Daffodils decorating spring garden, are considered an unpretentious crop. However, it happens that there are few flowers and the plants lose their decorative properties. The main problems are related to errors in care.
The soil
Daffodils are not too picky about soil, but prefer loam; on sandy soils there is a high probability of bulbs freezing. Optimal acidity soil for this crop is pH 6.5-7.0. At a pH below 6.0, the soil should be limed, and it is advisable to do this before planting daffodils.
Transfer
Narcissus is a perennial crop; it can grow for several years without replanting; it is recommended to plant clumps no earlier than after 2-3 years. However, gardeners often believe that it is not necessary to plant them. This causes the group of bulbs to become very overgrown, the plants compete with each other for moisture and nutrients and, as a result, produce many fewer flowers. Also, when grown in one place for a long time, the bulbs may become too deep into the soil, which impairs flowering.
When planting new bulbs, you should take into account that in the first season after planting, the plants may not bloom, getting used to the new place.
Nutrition
When growing daffodils on infertile soils, it is important to provide them with adequate nutrition. During the period of germination, budding and flowering, they need a complete complex fertilizer (for example, nitroammofoska - 60-100 g per 1 sq. m). After flowering ends, phosphorus (superphosphate - 2 parts) and potassium (potassium sulfate - 1 part) fertilizers are applied with a total dose of 50 g per 1 sq. m. m. Fertilizing must be accompanied by watering and loosening the soil.
Moisture
Daffodils require the most water after flowering until the leaves wither, and it is often dry and dry at this time. hot weather, and gardeners forget about faded plants. At this moment, nutrients accumulate and flow into the bulbs, and elements of future flowers are laid. Plants should not be left without watering during this period, otherwise they will not abundant flowering next season. Watering should be plentiful, with soaking of deep layers of soil (up to 25-30 cm). If it is not possible to water the flower garden, it is better to replace watering by loosening the soil and mulching, but you should not limit yourself to splashing water on the surface. At the same time, you should not allow water to stagnate in the flower garden, as this can lead to the death of the roots. In the second half of summer, daffodils go into a dormant period and do not require watering.
Leaf trimming
Sometimes after the daffodils have faded, gardeners rush to cut off the leaves in order to improve appearance flower garden You should not do this, since it is the leaves that work for flowering next year. The above-ground part of the plants can be removed only after the leaves wither and turn yellow naturally.
Lighting
If narcissists find themselves in shady place Most likely, they will produce abundant greenery, but will not bloom. You will have to find a place for them in the sun or at least in partial shade so that the sun illuminates them most of the day.
Winter shelter
In harsh, especially snowless winter conditions, daffodil bulbs can freeze. In this case, it is recommended to mulch them with peat, sawdust, and leaves. Terry varieties are especially sensitive to frost.
Diseases
When affected by diseases, daffodils do not germinate and form weak shoots (sclerotial rot); they are affected by peduncles, flowers and leaves, and the neck of the bulbs (gray rot). Pathogens persist in soil and plant debris. Sick plants should be destroyed, only healthy specimens should be selected for planting, and the bulbs should be treated with fungicides before planting.
Amateur flower growers carefully care for delicate daffodils, but it happens that the time of flowering comes, and the flower never blooms. Let’s try to understand the reasons and answer the question: “Daffodils, why don’t they bloom?” To avoid such disappointments, before planting bulbs on your site, you need to familiarize yourself with the basic requirements for caring for them.
Agricultural technology
One of the common reasons why daffodils do not bloom in the countryside is acidity of the soil. Flowers prefer low acidity and like neutral earths even more. pH values are in the range of 5-7. It often happens that after planting a plant and expecting its lush beauty, they do not think about the composition of the soil. To extinguish acidity, lime, dolomite flour or chalk are recommended. It is advisable to apply in the fall, observing certain application rates indicated on the packaging.
In agricultural technology for growing daffodils you need to remember:
- The flower is a perennial and gradually grows, so it is necessary to control the density of plants and plant the bulbs in time, preventing the roots from intertwining with others;
- They need a transplant after 4-5 years. It should be remembered that the first year after transplanting or planting it may not bloom because it is under stress;
- If a plant has been growing in one place for too long, the bulbs grow deep into the ground and do not want to bloom.
Lack or irregular application of nitrogen fertilizers can lead to poor growth and development or no growth at all. It is better to apply fertilizer to the soil after the growing season, so that it maximally nourishes the plant and the bulb in which the ovary is formed.
A real winter with plenty of snow will help the plant emerge from hibernation in good condition. Experienced flower growers do not take risks and cover the plantings with peat, sawdust, and leaves.
Variety of varieties
Nowadays, a huge variety of daffodil varieties have been bred. They differ in such characteristics as:
- Flowering time;
- Dimensions;
- Colored.
When purchasing seed material, it is desirable that it be zoned for a given climate zone.
The aroma emanating from a flower bed planted with white, pink and yellow beauties will not leave anyone indifferent.
Modern hybrid varieties grow well everywhere, but sunny plot or a little shade will suit them better. Daffodils bloom well if planted in the garden under an apple tree or other bush, since trees do not yet provide dense shade.
Flowers love soil that retains moisture and therefore prefer loam.
“Deoxidizers” are added to acidic soil. Sandstones lose moisture very quickly and freeze in winter, and applying fertilizers has no effect. Stagnation of water negatively affects the growth of the flower, so the surface layer must be loosened after watering and fertilizing.
Making a flower bed
At the very end of summer or beginning of autumn, you can start planting daffodil bulbs. They can be placed in the same flower bed with different early flowering ones.
Plants next to which daffodils grow well:
- Crocuses;
- Tulips;
- Hyacinths;
- Muscari.
Fertilizers
During abundant leaf growth and bud formation, fertilizing with nitrogen and potassium is necessary. Nitrogen fertilizer increases the duration of flowering. They are carried out upon emergence of seedlings with a 2:1 mixing ratio (nitrogen, potassium) total weight 40g/m2, and the second feeding also includes phosphate fertilizers 1:2:1 (nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus) in the amount of 30g/m2. When flowering occurs, phosphorus and potassium are added to the soil 1:2 in a mass of 20 g/m2.
They respond well to watering and there is no need to dry out the soil in the flower bed where these beauties grow. Water the flowers as the soil dries, avoiding stagnation of water.
Diseases and pests
When compared with tulips, crocuses, and hyacinths, daffodils are less damaged by pests and diseases, which is greatly appreciated by flower growers.
However, the plant may be attacked by daffodil flies or hoverflies. During the growth period, the flower is well treated with karbofos (0.3%). A good effect is achieved by adding bazudin granules (0.3 g/m).
Daffodils are susceptible to a disease called sclerotial rot. The bulbs have to be destroyed. To prevent this disease, the soil is dug up deeply and crop rotation is maintained.
Diseases of nearby growing plants can damage flowers. When carrying out a course of measures to combat pests of daffodils, you should pay attention to neighboring plantings. The pest control method is similar for all flowers.
Spring bouquet
You can't trim green ones leaves until they turn yellow and wither. Leaves are necessary for photosynthesis of the bulb to produce a flower for the new season.
Basic rules when composing a bouquet using daffodils:
- The use of a knife is not required, they break easily;
- It is better to break out flowers before watering, when they are dry, then the bouquet will last much longer;
- When carrying the bouquet, hold it with the cuts facing up;
- The bottom of the stem is cut off at an angle when placed in a vase. This expands the area for water absorption and removes plugs from the air;
- It is necessary to feed the bouquet and add 1 tbsp to 1 liter of water. Sahara;
- You can avoid rotting of the trunks by adding aspirin tablets or just a little potassium permanganate to the water.
If you manage to grow these spring flowers in your dacha and inhale their unique aroma during the flowering season, this will lead to the indescribable pleasure of the arrival of spring and the renewal of nature around you.
When drawing an image of spring in one’s imagination, such an integral detail as the blooming of daffodils always pops up. Its fragile appearance and delicate aroma will captivate the hearts of flower connoisseurs. And the simple planting and care of daffodils in the open ground have made it a favorite among all summer residents who want to decorate their spring garden with elegance and bright colors.
These flowers appear among the first in the front garden, like crocuses and tulips, and are considered the most unpretentious bulbous plants. However, in order to grow a daffodil bright and attractive, you should even approach it wisely. initial stage- landing.
Place and soil
An important point is the choice of area for planting bulbs, taking into account the soil composition. Ideal option There will be a well-lit area with neutral loamy soil, where nitroammophoska is additionally added at the rate of 60 g per 1 m2, compost or humus. Excess alkali in the soil is neutralized dolomite flour at the rate of 200 g per 1 m2, and the increased level of acidity is reduced by adding one glass of wood flour to the same area.
Advice! You should not place daffodils after other bulbous crops - tulips, lilies. The optimal predecessors are cereals, legumes and nightshade representatives.
Selection and preparation of planting material
IN flower shops a wide range of daffodil bulbs are available different varieties, which in spring period often sold at large discounts due to the staleness of the goods.
- integrity and absence of rotten areas;
- size - if the diameter is less than 5 cm, the bulb must be grown, which will slow down germination;
- hardness.
Before planting, a thorough inspection is carried out and damaged, rotten material is rejected. Healthy bulbs are disinfected with a fungicidal agent or potassium permanganate solution with a concentration of 1%
Advice! Better to make a purchase planting material three months after the flowers finish blooming.
When and how to plant daffodils?
Daffodils are planted depending on the climate of the region. The basic rule is a soil temperature of 8 to 10°C, maintained for three weeks while the flower takes root.
Typically, bulbous crops are planted in autumn time. You can plant the bulbs in the spring, making sure to keep them in the refrigerator for two months in advance so that the daffodils take root and bloom the same year.
- Planting in spring. Holes are dug at a distance of 10 cm, subject to future planting, and 20 cm if further growth of flowers is planned in the next five years. Before placing the bulb in the planting hole, sand is poured to improve the drainage qualities of the soil. After planting, the garden soil is mulched with sawdust, straw or mown grass 3-4 cm thick. This will save the grower from unnecessary weeding, loosening and protect the soil from weathering.
- Planting in autumn. IN autumn period bulbs are planted according to the same principle as in the spring. After the arrival of frost, the area with flower bulbs is covered with leaf fruit trees or nut.
Important! When calculating the depth of the hole, the diameter of the bulb is taken as a basis, which is multiplied by three.
Caring for a Narcissist
The quality of care influences the production of beautiful, graceful spring flowers with delicate aromatic notes.
Watering and loosening
In dry weather conditions from late spring, daffodils need regular moisture throughout the life of the above-ground part of the plant: after flowering, watering allows the bulb to accumulate more nutrients. If the area is not mulched, the beds need loosening and weeding after each irrigation.
Temperature
Air and soil temperature conditions influence the onset and duration of the flowering phase. Optimal temperature values are considered to be 15°C for air and 10°C for soil.
Fertilizer application
When cultivated in the front garden, early spring flowers need to be fed twice:
- The introduction of the complex is being organized mineral fertilizers in the budding phase: at a consumption of the working solution of 5 liters per 1 m2, superphosphate, potassium sulfate and urea (one teaspoon of each substance) are diluted in 10 liters of water.
- Special fertilizer is applied for flowering plants with the addition of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium: two teaspoons of Agricol and one nitroammophoska are diluted in 10 liters of water.
In rainy weather liquid fertilizers are replaced by a one-time application of dry fertilizers in early spring- per 1 m2, one teaspoon of potassium sulfate, superphosphate, urea and one tablespoon of wood ash.
Disease and pest control
The crop is affected by fusarium, rot, and is also colonized by daffodil flies, tuberculate and onion hoverflies, onion and root mites, slugs, and nematodes.
As protective measures, plants are treated twice:
- Before the formation of buds, spraying with insectoacaricidal preparations is organized according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
- Upon completion of flowering, daffodils are treated with a solution copper sulfate at the rate of 100 g of the substance per 10 liters of water, with a consumption of 2 liters of working fluid per 10 m2, or with the “HOM” preparation with the same consumption rate, prepared by diluting 40 g of the product in 10 liters of water.
Transfer
If the gardener notices that the flowers have become smaller and worse in quality, then it is time to replant the daffodils. When transplanting, a vegetative method of propagating the crop is used - dividing the bulb.
Care after flowering
Depending on the gardener’s plans, two algorithms can be used:
- When leaving the bulbs in the ground for further growth, it is necessary to cut off the above-ground part after drying, loosen the soil and clear it of weeds. In the second half of August, if there is a drought, it is necessary to water the area: the bulbs begin to form new roots.
- In case of transplantation or propagation, planting material is excavated. But you need to know when to dig up the bulbs. Their harvesting begins after the leaves naturally wilt, usually in July.
Advice! If the grower has decided to dig up the bulbs, then one should not delay the time too long after the leaf blades turn yellow: the daffodils quickly begin to take root.
Reproduction methods
Two methods are used for breeding daffodils: vegetative and seed.
Vegetative method
During the growing season, an average of two to four are formed from one bulb.
If you want or need to get new copies, you should adhere to the following steps:
- The dug up mother bulbs along with the daughter bulbs are cleaned of faded remains.
- Planting material is inspected for rejection and destruction of diseased or damaged bulbs.
- Healthy specimens are peeled, washed, disinfected for half an hour in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate, and then divided.
- First, the specimens are separated, falling off effortlessly, and those that are tightly pressed to the mother ones swing for independent separation.
- If the bulb comes off, the broken area is sprinkled with charcoal or activated carbon.
- Then the separated specimens are dried in a shaded place and placed for storage in a room with a constant temperature of no higher than 17 ºC.
Attention! You should not delay the time before planting: after a while, the bulbs lose moisture. The optimal storage interval from digging to planting is two months.
Seed method
The method consists in sowing freshly harvested, not properly dried seeds at the height of the summer season or late autumn as follows:
- Seeds are not sown too densely in a box or open ground to a depth of three seed diameters.
- During the first two years, the seedlings are not disturbed, which allows the bulb to grow stronger.
- Upon completion of two years of dormancy, young specimens are planted in a permanent place of growth.
For the first time, such daffodils form buds after at least three years.
Attention! The seed method is permissible only for wild varieties: with this method, varietal qualities are not inherited by new specimens.
So, by following a number of simple rules for growing daffodils, every gardener will enjoy the spring tenderness of his garden.
In our conditions middle zone daffodil shoots appear around mid-April, the timing varies depending on conditions current year growing season. Daffodils are recognized as a fairly unpretentious crop in terms of growing conditions and easy to care for, but every gardener knows that in the spring he will not only have to admire the flowers, but also work intensively on his plot. What needs to be done first, what to pay attention to when... spring care for daffodils?
At the first opportunity (after the snow cover has melted and the soil has partially dried out), the planted area is inspected; if the plants have been covered since autumn, the cover is removed as soon as the threat of night frosts has passed (seedlings and buds can only be damaged by negative night temperatures, –10...–15ºС, for a long time). The cover is removed carefully, trying not to damage the emerging seedlings. Deformed plants develop from damaged or broken seedlings.
When examining, you need to pay attention to the presence or absence of seedlings. Late varieties or varieties planted later than the recommended dates, respectively, and grow and bloom later than early and mid-flowering varieties or varieties planted in optimal timing. Therefore, do not panic if you notice that there are no sprouts in some places, this does not necessarily mean that the bulbs have died. If you need to make sure that the plants have not died, you can carefully dig out a layer of soil at the planting site with your hands. If there were seedlings in the ground and a dense bulb, the plant did not die. If the bulb is soft and rotten, it must be removed urgently to prevent an outbreak of the disease.
After a snowy winter with rapid snow melting, prolonged stagnation of water on the soil surface may occur. This adversely affects the condition of the bulbs; they are easily affected by fungal diseases, rot and die. On problem areas high standing groundwater drainage systems arranged in advance (you can simply dig ditches around the perimeter of the site). If the flood is unexpected, water is drained by digging small ditches.
To prevent an outbreak of fungal diseases, it is necessary to inspect the seedlings. Plants with signs of disease (twisted, deformed seedlings of yellow-brown color, dry) are removed along with the bulb. If the lesion is very large, you can treat the plants with a solution of pesticides (following the instructions and precautions). Signs of disease must be differentiated from signs of damage from cutting tools(hoe, hoe, etc.).
Despite the fact that rodents (in particular, mice) do not damage daffodil bulbs, “mousing” dogs tear up the ground to a depth of up to half a meter, and the bulbs end up completely different from where they were planted or on the surface of the ground. The broken order can be restored: plant the bulbs in Right place(there is a chance that they are not damaged by frost), bury the dug holes.
When the soil on the site dries out, you can begin to loosen it. In those places where there are no seedlings on the soil surface for some reason, loosening is postponed so as not to damage the plants. The best option– combine loosening and root dressings mineral fertilizers. The first two feedings are carried out during the period of regrowth and during budding with nitrogen-containing fertilizer, the third feeding - during flowering, with a complex fertilizer. If possible, after applying fertilizers, water the soil, or alternate root and foliar feeding.
Watering not only helps nutrients from the composition of mineral fertilizers penetrate into the root system zone, but also significantly affect the appearance of plants (the height of the peduncle, the size and brightness of the flower) and somewhat prolong flowering. In this case, watering should not be with strong pressure, so as not to break the plants and erode the soil. Surface watering is ineffective; it is necessary that the soil is soaked evenly to the depth of the root system. A sprinkler is best suited for this purpose.
Unfortunately, in the spring, not only the plants we want and need grow and bloom, but also unplanned weeds. It is better to remove them immediately when they appear, while they have not yet gained strength. A more advantageous option is if the daffodils are planted on the lawn or the soil around the plantings is decorated with a covering (pebbles, bark, colored sawdust). In this case, weeds do not appear or appear in single quantities and are easy to control.
During the flowering period, our main task is to admire beautiful flowers in our flower beds. But if the purpose of growing daffodils is to preserve the purity of the variety, it is necessary to remove impurities of other varieties (dig it up along with the bulb). An impurity can get into the variety both during planting and during pre-sale preparation (if you buy planting material secondhand or from unknown companies).
When growing daffodils for a bouquet, cutting is done in the budding phase (the bud has already colored, but the flower has not yet bloomed). If you purposefully grow daffodils to obtain planting material or bulbs for forcing, the blooming flowers must be removed. In flower beds, ugly dried buds are cut off (sometimes with part of the peduncle) to preserve decorative look plantings, and the leaves remain green for about a month and do not spoil the impression of the flowerbed, mixborder or edging.
