Daffodils

christine_purcell

Hi.  If quite a few of my daffs have come up blind this year will they ever flower or should I just remove them. Thanks. 

fidgetbones

If they are blind and in the shade, move them. If they are in the sun, feed them now so the bulbs will bulk up for next year. Do not cut the leaves off , let them die down naturally, as they need the energy to build up bulbs to flowering size for next year.

Plantminded

Have they previously flowered well?  If so, your bulbs may now be crowded and need splitting up into smaller groups and repositioning, at least three times the bulbs' depth. Too much nitrogen can also cause leaf growth at the expense of flowers.  As @fidgetbones says, it's important to let the leaves die down naturally but you can remove the spent flowers and stalks from any others that have flowers that are now fading.

bertrand-mabel

While I understand the logic about splitting daff bulbs this doesn't happen in the "wild" where bulbs are planted on road side verges. They aren't split and yet they continue to develop. We have planted bulbs on borders on our orchard and this year the best bloom but we wont divide them, we will continue to allow them to do what they want.

Plantminded

If the location and soil are suitable, they will flower happily.  If they stop flowering, congestion may be one of the reasons.

Busy-Lizzie

Living in SW France, where the spring can be quite warm and dry, I think it is because of lack of water when the plant is dying down. I have noticed that in wet springs the following years crop of daffodils are much better and when the spring has been dry the following year there are more blind ones. 

Fairygirl

When they spread, by producing new bulbs, those can often be quite shallow, and are less inclined to flower, but it can also be that they're too small to flower. Some will flower well without any help, and some are fussier. If they're potted, then they certainly need more help, so a bit of food while dying back is beneficial, but they can also get very congested as @fidgetbones and @Plantminded say, so they need emptying out and dividing every few years. That can be the case if they're in a border/bed too.
The ones often seen on verges or open areas usually have less competition from other plants, and are often the native one, so they get enough nutrition to thrive year after year. In a garden, the site is quite different from that natural setting.
Many daffs thrive in wet conditions @Busy-Lizzie, which is a big advantage over other bulbs. 

bédé

bertrand-mabel said:

 splitting daff bulbs this doesn't happen in the "wild" 

 Wild plants in their favourite spot are a completely different story.  Hybrid strains and selected cultivars planted where we want them is another thing.

christine_purcell

Thank you everyone for the tips.