March 13, 2026
Q:
At this time of year, I see thousands of daffodils flowering on roadsides, through grass, in borders, hedgerows, etc. Not one in my garden in spite of planting hundreds of bulbs over the years. Any bulbs I plant flower the first year and then are usually never seen again, mostly no leaves either. All have been so-called reliable varieties (tete-a-tete, jetfire, etc).
The picture shows a clump of rijnfelds early sensation narcissus. It’s at least 20 years old and, apart from its first year, never flowered. It’s in a mixed herbaceous border along with repeat flowering tulips, alliums, etc which are thriving.
The leaves show that they’re not overcrowded or diseased but at least there is evidence of bulbs.
Any ideas what’s going on?
A:
This is quite an unusual problem as it tends to be tulips which don’t reflower and daffodils which do! Assuming you haven’t got a particular pest attacking your narcissi and you haven’t planted them too deep (tops of the bulbs should be between 5 and 10 cm below the surface), the most likely problem seems to be summer drought, which would explain why the sun-loving tulips and alliums are happy and the daffs are not.
Daffodils and most other narcissi generally prefer a fairly moist soil and partial shade. Living where you do, you probably have pretty long dry periods in summer, and if you also have a light or well-drained soil, it may be that the narcissi do not receive enough moisture to allow them to form bulbs large enough to flower the following year.
You can try spot-watering certain clumps (if you mark them so you can find exactly the right place when the leaves have died down) regularly throughout the summer and see if this makes a difference – if so, you have your answer. We’d also suggest planting some bulbs in containers next year so that you can monitor how much water they get, and see how they do compared to those in the ground. If you think water is the issue, you can move your bulbs around as time allows into shadier and damper spots – assuming you have any! – or places where they can be more easily watered.
Finally, it might be worth reminding you that the leaves should be left to die down naturally after flowering time (but remove any seed heads which may form), and strictly they should not even be tied or bundled up, as this can inhibit the return of nutrients to the bulbs.
I hope this is of some help, and best of luck!
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