Thread: Blind Daffs :(
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Old 21-04-2006, 03:37 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
Jan
 
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Default Blind Daffs :(

Hi,

Sorry if this has been answered before, I'm a newbie lurker (this is my
1st post so hello all!)

What's the best thing to do when daffs fail to produce any flower? I
have a border full of bulbs, which have put on a wonderful display for
the last 20 years. They are in a slightly clay soil (though not too
claggy, and reasonably well draining) in a north west facing border, and
have been fed each year after flowering with fish blood and bone, and
the border mulched with garden compost and well rotted horse manure in
the autumn. I always leave it as late as possible to remove the leaves,
and until two years ago they've been great. The last 2 springs have
produced not a single flower.

I understand that this can happen when the bulbs are either too
congested or not deep enough. I dug up a clump to investigate, and found
lots of very small bulbs - mostly 1-1.5cm, none bigger than 2cm, and
quite a lot smaller than 1cm. Most of them had grown no more than 3
leaves. So I'm guessing congestion is the problem?

So what's the best thing to do? Do I leave them alone and hope that
they'll grow enough to flower next year, or dig them up and replant the
biggest ones, a bit more spaced out, or ditch the lot and start again in
the autumn with fresh stock?

TIA,

Jan