Wondering what to do with your daffodils after they bloom this year? Believe it or not, what you do to your daffodils after their flowers begin to fade can play a huge role in how well healthy the bulbs in the ground remain – and even more, how well they bloom next year!
Daffodils are one of the earliest of all flowers to bloom each spring. Their bright blooms are certainly a welcome sign that the harshness of winter is slowly disappearing – and growing season is almost here!
But as their blooms slowly start to die off, and other spring flowers begin to come alive, all too often, gardeners often make the mistake of simply cutting down the foliage and old blooms all at once. And as you will see below – that can have quite the negative impact on the plant’s ability to store up energy for the following season’s blooms.
What To Do With Daffodils After They Bloom
Daffodils get most of their energy for blooming from the previous year’s growing cycle. And is that growing cycle ever quite short!
The foliage of a daffodil bursts through the soil in the very late stages of winter or early spring. In just a few weeks, the plant builds a strong stock of thick green blades and begins to flower. And if the bulb is healthy, it can produce a lot of blooms. In fact, a single daffodil bulb can produce as many as ten to fifteen blooms!
Depending on the variety and climate, bloom periods can last from a few weeks to a month or more. But eventually, the daffodils blooms will begin to fade. And once they do – it’s time to jump into action to make sure those same big blooms come back even bigger and stronger next year.
Removing The Bloom Heads & Stems Of Daffodils
Once the blooms of your daffodils begin to fade, the first order of business is to cut the flowers off from the plant. Why? Because as long as the flower head remains, the plant will continue to burn energy trying to heal or fix it.
Much like annual flowers, daffodils continue to spend nutrients on old stems and blooms. Unfortunately, the longer they stay on, the more energy the plant wastes. Energy and nutrients that the plant could be storing for the following season’s blooms.
As soon as you begin to notice your daffodil flowers beginning to fade, remove the flower heads. Cut the bloom and the stem it is on down as far as you can. This one little task can pay huge dividends for the plant, helping it to conserve and store valuable energy in the bulb instead of wasting it trying to repair dying blooms.
Keep The Foliage!
So why not cut the rest of the plant’s foliage to the ground? Because the remaining foliage actually helps the plant store even more energy as it dies back! Unlike the flower head, the foliage of a daffodil bulb gives back energy to the bulb as it decays.
As the green blades slowly turn brown and die back, the plant soaks back in the energy from the foliage and stores it in the bulb below. If the foliage is removed before the blades completely die off, so to is the chance for the bulbs to re-energize for next year.
It can be hard, but it’s best to allow all of the daffodil foliage to completely die off before removing. This process usually takes four to six weeks from start to finish. But by resisting the temptation and allowing it to occur naturally – you set your daffodils up for the best chance to flower big next year!
Fertilizing Daffodils After They Bloom
Although daffodil bulbs are able to gain nutrients from the foliage decaying from above, they can also benefit greatly from additional energy supplied by fertilizing. But when and how you apply that fertilizer plays a big role in helping them bloom even stronger.
Daffodils should be fertilized lightly at two points of their yearly life cycle. The first time is in the very early spring right before or just as they begin to sprout from the soil. This gives them one final boost as they come out of the soil and prepare to produce their bloom set.
This dose can help them bloom a bit stronger for sure, but more importantly, it helps to promote strong foliage growth, which then allows for more energy to be stored into the bulbs as the plant dies off.
The second important time to fertilize your daffodil bulbs is in late fall. This dose allows the energy from the fertilizer to soak down to the bulb, which helps to power more blooms the following spring.
With this application, it is important to apply it late in the fall when there is little chance to spur any new foliage growth. Applying it too early in the fall can actually force late season growth which leaves bulbs vulnerable to winter damage.
The Best Fertilizer For Daffodils
The best choice for fertilizing daffodils is to use a granular fertilizer designed for bulbs. Granular fertilizers slowly leach their nutrients into the soil and into the bulbs below the soil.
With granular fertilizers, look for a fairly balanced blend with a slightly higher level of potassium and phosphorous vs. nitrogen. This allows for better blooms and not just foliage growth. A fertilizer designed for bulbs in the 3-5-4 or 4-5-5 N-P-K range is ideal. Affiliate Link: Espoma Bulb-Tone 3-5-3 Organic Fertilizer For All Spring & Fall Bulbs.
Dividing Older Bulbs
The final key to keeping your daffodil bulbs blooming strong year after year is to never let them become overcrowded. The longer daffodil bulbs have been in the ground, the more they multiply and crowd together.
For the first few years, this actually leads to more blooms and thicker foliage and plants. However, over time, the bulbs become larger and begin to crowd one another out. In addition, because they compete for the same nutrients, they begin to struggle to find enough energy to bloom.
To keep your daffodils strong, dig bulbs up and divide them every four to five years. Dividing should always take place in the early fall.
Begin by digging the bulb clumps up and laying them out in the sun for a few weeks. This allows the bulbs to shrink a bit, making each individual bulb easier to separate. To finish, simply plant your bulbs back into the ground and get ready for more flowering next spring!
Regular dividing not only helps keep plants strong, it also provides you with even more plants. Plants to fill more flowerbeds with early spring color, or to give to friends, family and neighbors.
And for protecting those bulbs in the ground, be sure to check out our article : How To Keep Fall Bulbs From Being Dug Up By Squirrels And Chipmunks!
Here’s to knowing what to do with your daffodils this year after they bloom – and to having them bloom strong year after year!
Simple Garden Life
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