John McGaw said:
Pete C wrote:
David E. Ross wrote:
On 4/20/2008 4:45 PM, Charlie wrote:
On Sun, 20 Apr 2008 16:09:09 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:
I'm no gardener but have had the unfortunate task of tending my
father's grave. I planted some daff bulbs last autumn and had a
beautiful display but the flowers are now dying off. I shall soon be
re-planting with summer plants. Should I save the daff bulbs for
next year, or shoud they be discarded and buy new ones again in the
autumn?
Just leave 'em be. They will be back, year after year.
I'm sorry for your loss, whenever it was.
Care
Charlie
Daffodills are quite hardy. They will survive most winters, even with
snow and freezing weather. Just plant summer annuals over them
without digging them up.
The one problem you might have is if the cemetary maintenance crew
mows over your father's grave. Cutting the daffodill foliage before
it turns yellow and dies will weaken the bulbs. If this happens, you
might as well dig up the bulbs and trash them.
I thought you could dig them up, with tops, store in a paper bag in the dark
until tops die off, and replant next year? Or am I getting confused? 
Probably you are confused.
No, that would be you. =) They will do fine, and even thrive, when done as
Pete C questioned. We dug up thousands last spring, after they finished
blooming. Laid them all out under an overhang to finish yellowing/drying,
cut the foilage off, and stored them in bulb crates under a bench at work.
I brought home several hundred last fall, and /every one/ of them is still
in full bloom (3 weeks now). The rest, re-planted at work, are also
thriving.
It is necessary for the plants to remain in a
normal growing state with roots and foliage intact so that they can support
bulb growth which is what makes the new plants and flowers the next Spring.
The roots, at that time, are playing a very minor role. The food is all
being sent back down to the bulb for storage. It's being made in the
leaves, not the roots.
As soon as the plant has finished this process the foliage dies back and
all that remains is the bulb (or bulbs) under the ground. Typically one can
plant annuals around the remaining daffodil foliage to make it less obvious
but even if the bulb is to be dug and re-planted in the Autumn it is
necessary for the plant to go through its "recharging" routine to produce
healthy bulbs. I normally clip the spent flower stem right after the flower
fades to make the plants look less ragged but I would never remove any
undiseased leaves.
And, they wouldn't be removed if dug up, intact. They'll still produce
food, and you don't have the ragged, yellowed foilage in the bed.
Yup, you can plant around them. You can also dig them up, just fine.
--
Eggs
Most books now say our sun is a star. But it still knows how to change back
into a sun in the daytime.