Good quality purchased daffodil bulbs have a "built-in" flower. As do all "true bulbs". Almost no matter what you do, they should bloom.

If the bulbs weren't at their best when they were planted (somewhat dried out, a little soft, etc.), they may not bloom.

As for the second year, that's fairly easy to diagnose -- large bulbs take so much nutrients out of the soil in a pot the first year just to produce leaves that they don't get enough to develop another flower bud for the next year.

And although almost every dafoodil will grow here, most don't actually "naturalize" here well. Most will continue to produces leaves each consecutive year but the leaves will be fewer and fewer and the whole bulb will slowly and eventually fade away. I think there's a list of such cultivars in the FAQ's.

Miniature Narcissus do better -- because they require less and because most Narcissus species do naturalize here better than the big-flowered daffodils.

Joe

I planted some King Alfred Daffodils here 15 years ago. After a couple of years they stopped blooming, I believe because the area was too shaded. I moved them to a sunnier spot and they have multiplied and bloomed every year. After they go dormant I forget where they are and sometimes dig some up during the summer. One year I left a bunch at the base of a tree and the next spring they bloomed just like if I had planted them, but they were still just on top of the soil. A tough easy to grow plant that does well even in a clay soil. Al

I love daffodils and have them planted everywhere. I always put in bone meal when I plant them and fertilize my containers around November.
My early season ones are blooming now and the mid-season ones have buds, but nothing on the late season ones except foliage. Maybe you have a late season variety?

LOL! Al, I forget too and have massacred a few.

Thanks for your input ... I guess, I will have to remove them... Do not know what variety I have ;-)...

Most bulbs like daffodils and tulips either do better with, or absolutely need, winter cold. If you want them to rebloom, you need to dig them up, and put them in the fridge (not freezer!) for at least 6-8 weeks to get them to bloom in most of California. This also applies to ones you buy in the store. Not enough chill is one possible reason you never got flowers.

Carla in Sac

I think your daffs are getting sufficient "chill" since you indicate you're in zone 9. Mine are in the ground year-round in zone 9, full-to-part-sun, and bloom every year.

I suggest you try giving them some TLC this year: bulb fertilizer, ensure they are in full sun, and water them adequately during the growing season. When the leaves begins to turn brown and go dormant, leave them on the bulbs until they are dried up; this allows the bulbs to re-absorb the nutrients from the foliage. In the fall, re-pot your bulbs in fresh potting soil and plant them less densely (perhaps into two pots instead of all in one pot) and see if they do better for you next spring.

Do we in San Francisco need to dig up and cool daff bulbs to get more flowers each year?

I planted 400 bulbs last fall, my first daffs, and they're flowering now. The thought of digging them all up and trying to fit them in my fridge is giving me a cumulative attack of the willies!

I know Al (calistoga) from up that way does it with lots of tulip bulbs.

Aside from what he does, I'm not convinced refrigerating bulbs works for us in California.

Bulbs that are adapted to our climate (including many but not all daffodils and other Narcissus) develop their flower buds in the bulb before the onset of winter. The winter cold doesn't play a role in this process.

When we buy bulbs ("true bulbs" -- not corms, tubers, rhizomes, etc.), they come with the bud already developed.

The idea that we need to refrigerate bulbs -- whether we just buy them or whether we "dig them up" from our own gardens -- trickled down to us from the commercial greenhouse pot-forcing industry. They pot up bulbs and keep them in coolers all year for the bulbs to think that it's still winter. At any time of the year, they can take some of the pots out, water them and get them to bloom for whatever holiday is coming up. But the flower buds were already developed before they went into storage; otherwise, no flowers.

xanthoria: your daffodils may or may not return next year with a flower show. It depends on what cultivar you planted. If you planted a mix, some may flower, some may not.

Also, as noted, there are other factors that impact flowering: too much shade, not enough water at the appropriate time, gophers, and more.

I also don't think fertilizing plays a significant role in daffodil flowering. Our California soils have what they need. Easterners love bone meal (hence why so many books and magazines mention it), even though they don't realize it takes almost a year for the bone meal to break down to a form that the bulbs can use.

Joe

I am in the Santa Cruz area and have been planting daffodils and other bulbs for 31 years and never have dug them up, refrigerated them and replanted them. They seem to get enough winter chill where I am at. The daffodils have naturalized and have spread. I add more every year. I do nothing special, don't fertilize them or water them and they bloom.

Good to know Joe and aptosca - I'll just leave them alone and hope for the best!