Daffodils, tulips, and other spring-blooming bulbs should be planted in the fall. Which of them will thrive in southern California and which will fail there? Here are the solutions and planting suggestions.
If you want to enjoy springtime beauty like these daffodils and scillas, you must plant your bulbs in the fall.
Those of us in southern California who live in the first days of September are aware that it is time to end summer vacation, get the kids ready for school, and return to the garden to begin the fall, winter, and spring gardening tasks. Fall bulb planting is at the top of that list.
Narcissus, trumpet daffodils, Dutch iris, possibly some species tulips, depending on where we live, and many small bulbs, including scilla, oxalis, ranunculus, anemone, and freesia, to name a few of the crucial ones, are among the bulbs that should be planted in the fall.
Daffodils can be grown in Southern California.
For the gardener, there is no instant gratification. Only the months that follow will allow us to enjoy what we plow, pull, or plant today. The gardener requires a lot of faith.
Consider bulbs as an example. The most lovely flowers bloom in the spring from an awkward brown glob. We plant and dream because we know they will arrive.
Daffodils are an example of a genuine bulb, but not all bulbs are. Some so-called bulbs are sold as corms, which are swollen stem bases; others are tubers; some are rhizomes, which are underground stems; and yet others are root fragments. But because they gather the vigor they require to bloom as a clan and store it in their deep machinery, they are treated like bulb plants and are not allowed to grow.
Additionally, bulbs are excellent for gardens that follow a Mediterranean or drought-tolerant style. We can thank the Dutch bulb industry for leading us to believe that bulbs desire lush environments. However, many bulbs come from regions with a Mediterranean climate, which features a dry summer followed by a wet but warm winter.
Anemone, iris, lily, daffodil, chionodoxa, tulip, hyacinth, cyclamen, and crocus are examples of bulbs and plants that resemble bulbs native to the Mediterranean and Middle East. Agapanthus, amaryllis, crinum, crocosmia, freesia, gladiolus, and ixia are examples of bulbs and plants that resemble bulbs native to South Africa.
While bulbs are still fresh, purchase them. Late bulb purchasers will encounter mushy, mildewed bulbs that seldom produce much in the spring, especially at big-box stores.
The largest, firmest, and freshest bulbs in the bin should be purchased. Find out if the bulbs you select need to be cold treated, which entails keeping them in your refrigerator’s vegetable section for six weeks. Some bulbs are offered for sale prepped, while others are not or don’t require it.
Better is more. My six tulips appear frail. Select about 50 gentle, yellow daffodils for maximum impact.
Late summer and early fall are too hot to plant in Southern California. Freesia, allium, ranunculus, crocus, and daffodils should be purchased in September, but they should be kept dry and dark until November.
Hyacinths and tulips require four to six weeks of chilling in your refrigerator’s vegetable drawer. Calculate, cool, and plant them before December.
Bulbs shouldn’t be kept in the same drawer as ripening fruit. Fruit gasses can make bulbs sprout.
The requirements vary slightly depending on the type. Find out the planting depth for each type of bulb before you buy it.
How far in advance can bulbs be planted in Southern California?
The planting zones in California actually span from 5a to 10b, however we’ll divide the state into Northern California and Southern California. Northern California has its first fall frost around the end of November. Southern California can occasionally experience frosty conditions. If you are unable to identify a frost period, pay attention to your local weather and record when it begins to get cooler. Take advantage of your soil thermometer in this situation!
In all of California, chill your tulip bulbs before planting. The cooler soil temperatures in this region can be adapted to by chilling bulbs in the refrigerator. Before planting, bulbs should be chilled in the refrigerator for four to six weeks.
In Northern California, you should ideally plant tulip bulbs between the months of September and December.
Plant bulbs in Southern California between the middle of December and the first few weeks of January.
What month should daffodils be planted?
Daffodil bulbs should be planted in pots in the spring before they bloom in early autumn, ideally in September.
‘Forced’ bulbs, like the fragrant paper-white daffodil (Narcissus papyraceus), can also be planted indoors in September for Christmas or New Year’s Day blooming. See our article on planting bulbs for the holiday season.
How to plant
Planting bulbs is quick and simple. Just make sure you install them three times the height of the bulb below the surface of the ground. This will make sure they continue to bloom healthily for many years.
For the most impact, plant the bulbs more densely and less deeply for creating temporary spring displays in pots. But after the show is over, plant the bulbs deeper when you transplant them into the garden.
How are daffodil bulbs planted in California?
(1) View the numerous varieties of daffodils available by attending the Northern California Daffodil Society’s daffodil exhibits in March. Visit the exhibit gardens at Ironstone Vineyard in Murphys during March as well. Nothing compares to viewing the many blossoms. Choose the hues and shapes that you like the most.
(2) Request growers’ catalogs in late March or early April by writing, calling, or emailing them. In April or May, place your bulb order and make payment. The bulbs will be delivered to you by growers in September. Up until planting time, place them in a cool, airy location. when the soil temperature has lowered and nighttime temperatures have cooled.
(3) If you reside in a climate with warm summers and mild winters, you should place your new bulbs in the refrigerator for a few weeks after purchase in order to provide them with some of the winter chill they would otherwise lack. This will facilitate their climatic adjustment. In the middle to end of November, plant bulbs.
(4) Pick a sunny, well-drained location. Raised beds and hillsides work well. The secret is DRAINAGE. Dig your spade at least 12 inches deep. Raising the bed and adding well-rotted compost, soil amendment, or planting mix will help your clay. If your soil is alkaline, you might add sulfur to it since slightly acidic soil is ideal.
(5) Place your standard-sized daffodil bulb six to eight inches underground. Plant tiny bulbs 2 inches deep. It’s not necessary to be exact; they will adjust. In sandy soil, plant bulbs deeper than in clay. The bulb’s pointed end is at its top.
(6) Work some low-nitrogen fertilizer into the soil if they are to be left in place for several years. Top-dress your plants with a 5-10-10 sprinkle after planting. When the leaf-tips appear, top-dress once again with 5-10-10. Top-dress with 0-10-10 or 0-0-50 as they bloom. Avoid using fertilizer with a high nitrogen content.
(7) If you plant your bulbs before the start of the rainy season, don’t water them right away. Hold off until it rains, or at least until the time when it should rain. When bulbs sense dampness, they send out roots, which makes them more prone to fungus infection. Waiting is necessary because the basal-rot fungus, which is native to soil, goes dormant at cool soil temperatures.
(8) Daffodils require a lot of water to grow. After the blooming period, keep watering for about three weeks, then stop. After blooming, the bulbs create their bloom for the following year. (Your bulb’s first-year bloom is mostly the result of the bulb’s previous grower.)
(9) If your place is DRY in the summer, you can leave the daffodils up. You must excavate them if you plan to water them or grow other things there. MOISTURE + WARMTH = BULB ROT. The majority of tazetta plants for naturalizing will withstand summer water.
(10) Don’t trim the foliage until it turns yellow (usually late May or June). The time to dig the bulbs is then. The bulbs should be carefully cleaned and totally dried (at least a week, out of the sun). In the coolest location you can find, hang them in onion sacks (or pantyhose) until November. Rot in storage is minimized by good air circulation.
(11)At our October raffle party, join the NCDS to receive affordable, high-quality bulbs. Additionally, enjoy interacting with another group of gardeners. Bring your prize blossoms to one of our events the following spring to demonstrate your flower-growing prowess.
DAFFODILS & NARCISSUS PLANTING GUIDE
Daffodils and narcissus are the epitome of “spring is coming.” When only a week ago there was only lifeless grass and various winter debris, they suddenly seem to appear all around you. They are sure to delight anyone who sees them with their lovely yellow petals, lengthy cups, and star-shaped blooms.
As an added bonus, daffodils and narcissus are excellent natural rodent deterrents.
Garden & Container Planting
Daffodils, like all flower bulbs, require a cold time to establish their roots and prepare for spring. So it’s time to start planting as soon as the first chill of fall appears in the air. The soil won’t get cold enough for the root-developing process to occur if you reside in hardiness zone 9 or higher, but you might think about forcing
Although flower bulbs are hardy and simple to grow, they detest getting their feet wet since they can quickly decay if left to “bathe” in water. Therefore, avoid at all costs moist soil. this refers to locations where puddles are still visible 5–6 hours after a downpour. You can also improve possibly wet soil by incorporating organic material like peat, bark, or manure. The same motto applies when planting bulbs in containers: drainage, drainage, and more drainage. Purchase a container that has at least a few drainage holes at the bottom.
Daffodils require the sun to flourish, but even though they enjoy spending the entire day in its splendor, they may thrive in areas with dappled shade or sporadic sunlight.
Daffodils must be planted deeply enough so that temperature swings above ground—either too warm or too cold—won’t impact them. Because containers can’t protect bulbs as well as mother earth can, it may be preferable to let your containers spend the winter indoors in a cool, dark, well-ventilated area where the temperature won’t rise above 60 degrees Fahrenheit, such as an unheated basement or garage, if you live in one of the hardiness zones 3 to 7.
The bulb is placed at the bottom of the hole with its sharp end facing up, and a hole three times as deep as the bulb’s height is dug to determine the optimal depth. Planting daffodils 4-5 apart is recommended since they develop less well when competing for nutrients with other bulbs.
After planting, it’s crucial to give the bulbs plenty of water to help them settle and develop roots rapidly, but after that, you won’t need to water them again. All that’s left to do is wait patiently for spring to come and surprise you with the fruits of your labor and for winter to work its magic underground.
Daffodils don’t typically need watering during the flowering season, but you can water them if there hasn’t been any rain for three to five days.
Don’t immediately remove the foliage from daffodils after the blooming is over; through photosynthesis, the leaves will produce the nutrients the bulb needs for its subsequent growing season. The leaves will naturally turn yellow and die back after a few weeks, at which point you can remove it. The bulb will now enter dormancy and won’t require watering again until the following spring.
How to plant daffodils in your garden:
- Wait till the soil is 60°F or colder before planting. This will happen around September or October in the North and October or November in the South.
- Choose a location in your garden that receives full sun or some shade, has well-draining soil, and both.
- The daffodil bulbs should be planted with their pointed ends facing up, 3-6 inches deep, and 4-5 inches apart.
- once, and then wait until spring.
- Don’t remove the foliage off daffodils after they have bloomed. Remove it once it has entirely withered and become yellow.
How to plant daffodils in pots or containers:
- Wait until the soil temperature is at least 60 degrees Fahrenheit and the weather is chilly. This will happen around September or October in the North and October or November in the South.
- Choose a location in your garden that receives both full sun and some shade.
- Find a container with good drainage, fill it with loose soil, and make sure that water won’t collect and pool at the bottom.
- The daffodil bulbs should be inserted into the soil with their pointed ends facing up, about 4-6 deep and 3–4 apart. You can try putting the bulbs closer together since containers frequently have a small amount of room, but make sure they never touch.
- If you reside in hardiness zones 3–7, you can water well once and wait until spring, or you can bring the containers inside and let them spend the winter in a cool place like an unheated garage or basement.
Special Variety
Daffodils and narcissus offer a gorgeous variant called paperwhites that doesn’t require any cooling period at all, making it great for indoor flowering or warmer regions if you simply can’t wait for spring or live in hardiness zones 8–10.
For growing inside:
Plant the paperwhite bulbs in a pot with good drainage, leaving 1 of the bulb’s tips above the soil. To prevent them from becoming floppy as they grow bigger, place the bulbs extremely closely together. After planting, put the pot in a warm, well-lit area. To ensure that the plants grow straight, be careful to turn the pot every day. You’ll have a stunning pot of delicate white blooms with a wonderful scent after three to six weeks. Paperwhite Inbal is just as lovely without the scent if you choose not to have strong fragrances indoors.
You can also put the items in a (glass) vase as opposed to a container with dirt. The bulbs should be arranged tightly together on top of the gravel or pebbles, pointed points facing upward. Place the vase in a well-lit but not overly warm location and fill it with water until it just touches the base of the bulbs. Don’t forget to top off the water as it evaporates.
Zones 8–10 for outdoor growing:
Anytime during the winter, locate a sunny area with well-draining soil and plant the paperwhite bulbs pointed ends up, 3 times deeper than they are high. It’s a good idea to plant them in bunches of 7–10 for the greatest impact. After planting, give them plenty of water, and then wait until spring, when fragile, fragrant clusters will emerge from the earth.