When to plant daffodils

Daffodils goes in by the calendar of your frost dates. Type your town to see the dates for your weather station.

The seed packet, in short

Daffodils planting dates by zone

Each row uses the typical frost dates of a zone: the middle value among towns of 10,000 people or more in it. In zone 6b, for example, the typical last frost is Apr 20, so the first step for daffodils, fall: plant bulbs, falls Sep 26 to Nov 21. Towns in one zone can differ by two weeks, so your own town's dates above are the better guide.

Good to know about daffodils

• Start planting once soil cools to about 50-55 F and nights are near 55 F or cooler; stop a couple of weeks before the ground freezes.
• Measure depth from the base of the bulb: about 6 to 8 inches for large bulbs, 3 to 5 inches for miniature types.
• Leave leaves on until they yellow and die back; they feed next year's flowers.
• Clumps can be divided every 3 to 5 years when flowering drops off.

How to plant daffodils

• Pick a spot with at least 6 hours of sun while the leaves are up; beds under deciduous trees work because daffodils bloom before the trees leaf out.
• Good drainage matters most: bulbs rot in soil that stays wet, so loosen heavy soil with compost or use a raised bed.
• Space large bulbs about 4 to 6 inches apart; tighter spacing looks full sooner but gets crowded within a few years.
• Set bulbs pointed end up, firm the soil, and water once after planting to settle it around the bulbs.
• Plant in clusters or drifts of several bulbs rather than single lines for a fuller look.

Types that change the timing

• Daffodils are sorted into 13 official divisions, such as trumpet, large-cupped, jonquil, tazetta and poeticus types.
• Varieties are early, mid or late season bloomers; planting some of each stretches the flower show over several weeks.

Common mistakes

• Planting in deep shade: plants keep making leaves but stop flowering.
• Buying leftover bulbs in spring and planting them then; spring-flowering bulbs need to go in the ground in fall.
• Planting soft, moldy or shriveled bulbs; choose large, firm ones.

Warm and cold regions

• Zones 3-6: Plant from mid-September through October, ideally 4 to 6 weeks before the ground freezes so roots form first.
• Zones 7-8: Plant October into November (Georgia allows through late December); daffodils come back reliably year after year here.
• Zones 9-10: Choose types that need little or no chilling; plant in late fall once soil has cooled.

When it blooms

Blooms from late winter to late spring depending on the variety, the spring after fall planting; flowers last about two to three weeks.

Needs a winter cold period, which a normal winter supplies; most spring bulbs want about 12 to 16 weeks of cold, though some warm-climate types need none.