Planting Daffodil Bulbs in the Long Border
Here at my Bedford, New York farm, most of our spring-blooming bulbs are finally planted.
Every autumn we plant thousands and thousands of bulbs. A majority of them are daffodils. When I moved here, I established a long daffodil border along one side of my property. This border extends from my Summer House behind the stable and down to the north end of my Linden Allée. When the flowers are in bloom, I carefully assess what areas need more flowers and color, and then we plant in those spaces. This year, I selected bulbs from one of my favorite sources, Van Engelen Inc., a wholesale family-run flower bulb business located in Bantam, Connecticut. The varieties we got include 'Watch Up,' 'Frosty Snow,' 'Pink Wonder,' 'Edinburgh,' and 'Zinzi.'
Enjoy these photos.
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- This is one section of my long daffodil border in spring. It stretches down one side of my farm and erupts with gorgeous swaths of color every year.
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- My gardeners and I always take photos of the flowers in bloom, so we can see what areas need planting in the fall. In this photo, one can see the areas to the left of the border could use more bulbs.
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- I order lots of bulbs in batches of 50, 100, 500, and a thousand. Bulbs need to be packaged very carefully to ensure they are kept in the best conditions during transport. Van Engelen uses netted sacs as well as paper bags and plastic pouches depending on the bulbs’ humidity needs.
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- I plant all different kinds of daffodils from crisp white to bright yellow. This is Narcissus ‘Zinzi.’ This daffodil has a snow-white perianth framing a flat, irregularly split, golden-yellow corona edged in pinkish-apricot. (Photo courtesy of vanengelen.com)
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- Narcissus ‘Edinburgh’ is has a four inch-wide, greenish-white perianth and a big yellow split corona with a frilled, wavy orange-pink rim. (Photo courtesy of vanengelen.com)
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- This year, I also added Narcissus ‘Pink Wonder’ – this flower features three ivory petals overlaid with gently frilled, split corona petals that subtly blend from apricot-pink to golden-apricot with a striking chartreuse-yellow center. (Photo courtesy of vanengelen.com)
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- Narcissus ‘Frosty Snow’ opens sparkling snow-white with a flanged, cup-shaped, lemon-yellow crown that matures to white with a yellow rim. (Photo courtesy of vanengelen.com)
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- And Narcissus ‘Watch Up’ has sweetly scented, upward-facing blooms with large, four and a half inch-wide, greenish-white flowers and funnel-shaped trumpets that open yellow and mature to white. All these varieties will blend in so nicely with the existing ones. (Photo courtesy of vanengelen.com)
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- For food, we use a natural and organic fertilizer that is specifically recommended for all bulbs, including daffodils, crocus, hyacinths, and tulips. We also combine it with bone meal fertilizer from ground-up animal bones. It is used to increase phosphorus in the garden, which is essential for plants to flower.
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- Ryan sprinkles a generous amount of fertilizer over the entire area. It is so important to feed any plants and trees that are planted. As I always say, “if you eat, so should the plants.”
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- There are several different tools one can use for planting bulbs. Using an auger drill bit attachment specifically for this task, Brian makes the holes – counting them as he goes.
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- Daffodils are medium-sized bulbs, so the holes are spaced about six-inches from one another on all sides. And the general rule of thumb for planting spring bulbs is to plant them two to three times as deep as the bulbs are tall. This means most daffodils will be planted about six inches down.
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- Brian makes all the holes first before planting. If planting a lot of bulbs, this is a good way of keeping track of all the bulbs and their varieties.
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- This is a daffodil bulb. Daffodil bulbs are round in shape with a pointed tip which is where the shoot will appear. Look closely and see the small roots on the underside of the bulb. Daffodil bulbs are usually around two to three inches in diameter. All bulbs should be stored in a cool, dry, dark place until they are planted. These bulbs are in good condition and ready to plant.
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- Brian places the bulb into the hole. Always plant with the pointed end faced up. If it is planted upside down, the flower will still grow, but it will likely take longer.
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- Here is one bulb in its hole several inches deep.
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- In production line fashion, Brian fills the holes in sections to ensure the varieties remain together.
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- Sometimes, daffodil bulbs may divide and produce bulblets. This bulb has one bulblet on its side. Some bulbs could produce two or even three bulblets.
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- Whenever possible, plant the bulb and its bulblet as is; however, if it does not fit into the hole, it is okay to separate the bulblet from the parent bulb and plant them in different holes.
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- After all the bulbs in the area are placed into their designated holes, Brian backfills with a soft rake.
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- This border looks more lovely every year. I am always eager to see it filled with color in spring. Just wait and see it with me. I’ll be sure to share photos. What bulbs are you planting in the garden?
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