The only thing i would add is poet types (the flat white ones and the small cups) tend to like to be planted earlier like late August and enjoy soil that does not dry, out even in winter flooded areas. I move these when still green and plant right away.
Rimmer
--- On Sat, 6/26/10, Blee811@aol.com <Blee811@aol.com> wrote:
From: Blee811@aol.com <Blee811@aol.com>
Subject: Re: [pbs] Dormant bulbs
To: pbs@lists.ibiblio.org
Date: Saturday, June 26, 2010, 8:36 PM
In a message dated 6/26/2010 4:44:38 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
oldtulips@yahoo.com writes:
The Daffodil growers dig bulbs 6 weeks after blooming and immediately put
them in mesh bags and let sit in the sun for a few hrs. then store in cool
well ventilated area. It seems that if you try to replant them and water
in they will rot, as narcissus do not grow new roots until the cool soil of
the fall.
I suspect you are growing miniature narcissus , i dug my miniature
narcissus when the foliage was yellow to gone and re planted them in barely damp
mix in my frame under glass or a sheet of plywood with ventilation under
it. , but i do not think you need to wait that long, just let them dry out a
little- few hours in well ventilated area
I know there are some daffodil enthusiasts in this list, Bill Lee? please
chime in
Hi, Rimmer. Haven't seen you in a while. You ought to try to come down to
one of our Cincinnati daffodil shows. Do you ever make it to the Chicago
show?
Anyway, I would agree with Rimmer's assessment of daffodil bulbs. I have
several thousand drying in my barn right now, all in slotted side-and-bottom
binds for maximum ventilation. They will spend most of the summer there,
and then a crew will clean them up and bag them for our club's sales. These
were all dug over Memorial Day weekend in Michigan. Cool temps and
ventilation are the key factors I think.
The bulbs can be planted in the fall and will break dormancy and begin to
put down roots.
The only time I would plant daffodil bulbs in another season is when they
are discovered in another season (such as stuck in a corner of the
basement). I would plant these ASAP, although not in winter. A lot of daffodil bulbs
can probably survive a year out of the ground if nurtured some after
finally being planted. Of course this will not be true for the one you spent a
lot of money on.
I always tell people who ask what they should do with the bulbs they
discovered in their garage that daffodils live in the ground, not in the garage,
and the best chance they have for that old bulb is to plant it out. I
probably would not plant in the heat of mid-summer, although I might if I had a
cooler shady spot.
Bill Lee