How Long Do Potted Daffodils Last?

Flowering Period

• Forced daffodils in pots bloom for two weeks or more. Providing the plants with bright but indirect sunlight and watering the soil when the top 1 inch begins to dry helps keep blooms longer. As each flower wilts, it drains energy from the remaining flowers as it tries to form a seed. Pinching off the dead flowers as soon as they begin to wilt increases the life of the remaining blooms.

Extending Flowering

• Although it's not possible to increase the bloom period in a pot, you can enjoy daffodils for months if you practice succession planting. Daffodil bulbs require a cold storage period at temperatures between 35 and 45 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 13 weeks. Planting multiple pots and removing them from cold storage at two-week intervals ensures a new pot is ready to bloom just as the flowers in the old container are beginning to fade.

Life Span

• Most potted daffodils only flower for one year because the bulb becomes too depleted for a second year of forcing in a pot. You can extend the life of the bulbs by several years by transplanting them outdoors. Help the bulbs store nutrients by cutting off the flowers as they die and allowing the foliage to die back naturally about six weeks later. Feeding the plants a water-soluble fertilizer, such as 1/2 teaspoon of 24-8-16 mixed into 1 gallon of water, weekly from flowering until foliage death replenishes the nutrients in the bulb.

Replanting

• You can replant the bulbs outdoors at any time after the last frost in spring. Plant the bulbs in a well-drained bed that receives six hours or more of sun daily after frost danger has passed. The formerly potted daffodils usually send up foliage the following spring, then regain enough energy to resume blooming in the second year after transplanting. Plant the bulbs with the tip 3 to 4 inches deep and space them about 6 inches apart in all directions.