Some varieties multiply fast (like Ice Follies) and others are slower. I have heavy clay also but we don't have summer rain so I've never lost any to rot. Is your soil dryish during their domant period? Any sign of digging that someone may be helping themselves?

I have to laugh at your question if anyone has been digging some bulbs. I don't think so since it's facing the street. A few people have picked flowers and that's all. I realized that some bulbs are not showing up because of the empty spaces. There is something I have been doing in the last 2 years was sprinkling carbonitite in that area besides adding compost. I was told it was a very good addition in improving fertility but I wonder if it's good in all situations. The ground has moisture in the spring which daffodils need to bloom and in the summer it's dry. From information I've gathered daffodils don't need moisture after they finish flowering. I was hoping I can have that area flowering for a long time and daffodils multiplying over the years.

There are some varieties that naturalize well, and some that do not. The Ice Follies mentioned above is one of the best naturalizers (TOO good, in my opinion). When you look for a new variety, look for that word as a tip off, "Naturalizes well," or a similar term. Catalogs like Brent and Becky�s list that info. You do not have to buy it there, just write down the names of those that do.

In my garden (heavy clay soil, lots of tree roots in the bed where most of the daffodils are), doubles do not last for long, nor do split corona or butterfly types. My trees are also ash trees. It is as rooty as possible, yet some daffodils increase there very well. The problem is not your location, I believe, it is a question of which varieties will thrive there.

I have been growing King Alfred for over 20 years, all from an original purchase. Last year I dug out two five gallon pails of them to replant a bed with a different type plant. I was able to give a pail to one of my boys but did not get around to doing anything with the other pail. We had a flush of deer come through and ate every plant in the new bed. So I did nothing with the area while pricing the cost of an effective deer fence. The winter rains started and my other daffodils were coming up and I thought I better do something with bucket of daffs that were now sprouting, having spent months in the bucket, now full of water. So I ended up in the mud planting them right back where they were, separating them as I planted them. I had enough left over to plant all the empty clay pots I had, about six, the rest of the bulbs I threw out behind the shed. Every bulb I planted grew and flowered, even some of those on top of the ground behind the shed. The only time I have ever had daffodils that did not flower, was when they were in the shade after nearby trees grew too tall. Al

Try using some good bulb food, like Espoma Bulb Tone.