Anyone else here grow Rip Van Winkles? I first bought some 2 falls ago. When
they bloomed last spring they were just adorable, so i put a ton more in
last fall. Now I see that the flowers from last years bulbs are no longer as
cute as they were the first year... The first year the flowers were about 6
inches tall, bright yellow, and looked kind of like full little dandilion
blossoms. This year they are at least eight inches tall, scraggly looking
and more greenish than yellow.

Does anyone know if these daffies just fade over time, or is there anything
I can do to get them to bloom better next year?

Thanks as always!
Shelly

In article , "Shelly"
wrote:

Anyone else here grow Rip Van Winkles? I first bought some 2 falls ago. When
they bloomed last spring they were just adorable, so i put a ton more in
last fall. Now I see that the flowers from last years bulbs are no longer as
cute as they were the first year... The first year the flowers were about 6
inches tall, bright yellow, and looked kind of like full little dandilion
blossoms. This year they are at least eight inches tall, scraggly looking
and more greenish than yellow.

Does anyone know if these daffies just fade over time, or is there anything
I can do to get them to bloom better next year?

Thanks as always!
Shelly

I think they're SUPPOSED to naturalize; but mine also bloomed less well
the second year than the first year. All the bushes in that area got so
much bigger, so I assumed it was because the daffodils didn't get as much
sun for this season. I was considering lifting a lot of the bulbs to move
to a sunnier location. Or maybe a little post-bloom phosphorus feed will
help them for next year.

Another possibility: miniature daffodils don't naturalize properly if
their foliage is prematurely cut back after they're done blooming,
resulting in weaker flowering their second spring.

-paghat the ratgirl

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/

"paghat" wrote in message
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I think they're SUPPOSED to naturalize; but mine also bloomed less well
the second year than the first year. All the bushes in that area got so
much bigger, so I assumed it was because the daffodils didn't get as much
sun for this season.

Sorry to hear you had the same problem!

Mine still get the same amount of sun this year as they did last, so (here
at least) I am thinking that is not the issue. Also, I let the foliage die
back naturally last summer, so they should have done fine there, too.

I did not add any bulb fertilizer last year, so I will try that this time
around. I hope it helps, because they really were among my favorites last
spring!

The message
from "Shelly" contains these words:

Anyone else here grow Rip Van Winkles? I first bought some 2 falls ago. When
they bloomed last spring they were just adorable, so i put a ton more in
last fall. Now I see that the flowers from last years bulbs are no longer as
cute as they were the first year... The first year the flowers were about 6
inches tall, bright yellow, and looked kind of like full little dandilion
blossoms. This year they are at least eight inches tall, scraggly looking
and more greenish than yellow.

I had some for many years in the last garden, which didn't increase
well or ever make much of a show; though many other daffodils did very
well there. RVW might be one of those alpine daffodils which likes a dry
sunny baking in summer, which they certainly never got in our cool damp
summers (Scotland).

Janet.

"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message
...
The message

RVW might be one of those alpine daffodils which likes a dry
sunny baking in summer, which they certainly never got in our cool damp
summers (Scotland).

You know, and here in SE Wisconsin (north-central United States), last
summer was very hot, dry, and sunny and the winter was bitter cold and dry.
I had been wondering if the lack of water might not have had something to do
with it, but then yours and Paghat's, I'm sure, got plenty of water...