Daffodil Flower: Meaning & Growing Guide

Are you looking for a 10th wedding anniversary gift for your partner? Buy a Daffodil bouquet, the official 10th wedding anniversary flower.

Therefore, let us discover more facts about the Daffodil flower without further ado.

How Often does the Daffodil Flower?

The Daffodil flower plant is popularly used as a cut-flowers and an indoor plant for its intense beauty, easy maintenance, and quick growth.

The Daffodil blooms easily in the flowering season with little extra care and attention.

These bell-shaped flower blooms typically stay with us for six to eight weeks. Meanwhile, the flowering season lasts six weeks to six months.

The Daffodil flower is a perennial plant, meaning they return every year to bloom in spring.

Daffodil Flower Overview

Did you know the Daffodil flower is the national flower of Wales?

There are more than 30,000 varieties of the Daffodil flower, and it is still increasing with time. 

Moreover, daffodil flowers appear after the end of winter, representing rebirth and new beginnings.

Here is a brief overview of the Daffodil Flowers.

Although the Daffodil flower is flourishing in many households and gardens, few species of Daffodil are considered rarest.

Among those, ‘Maximus’ or ‘Trumpet Major,’ Narcissus pink charm, and Narcissus viridiflorus are rare.

In contrast, the yellow trumpet Daffodil is the most popular and common Daffodil flower.

The Daffodil seeds are black and tiny, located inside the pods of the Daffodil flower, making them angiosperms.

How do you Pollinate the Daffodil Flower?

The Daffodil flower is self-fertile as it contains both sexual reproductive organs.

Its male organs are at the stamens, and its female is at the center of the flower.

Generally, the Daffodils flowers go through different pollinations depending upon their environment. 

1. Natural Pollination

The Daffodils flower gets pollinated under natural circumstances via wind strokes and insects.

The pollens are above the Stigma; when a strong wind blows, they fall on the female reproductive part.

Moreover, Insects transfer the pollens to Stigma and may also introduce cross-pollination if different species are nearby.

2. Hand Pollination

Cross-pollination is pollination between flowers of different species causing the production of new species.

Hand pollination is one way of cross-pollination by humans to get a few seeds from each cross.

It is better to hand-pollinate the flower when the blooms are open in the morning.

Nowadays, cross-pollination of Daffodils is very popular for creating new exotic color combinations in flowers.

How to Get a Daffodil to Bloom?

Daffodil flowers beautify your garden with vivid colors and floral aroma.

However, there are a few requirements that you need to maintain for higher quality production of Daffodil flowers.

• Look for a sunny spot where your Daffodil will get at least 6 hours of sunlight daily to see it blooming.
• Provide fertilizers with higher phosphorus and potassium in the proper amounts, as excessive fertilizer may burn your plant.
• Make sure to thrive your Daffodil in a well-draining, low-nitrogen soil of pH between 6-7.
• Soggy soil causes your Daffodil to wilt, whereas too-dry soil causes no blooms, so consider mulching around the bulbs during early spring.
• Fertilize the soil bed with bone meal or granular slow-release fertilizer (5-10-12 or 10-10-20) during fall.
• In early spring, provide water-soluble 5-10-10 fertilizer as the final boost.
• Generally, an inch of water per week is sufficient for Daffodil to sustain its growth and blooms.
• Keep your Daffodil at a relative humidity of 60% and a temperature range between 50-60­ºF. 
• Moreover, the Daffodil flower bulb must be properly chilled for 11 to 13 weeks before blossoming.

Although grouping plants promotes better humidity, overcrowded Daffodils may cause poor or no bloom.

Common Reasons Why Your Daffodil is not Flowering

It’s disappointing when you don’t see the colorful blossoms of Daffodils even in the spring.

 Let us dive deeper into the reasons why they are not blooming.

• If you remove the foliage where nutrients are stored for blooming too soon after last year’s flowering, your daffodil may not bloom.
• Daffodils may not bloom if planted too late in the autumn or if they have small bulbs.
• Daffodils with less blooming after years of prolific blooming are signs of crowded bulbs that may need division.
• If you plant Daffodil bulbs in a too-shady area, they may not bloom.

How do you Make Daffodils Bloom in Vase?

The Daffodil flower lasts for a few weeks if you leave it untouched.

But this vibrant flower last longer in a vase flaunting its beauty when provided with proper care.

Here is a complete stepwise procedure to make Daffolids bloom in a vase.

• Find a Daffodil with a flower bud that has just started to show its color.
• Cut the daffodil at a 45° angle in the morning using sterilized scissors.
• Place the cutting in warm water along with a floral preservative. 
• Keep them in a cool dark location at 70°F for almost 12 hours or overnight with daily water replacement.
• Cut the bottom of the stem, maintaining a 45° angle a couple of times while in the vase.
• Usually, after a couple of days, you will be blessed with a bloom, and you need to replace the warm water with ice-cold water.
• Ice-cold water slows growth, letting your Daffodil flower live longer.

What to do with Daffodil Flower After Bloom?

Daffodil blossom is undoubtedly beautiful and blooms quickly when they are young and have fresh bulbs.

But the problem arises when you mess up with after-bloom care.

The main concern you should be aware of is Daffodil blindness which generally occurs in aging bulbs.

Here are a few guides you can follow after Daffodil bloom.

• Timely deadhead the flowers as soon as they start to fade.
• Do not prune off leaves until they turn completely brown or dead.
• Provide a bone meal to your plant to ensure enough phosphate nutrition for next year’s bloom.
• Remember to fertilize only the soil, not the foliage.
• Deadhead Daffodil blooms after they wilt or die. Old dead blooms should be removed to help the flowers bloom the following year.
• Deadheading flower ensures that the plant won’t further spend energy on seed production.
• You can leave the pruned-off flowers on the soil as compost and reduce watering after the flowers are dead.
• Add 2-3 inches of mulch and cover the bulbs to protect them in the off-season.
• Remove the leaves and leave the bulbs in the ground until they are ready to sprout new leaves.

After the flowers have faded, wait for 6 weeks after flowering to lift the bulbs until the leaves have turned yellow and wilted.

Dig a circle around the bulbs without damaging them to prevent diseases or rot.

After you have lifted the bulbs, gently shake off the extra soil, then clean them with a soft brush. 

Store the bulbs in an onion sack or an old nylon stocking in a cool, dry place until the next planting.

Uses of Daffodil Plant Flowers

Daffodils have been everyone’s favorite for their interesting symbolism and gorgeous blooms.

An interesting fact about Daffodils is gifting them as cut flowers in a bouquet signifies good luck to the receiver.

Although giving a single Daffodil flower means bad luck in the coming year.

Also, the Daffodil flower is a traditional medicine used to treat Alzheimer’s disease and Cancer, induce vomiting, and cure baldness.

Additionally, Narcissus tazetta, a Daffodil species, is used against various infections, Cancer, skin disorders, and cardiovascular diseases.

Health Considerations to Keep in Mind

Your incredible Daffodil may be highly toxic if you let your children and pets roam around this plant. 

The Flowers bulb is poisonous, containing a high Lycorine and other alkaloids.

Some critical symptoms under heavy ingestion of Daffodil are convulsions, low blood pressure, tremors, and cardiac arrhythmias.

If you are skeptical about your pet or children ingesting any part of Daffodil, regardless of the consumption, seek medical help immediately.

Call these numbers for medical help in case of Daffodil ingestion.

• Pet poison helpline – (855) 764-7661
• American Association of Poison Control Centers –  (800) 222-1222
• The Animal Poison Control Center of the ASPCA – (800)426-4435 

Always wear gloves and wash your hands after working with the Daffodil plant.