How to Fertilize Daffodils
Fertilize daffodils when the soil needs additional nutrients., Buy a soil testing kit to assess nutrition levels., Choose the right kind of fertilizer for your daffodils., Feed the daffodils at the start of the growing season., Mulch daffodils after...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Fertilize daffodils when the soil needs additional nutrients.
Once planted, daffodils usually flower again every year without too much assistance from you.
However, because they stay in the ground for a long time, the surrounding soil can become depleted as the plants use up the local nutrients.
Fertilizing is necessary to replace the soil’s depleted nutrients.
Daffodils also reproduce by division of the original bulb, which means more plants eventually occupy the same space.
This puts additional strain on the availability of nutrients in the soil. -
Step 2: Buy a soil testing kit to assess nutrition levels.
You can buy soil testing kits to assess soil nutrition but it’s important to understand that soil conditions vary across small distances in your garden (often depending on what’s been planted there before).
Don’t assume that fertilizing your plants will always make for bigger, better flowers.
In fact, it’s important to get the right balance of nutrients in the soil so that your flowers continue to produce at all.
Too much of one kind of nutrient such as nitrogen or potash can often encourage the plant to grow leaves rather than flowers or cause weak growth. , A slow release balanced fertilizer, or one higher in phosphorus and potash (also called potassium) than nitrogen, works well for daffodils.‘Balanced’ means these three main ingredients are in similar proportions.
Slow release fertilizers are usually labeled as such, but are also called ‘granular’.
The cheapest option is usually blood, fish and bone fertilizer but take care—it can be very smelly! , Daffodils should be fed at the start of the growing season, just as the first part of the plant becomes visible above ground.
This is usually in the early spring.
At this time of the year, it’s best to use a liquid or water soluble fertilizer.
Some gardeners continue to feed daffodils every few weeks during the growing season until the foliage dies away, but in most gardens this is likely to overfeed the plants. , Fertilizing your daffodils isn’t always the answer.
They don’t need a great deal of fertilizer and you’re more likely to overfeed than underfeed daffodils.
While some plants need to be fertilized before and after the growing season, you should consider only fertilizing your daffodils at the beginning of the growing season and then laying down mulch at the end of the season.Apply two or three inches of organic mulch around your daffodils.
Organic mulch can include well-rotted manure or leaf mold.
The mulch will help to protect your plants from the cold and will also restore some nutrients to the soil. , If you’ve planted container-grown daffodils in the spring, the compost you used should have nutrients available through the growing season so there should be no need to fertilize these plants at the beginning of the growing season.
However you can fertilize them after if you hope to have blooms the following year.
Keep in mind that container-planted daffodils generally do not grow as well the second year that they remain in the container.
However, if you want to keep them for a second season, fertilize after the growing season to improve their performance the next season.
After flowering ends, top dress your container with a slow-release fertilizer such as bone meal (this is pretty stinky so you may not want to keep it in the house!) or a granular fertilizer.
About two months after the flowers fade, turn the container on its side for about three months and avoid watering it until the fall. -
Step 3: Choose the right kind of fertilizer for your daffodils.
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Step 4: Feed the daffodils at the start of the growing season.
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Step 5: Mulch daffodils after the growing season instead of fertilizing again.
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Step 6: Fertilize container-grown daffodils after the growing season.
Detailed Guide
Once planted, daffodils usually flower again every year without too much assistance from you.
However, because they stay in the ground for a long time, the surrounding soil can become depleted as the plants use up the local nutrients.
Fertilizing is necessary to replace the soil’s depleted nutrients.
Daffodils also reproduce by division of the original bulb, which means more plants eventually occupy the same space.
This puts additional strain on the availability of nutrients in the soil.
You can buy soil testing kits to assess soil nutrition but it’s important to understand that soil conditions vary across small distances in your garden (often depending on what’s been planted there before).
Don’t assume that fertilizing your plants will always make for bigger, better flowers.
In fact, it’s important to get the right balance of nutrients in the soil so that your flowers continue to produce at all.
Too much of one kind of nutrient such as nitrogen or potash can often encourage the plant to grow leaves rather than flowers or cause weak growth. , A slow release balanced fertilizer, or one higher in phosphorus and potash (also called potassium) than nitrogen, works well for daffodils.‘Balanced’ means these three main ingredients are in similar proportions.
Slow release fertilizers are usually labeled as such, but are also called ‘granular’.
The cheapest option is usually blood, fish and bone fertilizer but take care—it can be very smelly! , Daffodils should be fed at the start of the growing season, just as the first part of the plant becomes visible above ground.
This is usually in the early spring.
At this time of the year, it’s best to use a liquid or water soluble fertilizer.
Some gardeners continue to feed daffodils every few weeks during the growing season until the foliage dies away, but in most gardens this is likely to overfeed the plants. , Fertilizing your daffodils isn’t always the answer.
They don’t need a great deal of fertilizer and you’re more likely to overfeed than underfeed daffodils.
While some plants need to be fertilized before and after the growing season, you should consider only fertilizing your daffodils at the beginning of the growing season and then laying down mulch at the end of the season.Apply two or three inches of organic mulch around your daffodils.
Organic mulch can include well-rotted manure or leaf mold.
The mulch will help to protect your plants from the cold and will also restore some nutrients to the soil. , If you’ve planted container-grown daffodils in the spring, the compost you used should have nutrients available through the growing season so there should be no need to fertilize these plants at the beginning of the growing season.
However you can fertilize them after if you hope to have blooms the following year.
Keep in mind that container-planted daffodils generally do not grow as well the second year that they remain in the container.
However, if you want to keep them for a second season, fertilize after the growing season to improve their performance the next season.
After flowering ends, top dress your container with a slow-release fertilizer such as bone meal (this is pretty stinky so you may not want to keep it in the house!) or a granular fertilizer.
About two months after the flowers fade, turn the container on its side for about three months and avoid watering it until the fall.
About the Author
Amy Diaz
Creates helpful guides on crafts to inspire and educate readers.
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