what to do with daffodil bulbs that are very sad!

The daffodils that I inherited with my garden have never flowered!
They don't have many leaves either and just sit there looking a bit sad!!

Most of them are along a wall that doesn't get alot of sun.

I've given the soil a dig-in of compost this year but should I lift the bulbs and put them elsewhere? and if so, when is the best time to lift / replant?

yours
Very novice gardener working on principles of trial and error!

 

I am not a bulb expert at all, but having been very brutal with some last year I was amazed at how resilient they are!

I personally think that if you have something in your garden which is in the wrong place you should move it without too much worry. After all, you don't want them where they are if they are not doing well and giving you the pleasure they should be.

Personally I like the idea of bulbs being somewhere that you can strim them down when they become really unsightly, or mow over them. I had a lot of bulbs in my flower beds and they made it impossible to prepare the beds for summer because you have to leave the foliage for a while after flowering to 'recharge' the bulb for next year.

A word of warning. Whatever you decide to do with them, WEAR GLOVES when you handle them. My son has been in hospital with a really nasty reaction to gallanthus bulbs, which are part of the Amaryllidaceae family, along with daffodils. They secrete a sappy stuff when damaged and it can cause a really nasty skin reaction. My mum had carried the giant snowdrops down on the bus, freshly dug from her garden, and they grabbed my son on his cheeks and kissed him when she arrived. Two weeks later he still has red spotty cheeks, although the initial reaction was swelling cheeks and ears, with a sunburned look and hives.

I dug up loads of daffodils the week before, and had no reaction at all, but I ALWAYS wear gloves in the garden and cover my arms, so there was no problem. So don't let it put you off moving them.

I have learned an awful lot about allergies over the last year, and just how dangerous they can be, since my son was diagnosed with a peanut allergy. I used to be very complacent about handling things, but now I stick to my gloves. It certainly makes worms easier to handle too!! So many plants in the garden are poisonous in some form or other, but only if you handle them roughly or are silly enough to ingest something.

Have fun re organising!

 

Hi Moonboots

Yes, I should move your bulbs somewhere a bit more open and sunny. Some rose fertiliser (don't show your daffs the label!) might encourage them to flower.

 

What about daffodils that come up blind in pots? Could they not have been deep enough either? If you dig up blind daffodils with the foilage still attached, do you have to replant them in a better place or deeper straight away - or can you leave it a while?

 

I would imagine as long as they are replanted in autumn that would be fine, after all that is when they need to be planted initially for spring flowering.