Before you dig them up: make some labels and leave yourself some 'notes for the future'. Which ones had lots of little flowers in a bunch on the top? They often have really big bulbs, are very slow to lose their leaves - and don't mind being planted in somewhat wetter soils than the others. Which ones came up first? Which ones look like the storybook daffodils? Or have different trumpets - maybe flared, or double? Where you can - keep them separate and use them for creating your 'spring pictures'. Tulips. Yes you can lift them, and keep them separate as to colour where you can. Leave yourself a reminder label. Some tulips form new bulbs in the same way as Narcissus and others form them way up at the tip of the old stem. If you have room in the garden to do so - plant any little tulip bulblets like a row of potatoes, with a clear label, and leave them to grow on safely underground for a year or two. Do this at the same time as you are doing the lifting of your bulbs. IMO the littles don't have enough mass to withstand a long time out of the ground without dehydrating. When autumn comes tip out your bulbs onto an area where you can sort through them. There will be some that have formed clumps with lots of 'noses'. Don't split them. If they fall apart, that's different. Just treat them as singles. Otherwise, plant as a bunch. Pick out the big plump ones for planting in prime places. If there aren't any, because they came from a crowded clump, it's ok. When you plant, give the smaller bulbs about three inches all around between them and the next one and they'll get bigger. Throw out any that are rubbery to the touch, or have been speared while being lifted, or look a bit corky in patches. Brownish and wrinkly. If you want to grow any on to bulk up or multiply because you love the colour/form - plant them like a crop in a part of the garden where rows belong (part of the vegie garden is usually good!). Pre-feed the land with good, old compost and a light sprinkle of fertilizer about a month before planting. You'll be grateful for the easy working and the bulbs respond well to the extra care.

I have grown nearly all of the Southern Living recommendations here in central MS over the years. They are not all surefire. Geranium is a good one, but it is late, and often the weather is hot by the time it blooms so the blooms don't last even a week. And the foliage is large and coarse. Takes forever to ripen. Hawera is excellent here. It multiplies steadily. It blooms late too, but earlier than Geranium. Its flowers and foliage are small and delicate. Beautiful, but not showy at a distance. Ice Follies is excellent. Of the large bloomed dafs I grow, it is definitely one of the best. It blooms early, so it lasts longer. The bloom color is a very pale yellow fading to white. Not the cheerful bright yellow of some, but still great. Jack Snipe is very good. It's a smaller blooom, but reliable even under tough conditions. Not a fast multiplier where I have it, but it has to compete with tree roots. It's charming. Jetfire has been a failure half a dozen times over the years. IF I get any blooms, they steadily decrease and die out over three or four years. Don't know why. Maybe it's my location. Maybe the bulbs were mis-named: not an unusual occurence. Minnow is sweet. It's like Geranium in every way except the blooms are really tiny. Same pros and same cons as Geranium. Saint Keverne is my favorite bright yellow, large flowering daffodil. It blooms in early mid season here, so the blooms last a good long time. It multiplies steadily. The blooms are exceptionally lovely too, in my opinion. Tete a tete is so strong it can get to be a nuisance. It multiplies prodigiously and blooms early. The blooms are small but such a bright yellow that they show from a distance. It is a short plant. Excellent for edging. You can't beat it. Thalia is my favorite white. Pure, clear white blooms. Reasonably small foliage. It persists, but its increase is slow. If you can put it in really good soil it will increase faster. It's only fault is its lateness in bloom. But if you want white flowers, you have to wait. They are all late. Trevithian is another beautiful yellow bloomer. the blooms are mid sized and blooom mid season. They have lovely form and substance. It multiplies. It is very nearly as good as St. Keverne. Carlton is very good. The flower form is not as pretty as others, but it does persist for years, and sometimes multiplies. Very large bloom. Very bright color. My favorite is not in the list and that is Campernelle.This is a jonquil. I have found that any daffodil that is in the class of jonquilla is a very good bet for the Deep South. Campernelle is often my very first bloom of the season and because it is so early the blooms last sometimes a month. It makes clumps very fast and although the blooms are small, they come in such profusion and are such a bright yellow that they are very showy. Avalanche or Seven Sisters gives the appearance of white, although it has yellow cups. It multiplies like mad, is early (it's technically a paperwhite) and long lasting. Its one fault is the coarseness of its foliage. Still, it is a dandy. Gigantic Star has been something of a disappointment to me. At the very least it is not multiplying much. And it may be decreasing. Still, I have had it for more than five years, so I suppose I got my money's worth. The blooms are big for sure. Otherwise, there's nothing outstanding about it. Honestly, if you can find someone who has a whole pasture or hedgerow of daffodils that have naturalized in your area. Beg some of those and take them home. They will be the VERY best ones you will likely find. Over the years, I have come to look for earliness in new ones I buy. The flowers last longer and are the most cherished. By the time the late ones come, other things are blooming and the late ripening foliage is a nuisance.

As mentioned, Brent and Becky's has a whole section in their catalogue of miniatures. Some are real gems. I want to try lots more, but the ones I have so far are: x odorus Linnaeus (Campernelli or Campernelle): my favorite daffodil. It is not a miniature, but is small and has fine foliage that goes away very gracefully. Highly fragrant and often my very first to bloom. Naturalizes easily here. Baby Moon bulbocodium conspicuus (Hoop Coat): deep green, fine foliage, big bloom for the size of the plant. VERY small plant. Naturalizes easily. Fairy Chimes (sort of similar to Hawera) Hawera: my second favorite Jumblie Minnow (white) Tete a tete (a good do-er. Naturalizes) You might want to check out "The Little Bulbs" by Elizabeth Lawrence. It's an old book, but has great information in it. I got mine through Amazon.

I've found Erlicheer to be hardy enough for z6 and maybe 5 but unfortunately like you've seen, it sprouts too early and can't take the ups and downs of a real winter. The growth dies back and then finally one winter a real cold snap will kill it all. A warm microclimate might actually hurt your chances. Keeping it in a cooler spot might hold it back.... but mine died out in the open garden so that's only a maybe suggestion. Another option might be that you dig the bulbs after the foliage dies back and store the bulbs somewhere warm and dry all summer. Either plant them real late in the fall just before things freeze or real early spring and it might work. ....or try a different one. I'd say Geranium or its double version Sir Winston Churchill, both are perfect here in z6 and very fragrant. Some jonquils such as hillstar or pipit are also fragrant, but they come up early as well and look terrible some springs when there's a midwinter thaw to get them going. another early growing, but later flowering jonquilla 'Kokopelli' with freeze damage on the leaf tips. geranium. One of my favorites, maybe it can be your new erlicheer even if it's not quite as fragrant.