When to dig up daffodils and how to store until planting

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-18 00:05

The onset of the optimal time when you need to dig up daffodils depends on several factors. Despite the seeming simplicity of the question, there are different opinions on this matter.

Reasons for transplanting bulbous plants

Inexperienced growers describe daffodils as an undemanding plant that is not particularly difficult to grow. This is relatively true, but each flower has its own botanical characteristics and care requirements.

If you follow the prescribed subtleties, the beautiful flower will not die, and will continue to grow.

If you ignore the timely transplantation, instead of the expected abundant flowering, with large cups and high peduncles, you can get small flowers, often with deformed stems.

The peculiarities of care are also dictated by climatic conditions - in the South there is no need to dig up the bulbs every year. According to the observations of gardeners, they grow unhindered for up to 5 years in the same place, they regularly sprout and bloom beautifully.

Experienced flower growers are sure that it is necessary to dig up the bulbs if the flowering clearly shows signs of incipient degeneration - then there is an urgent need to obtain refined planting material. When planted, it will acquire its original aesthetic appearance, provided that it is preserved according to the required rules.

In the northern regions, it is necessary to decide when to dig up daffodils every year: in cold winters with severe frosts, the bulb will certainly die in the frozen soil. Therefore, it makes no sense to leave it in the soil for the same purposes that are achieved in warm regions - the bulb will not collect components valuable for growth from the soil and will not form buds. It will simply freeze in the frozen soil.

You need to focus on different signs: in the South - if the plants have grown strongly, show clear evidence of the degeneration of the variety, or they simply want to transplant them to another place in order to free up area for new plants.

In the northern regions, they must certainly be removed from the soil for the winter, so that in the spring you will not find lifeless black bald spots in the places of the once lush plantings.

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Experienced lovers of flowering plants are sure that the time when to dig up daffodils is mainly determined by 2 parameters. It depends on both climatic features and the lunar calendar.

distribution of favorable days in 2021

You can focus on three parameters, which are shown in the table:

Month	Auspicious days	Unfavorable days for digging	Lunar Phase	Zodiac signs
June	8, 12, 13, 19-22	1-5, 7, 8, 12-16, 21-30	waning moon	Sagittarius, Aquarius, Taurus, Gemini and Leo
July	10-12, 16-18,	1-4, 14-16, 21-24	Waning moon	Sagittarius, Aquarius, Taurus, Gemini and Leo
August	6, 15, 19, 23-25	1-8, 13-15, 23-27	Waning moon	Sagittarius, Aquarius, Taurus, Gemini and Leo

Do not dig up daffodils immediately after flowering. Only after the plant has acquired the required appearance - the peduncles are removed, and the tips of the leaves have turned yellow, there comes a favorable time to remove the bulbs from the soil.

Having consulted the given table and the lunar calendar, which indicates the passage of the moon through the zodiacal constellation, you can choose a suitable date.

It is also necessary to choose the right time for transplanting daffodils, taking into account local climatic conditions: it is no coincidence that the table lists three summer months, since in different regions the excavation period falls on a variable time:

• in the southern regions of the country, if a decision is made to transplant, propagate or refine the bulbous plant, it is enough to wait for the last decade of June;
• in Central Russia, and in almost all of the Moscow region (except for its most northern regions), you can dig in the 2-3 decade of July;
• in regions with a cool climate (in Altai, Siberia and the Urals), flower growers set aside for this purpose the first decade of the last month of summer.

If you cannot work in a flower garden due to a lack of time, or the indicated numbers do not coincide with the lunar phase and its stay in the zodiacal sectors, neutral days can be used for agricultural work.

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How to dig up daffodils and prepare for storage

Experts believe that immediately after the end of flowering, it is not worth digging up the bulbs, otherwise they will not gain the required amount of useful components. Therefore, obsolete peduncles are removed from the bushes, and they are left for a while, not forgetting to water abundantly.

In this case, the tubers will collect the required amount of valuable substances from the soil in order to begin to develop after a new planting in the soil.

The main sign of readiness is yellowing of the tips of the leaves. It inevitably occurs when the bulb is fully prepared for wintering. After that:

1. They choose a sunny day from those favorable for the process and begin to harvest the planting material.
2. The best way, with minimal invasions, is a garden pitchfork. Their teeth are brought under the bush and taken out along with the earthy clod.
3. After that, they carefully sort out the soil, taking out the bulbs.
4. They are shaken off from the soil, trying not to damage the roots, and then carefully laid out to dry directly in the open air, but not in direct sun.
5. If there is no other place, cover the sowing material with rags or cut grass. Precipitation is also not desirable - wet bulbs can begin to rot indoors.

Having determined the degree of readiness for storage - the earth is removed, the top layer has dried up and acquired a lighter shade, they begin to sort the resulting seed. Daffodil bulbs are selected by size, if there is a baby on the tuber, it is carefully separated, the damaged and rotten ones are thrown away - there will be no sense in them in the spring.

Do not leave for storage damaged by pests and diseases. Some growers are trying to revive even hopeless ones, especially if they belong to a rare variety. But such attempts are deliberately unsuccessful in sowing, and can damage all other workpieces.

Where to store daffodils

For this purpose, you can use special boxes with a mesh bottom, shallow vegetable boxes with a distance between the slats, or cardboard boxes perforated in several places. This precaution is to ensure air circulation.

Experts are sure that important biochemical processes take place in the bulbs even in winter, which require gas molecules from the air.

In addition, a tightly sealed container promotes the reproduction of putrefactive bacteria, while the correct exchange of air masses will ensure the necessary safety of the bulbs.

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The most suitable place is a warm, dry basement or pantry, where the temperature should initially be at least 22 degrees. The duration of the start period is 15-20 days. Florists call it warming up. Then the temperature is lowered by 2 degrees, ensuring the room humidity is at least 80%. This does not mean that they can now be left unattended.

The precious rudiments of the future blooming lawn need to be moved from place to place and monitored - an onion fly can start in them, rot or pests appear, the presence of which has passed unnoticed.

The optimal break between such processes in regions with warm and temperate climates is 3-4 years. If the climate is harsh and there is a possibility of soil freezing, you need to do this annually.

Outcomes

Daffodils dig up in several situations:

1. With a strong growth of the flower garden or the need to transfer it to another area.
2. If you need to refine plants that have become smaller and deformed.
3. In a harsh climate, with severe frosts and deep freezing of the soil.
4. For selection of quality seed and its calibration before planting.