When Do Daffodil Flowers Start Coming Up?

Growing Season

• Daffodil shoots first emerge in late winter or early spring, when the ground thaws and after daytime temperatures are reliably above 50 degrees Fahrenheit. The shoots may grow slowly at first, depending on temperatures, with freezes slowing growth and warm weather speeding it up. The flower buds usually fully form and begin to open within a month of the first shoots emerging. Flowering only lasts a few weeks, but the foliage remains alive for an additional six weeks after the daffodils are through blooming.

Cold Period

• The bulbs only sprout if they experience a 12 to 16 week long winter cold period with temperatures below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Bulbs planted in the ground in fall naturally experience this cold period, with the following spring warming of the soil forcing the daffodils to send up their first shoots. It's necessary to provide a cold treatment for the bulbs in mild climates where soil temperatures don't drop below 40 degrees for an extended period. You can store the bulbs in moist peat moss in a refrigerator or other appropriately cold location for 12 weeks and transplant the bulbs outdoors in late winter or early spring if your area doesn't have cold winters.

Spring Care

• Once the first shoots emerge the daffodils primarily need water to survive and flower. If your spring is dry, provide the bulbs with about 1 inch of irrigation weekly, or enough to moisten the soil to a 6-inch depth. Sprinkle a pound of a 10-10-10 fertilizer over every 50 square feet of bed when the shoots first emerge and water the fertilizer into the soil. Once the flowers fade, you can pinch them off. Cut back the foliage only after it dies back on its own if you want the bulbs to go dormant and bloom again the following year.

Forced Daffodils

• Forcing daffodils in pots allows you to enjoy the flowers at any time of year, especially in the dark days of winter. Potted daffodils send up shoots immediately after a 12- to 16-week cold treatment. You can pot the bulbs in any well-drained potting soil and store them in the refrigerator, or outdoors if your winter is cold enough, for 12 weeks. The young shots will green after you bring them indoors and provide temperatures between 50 and 60 degrees. Forced daffodils only require watering when the top 1 inch of soil in the pot begins to dry.