Daffodils are deer resistant!

Daffodils
Talk by Yvonne Brownlee
Delaware Valley Daffodil Society

Website: American Daffodil Society

The ancient Greeks knew about daffodils. Greeks thought they were a symbol of death due to the numbing aspect of daffodils. They believed that the center of daffodil has tears of Narcissus, who fell in love with himself. At about 300 BC, one of the Greeks wrote about them. Affodile was the old English word for daffodil, which means that the witch is coming. Daffodils became associated with evil or witchcraft. Welsh soldiers would wear one on themselves going into battle to ward off danger.

The Longwood Gardens daffodil show held each April was the speaker's introduction to daffodils and inspired her to grow daffodils. There is much variety in daffodils as there are 13 divisions and then there are 13,000 named varieties, ranging from miniatures and large. Many people ask about a difference between daffodil and narcissus. The answer is that they are the same. Jonquils, another often used name for daffodils, is one of classes of daffodils; to be precise, they fall into Division 7. Their characteristic is having several flowers on one stem, that is more than one flower.

Daffodils have characteristics that protect them from large and small critters. Their bulbs, flowers and stems produce a numbing effect on animals which try to eat them. Deer don't eat it, and smaller critters such as squirrels won't eat the bulbs for the same reason.

They are an easy plant to grow as they are disease resistant. Daffodils will last decades where planted, if happy. But plant well drained area to avoid rot. They also do need a cold season to bloom. While daffodils can be planted in very cold areas, paperwhites won't survive outside here.

Daffodils today have a very long season. Some even bloom in the fall. By planting different varieties your garden can have daffodils blooming from early spring to fall. Some give two or more months bloom. Choose different kinds of daffodils to obtain the range in season and color.

When planting, miniatures should be handled differently as the bulbs are so small that they can get lost in the garden. Choose a protected spot to plant them. You can also use berry baskets for planting.

They can be planted from the end of September up to December. They like well drained soil and plant them about 6 inches down or two times as deep as the bulb is tall. It is possible to get them too deep. Roots can go down in soil as they get older in clumps.

Where to grow daffodils is also a frequently asked question. Many do plant them under trees, but daffodils are not really a shade plant. They do need 6 hours of sun during active growing season. Daffodils can stand drought and hot weather once established. They can be planted in ground cover, but it can't be too thick. Yet, daffodils do want to have plants around them. Annuals work quite well. Others don't plant anything around their daffodils, particularly if they plan on showing them. Leave your daffodil beds alone after daffodils are spent as we don't recommend tying them up.

Fertilize them twice a year with low nitrogen fertilizer. Use bulb fertilizer or low nitrogen fertilizer. Don't tie the leaves as that will kill the bulb. They use the photosynthesis to store food for next year. Plant annuals or something that looks okay around them if you find the foliage unsightly. If you leave the foliage on you can move them--around the 4th of July. Put them on a screen, let them dry for a couple of days, put in onion bags and hang them. Plant in October, although you can plant them right away if you choose, just don't dig them up again for a while.