite the significant damage to the decorativeness of flower beds, it is impossible to "help" daffodils. The leaf drying process lasts almost a month and a half, and during this period it is better not to touch the plants.
At the slightest signs of damage to plants by diseases or pests, it is better to immediately remove and destroy them, even if the daffodils are blooming at this time.
Which varieties are best for home growing
Daffodils have many varieties, which affects the color and structure of their flowers. Today there are more than 30 of them and many more breeding subspecies. Different varieties have leaves of different lengths and widths, but the color of the bushes is always rich dark green.
The flowers are yellow, white and recently hatched - a pale pink color of the crown. The structure of the petals can be smooth or terry. Since the flowers of daffodils are located on separate peduncles, pruning them does not cause any damage to the bulbs themselves.
The pear-shaped daffodil bulbs are very interesting. They have two renewing buds in their structure. Moreover, these kidneys have two completely different stages of difference. Roots grow best and most intensively in autumn. Their lifespan is about 11 months, after this period they die off.
How to care for daffodils on your own
What specific varieties can we touch on? The most common are Fortune, Magnet, Yellowsun, Ziva, Inbal.
The Paper variety has become widespread.This daffodil has a large number of white flowers located on one peduncle.
Daffodil rejuvenation and transplant
Daffodils for the most part belong to the bulbous, which do not require annual digging. In one place, they can calmly remain for up to ten years, but in order to maintain high decorativeness and varietal characteristics, it is better to plan a mandatory separation and transplanting with a frequency of 1 every 4-5 years. In this case, you always need to focus on reducing the number of flowers, a qualitative deterioration in flowering, and not on any other signs. And if daffodils bloom poorly compared to the previous year, then you should not hesitate with a transplant. There are also exceptions to the rule: new varieties are often recommended to be dug out annually (it is always better to focus on individual requirements and clarify information about this when buying).
Daffodils are dug up after their foliage has completely turned yellow and wilted. Late digging is much more dangerous than a little earlier, since the beginning of re-rooting of the bulbs then significantly affects the quality of the planting material. Daffodils bloom early, but do not leave the garden scene so quickly, and usually digging is carried out only in late June-July.
The process of digging daffodils itself is quite simple:
- The bulbs are dug out with a large supply of soil, as carefully as possible, manually freeing them from the substrate.
- All bulbs are examined, immediately selecting and destroying specimens with the slightest sign of lesions.
- The bulbs are cleaned and sorted by size and grade.
- Disinfection is carried out in a solution of fungicide or potassium permanganate.
- In the open air, in ventilated shallow containers and in the shade, dry the bulbs for 2 - 3 days.
- The bulbs are removed in ventilated dry rooms for summer storage (at the same time, moderate temperatures of about 18 degrees are desirable).
Daffodils are planted in August or the first decade of September on previously prepared sites, according to the general rules for planting daffodils (in groups, to a depth of 10 to 20 cm, depending on the size of the bulbs). After planting, daffodils need watering in drought, mulching and shelter for the winter with dry leaves (the shelter is removed as soon as possible after the snow melts).
Healthy daffodil bulbs with a well-developed root system. <>
Bulbs storage rules
After being removed from the soil, the bulbs are left for 5-10 minutes in the fresh air to dry out. It is better to choose a slightly shaded place to avoid sunburn. If the weather is rainy, they are taken indoors, with good air ventilation for ventilation.
After that, they must be placed underground or in a cellar with an optimal temperature of 15-18 degrees, and a humidity of 60 percent. Before being lowered into the cellar, the bulbs are sorted by type and placed in wooden boxes or special pallets, you can shift the layers with paper. Do not store in closed bags, otherwise they will rot.
There should be vents in the underground so that fresh air can freely enter it. If it is damp, you can place a fan to circulate the air. Inspect the material for rot or disease on a daily basis. Remove rotten heads immediately so that the infection does not spread to healthy onions. It is not allowed to store them for a long time, the shelf life should be about a month.
Top dressing for daffodils
In order for daffodils to please with abundant flowering from year to year, it is enough not to forget about one single feeding in early spring. As soon as the snow melts for the plant, it is better to add a full portion of complex mineral fertilizers (50-60 g per bucket of water).With normal soil improvement and fertilization before planting (in spring), fertilizing begins only from the second, and on very fertile soils - from the third year after planting (except for daffodils requiring digging, or especially valuable varieties). To obtain more abundant flowering, you can divide the fertilizing into nitrogen in early spring and potassium-phosphorus at the budding stage, or carry out two identical fertilizing with a half-reduced concentration of complete mineral fertilizers.
If daffodils are cut or want to achieve a more spectacular flowering, another strategy can be used - potassium-nitrogen nutrition. With this strategy, not one, but four top dressing is introduced:
- When seedlings appear - complete mineral fertilizer.
- With the growth of peduncles - nitrogen and potash fertilizers.
- During the budding period - full mineral fertilizer.
- During flowering - phosphorus-potassium fertilizers.
All four dressings use 20-30 g of fertilizer per bucket of water and per square meter of planting.
With organic fertilizers for this bulbous, you need to be very careful. Daffodils do not tolerate manure and should not be used either in pre-planting soil improvement or in further care.
Note to the florist
- Cut daffodils do well in very cold water. The water is changed daily, the stem is trimmed by half a centimeter. Other flowers react poorly to the neighborhood with a daffodil in one vase - they are oppressed by the milky sap released from the peduncle.
- All parts of the plant, when damaged, secrete a poisonous milky sap.
- After the flowering of daffodils, it is good to plant annual marigolds in their place - they prevent the appearance of many diseases on the bulbs, heal the soil around the plant.
Wintering daffodils
Daffodils are considered winter-hardy plants and usually do not need protection. Only when transplanting and planting in a new place, the plants need to be additionally protected with a mulch layer for the first winter (the standard option is mulch up to 5 cm high and dry leaves with the same layer, but you can do with only dry leaves). When growing tacette daffodils, it is recommended to cover them with mulching annually. The same approach should be applied to varietal, terry, imported daffodils. Mulching allows you to avoid the risk of losing daffodils even in snowless winters, so mulching is increasingly included in the list of mandatory procedures for preparing the best new varieties of daffodils for winter, even if initially high winter hardiness.
Preparation and processing of daffodil bulbs. <>
How to dig up a plant
Gardeners need to know a few nuances that need to be observed when digging up daffodils:
- When digging, you need to use only sharp objects, for example, a garden trowel, you need to deepen it into the ground so as not to touch the bulbs, digging them out with a clod of earth.
- Immediately after the plant is dug out, you can cut off the dried leaves, but with the roots you need to wait - let them dry to the end and only then remove.
- Bulbs should not be left in the sun as they can burn out in the sun.
- Daughter bulbs can be separated from the mother bulb only when they are completely dry. Otherwise, the plant may be damaged.
Pest and disease control
Despite their status as a culture that grows almost without interference, daffodils are quite often affected by pests and diseases. Root mites, nematodes, and onion hoverflies often appear on them; at the first signs of damage, insecticides should be applied and in the future, every spring, before the buds appear, preventive treatments should be carried out.
Of the diseases, daffodils suffer from various types of rot, mosaic, fusarium and sclerotinosis. They fight these diseases with copper-containing fungicides (for example, copper sulfate diluted with water at a concentration of 100 g per 1 bucket).
Use in landscape design
The leaves of these plants do not fade for a long time, therefore, to complement the picture, other crops with lush foliage are often planted next to daffodils.
It is convenient to plant daffodils in groups
Disembarkation is mainly carried out in groups of 5-7 pieces. Quite often they are combined with primrose and badan (late-stage plants) and / or snowdrops.
For your information! Daffodils are used, as a rule, to decorate alpine hills and alleys, to frame borders.
Having figured out when to plant daffodils and how to properly care for them, you can start growing this amazing plant in your garden. It is necessary to purchase seed of high quality, because the outcome depends on it. It is recommended to make purchases only from breeders or from friends who will sell daffodil bulbs.
