Greetings Researchers,

We are an English family who has been living in Northern Virginia for
some 5 years. After the first year my long suffering and saintly lady
wife decided to plant some daffodil bulbs on a grassy bank in our back
yard to remind her of home. This was not an easy task as the soil here
is akin to dark red concrete but nevertheless she valiantly struggled
on and lo and behold next spring, a golden host of daffodils, along
with some visiting tulips.  Now after the blooms had turned a nasty
shade of brown I became bored with carefully cutting the grass around
them and decided to mow them asunder. My youngest daughter, who was
clearly training for her career as a police informer, dragged my dear
lady wife out to witness the act. (I think the correct term under
these circumstances is ?grass me up?). So there I was caught red
handed surrounded by daffodil leaves with nowhere to hide.  Since then
every spring we have had the weirdest weather, a hot week, which
brings out the buds followed by snow which seems to wipe everything
out. In addition every year the wretched daffodils poke up leaves but
no flowers and although not a word is said, I can tell by that look,
that I did a bad, bad thing. Of course I reply ?No my dewy cheeked
English rose, it must be the weather?.  So finally here is the
question. Did I kill the daffodils forever and can anything be done to
save the situation and restore marital relations to their hitherto
unblemished record?
By the way the guy next door subsequently planted daffodils, probably
to taunt me, and his bloom just fine so the excuse about the weather
is starting to look a bit thin.

Alas... 

Perhaps you -might- have had a negative influence upon future blooms
with your hasty action. Weather is not the most probable reason that
bulbs have not bloomed in subsequent years, however, it might serve
you another year, while you remedy the more likely problems.

The first year bloom of flowering bulbs is stored inside when
purchased. All it requires is a cool (cold), dark, damp place to hide
underground for a few months before it emerges to greet the
lengthening day. However, ever after that first year, the gardener, or
in this case, the lawn mower must be patient and caring even after
blooming has finished. Daffodils gather their food and form the next
year's bulb after blooming, but shortly before the foliage completely
dies. Since all bulbs have individual personalities, some early for
everything, some ready just on time, some lie-abeds who're always
running behind the clock, it is considered prudent to wait until the
daffodil foliage is completely brown and stiff before mowing over.
Yes, this sometimes offends the eye of the orderly mind, but 'tis
necessary, similar to the life-cycle of the butterfly, or allowing
ones children to discover the joys of mud and/or chocolate pudding.


"The inflorescence that a bulb sends up in spring is formed the
previous summer shortly before the foliage dies down. After flowering,
the plants manufacture food through sunlight hitting their leaves.
Whether a bulb flowers is closely related to the amount of food
manufactured the previous year."

The New York Botanical Garden
Spring Flowering Bulbs - Why Don't They Bloom?
http://www.nybg.org/plants/bulbsbloom.html


"Leaves should never be cut from choice varieties since they are
essential in rebuilding the bulb after flowering. If the spring is
dry, the flower beds should be watered (an inch a week) to keep the
foliage green as long as possible. Cutting off or braiding sprawling
green foliage severely limits the short time that the bulb has to make
its growth and form a flower and should not be done. When the foliage
has dried up, remove it, and cultivate the ground, so that insects do
not have a path down the hole left by the foliage directly to the
bulbs."

East Tennessee Daffodil Society
http://www.imagesbuilder.com/HouseandGarden/daffodil.html


"When the light, nutrient, drainage and other requirements of
naturalized bulbs are met, they will thrive and multiply. Good
drainage is a major factor in the successful culture of these bulbs.
Each spring when bulb foliage begins to appear, an application of
organic fertilizer such as dried cow manure will encourage good
growth. Or you could use a slow-release, all-purpose manufactured
fertilizer such as 5-10-10, 8-8-8 or a formulation made especially for
bulbs such as 9-6-6.

Kemper Center for Home Gardening
Naturalizing Spring-blooming Bulbs in Your Garden
http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/hortline/messages/3445.shtml


In addition to feeding pre-blooming daffodils, give them:

Light - Half a day's direct sunlight, OR MORE. Daffodils appreciate
maximum late winter and early spring sun. Is shade from the foliage of
perennial trees keeping your daffodils in the dark?

Proper Drainage - If receiving good light and food, drainage is the
most likely bloom stealing culprit. You mention Northern Virginia. My
aunt, who lives in the region, tells me that the soil is notoriously
wet and claylike in early Spring, too much so for most bulbs, unless
they are planted with abundant drainage precautions. The bloom can be
damaged by too much water retention.

Instead of the small, shallow holes with the traditional bulb planting
device, holes should be made 12-18 inches deep, the soil loosened
laterally from those holes (I use a flexible knitting needle), and the
holes filled with a supplemental drainage medium such as perlite or
vermiculite, lighter compost, or other organic matter.

Remedies are possible even after original planting, since the bulbs
can be removed from the soil after the foliage turns brown and limp,
and stored until replanting in the fall. You can check the health of
each bulb, also. Bulbs should be firm rather than soft. They should be
allowed to dry for several weeks in a single layer before storage.
Discard any that show bulb rot. Or, diabolically, you can simply swap
out old for new.

Daffodils should be (re)planted in September, if possible, or can be
planted any time until the ground freezes. Most of the plants' root
growth happens in the fall and early winter.

I like the University of Missouri's Extension Guide to Daffodils.
Concise, yet thorough, it's an excellent resource.

Spring Flowering Bulbs - Daffodil
http://muextension.missouri.edu/explore/agguides/hort/g06610.htm

You may find additional inspiration in:

Wordsworth's Daffodils
http://mtmoosilauke.com/daffodils.html


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I hope this information allows you to remedy any marital discomfort.
If all else fails, perhaps a new window treatment to block the view of
the daffodil bank in spring might be in order ;-)

Best regards, 

---larre

Thank you Larre. A very full and interesting answer and I think you
may have got me off the hook. I shall simply point to your line
regarding water retention, she is a woman she will understand. Kind
regards DGP