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| DEGRADED DAFFODIL DISPLAY CAUSED BY LAWN MOWING |
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| DAFFODILS ARE NOT BLOOMING WHERE ICE AND SNOW LAID ALL WINTER |
Friday, 8:00 AM. 75 degrees at the ferry dock, 70 on the back porch. Wind WNW, with strng gusts. The sky is clear, the humidity a low 36%. The barometer is rising, now at 20.74". The winds will bring us warm temperatures today, then things will cool off considerable for the following week. It is indeed a gorgeous morning.
Now that our Bayfield daffodil display is at its height, we will pass along a few things that we have learned about naturalizing daffodils.
Daffodils, like tulips and other bulbs, bloom well and look fine in a well maintained garden border. Naturalizing a large daffodil display in a lawn or field situation is another matter entirely, and to be successful the bulbs need to be planted in decent soil, in full sun, and have adequate moisture. We plant the bulbs about 6" deep, and fertilize them with either bone meal or a low nitrogen organic fertilizer once a year in the fall. We use a cordless electric drill with a bulb auger, and plant bulbs about a foot apart. Planting good sized healthy, disease free bulbs is essential. For budget purposes, contracting to plant daffodils currently costs about a dollar a bulb in our area, but costs could improve with efficiency and lower bulb cost.
The biggest reason for the decline of a daffodil display is mowing the grass they are growing in before the leaves of the bulbs turn brown and dry off. I will no longer plant daffodils in church or business lawns, because there is too great a desire to mow the grass and be neat and tidy. A season or two of early mowing weakens the bulbs and spoils the display. Neatness and naturalized daffodils are a contardiction in terms.
Daffodils and other hardy bulbs appreciate good snow cover, but heavy ice and snow all winter long, such as near the edge of a road or an area where snow is piled and ice accumulates will smother the bulbs, which may survive but will not bloom.
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