Hi wynswrld98, I certainly do not agree with what was said and I have never had frost heave on any bulbs. I have however had frost heave on numerous things (irises, small perennials, etc) planted too late in the season to get their roots established, thus anchored in the ground. The main reason why tulips do not reliably return and bloom the second season, is that they are not actually perennial tulips. There is a big difference in tulips and the Darwin Hybrids have been bred to be much more perennial, and thus will return for successive seasons. There could be numerous reasons why your daffs no longer bloom, but my guess is that they have multiplied, and the bulbs have grown smaller, because of dividing, and they just need dug and replanted with the proper spacing. Daffodils planted a little deeper than the suggested depth, will not multiple as quickly as those planted at the suggested depth. Likewise, daffodil bulbs planted more shallowly than suggested, will multiply in number more quickly than if they were planted at the suggested depth. If I were to plant daffs or tulips 12" deep here in my clay soil, chances are that they would never be able to have the strength to emerge and see the light of day, much less have enough energy to put forth a bloom. Below are some links to some suggested reading. Why Perennial Tulips are Better Daffodils Not Blooming? Sue...chemocurl

I suspect your problem gets worse every year because more and more water runs under the driveway as the angle increases. I assume that a reputable asphalt or concrete company would install a new drive with appropriate layers of gravel and sand to allow adequate drainage to minimize the problem. It may also be that there are large tree roots contributing, and those get larger every year. I know nothing formal about this subject. I'm just guessing based on a knowledge of physics and history of homeownership. Martha

Adam, I am in Canada (near Montreal). I have almost exactly the same situation as you. My house is a few inches above the ground on cinder blocks. I added a sun room about 8 years ago, and then added a deck. The sun room is 14' x 8'. The 14' end replaced the end wall of one room. The 8' wall has a sliding patio door in it. The heave in winter is so bad that the door has to be forced shut by February. By March it starts to drop, and it is now (in April) almost level. The 14' side of the deck is attached to the 8' side of the sun room (plus 6' of the rest of the house). The footings have been lifted and/or adjusted 2 or 3 times. The moron who put in the footings 8 years ago put 2 or 3 of them along the outside wall of the sun room, and sunk them 2.5 feet (says he hit water so had to stop). So I dug those up and went down 4 feet. This winter, the room heaved again (this is fairly normal). But for the first time, the deck heaved something awful. The deck has already been removed twice and rebuilt. We had the deck up on twice as many of those little blocks that hold a 4x4. They were on 16" patio stones, and those were on gravel. The middle of the deck heaved up. The end by the house was connected to the house, so the far end went up about 8" ... maybe a foot. We had heavy snow cover that kept the rest of the yard insulated, but I realized that by removing snow from the deck, and the deck itself, no snow underneath meant no insulation. When we removed the top a few weeks ago, I was shocked by how high the soil was. I was sure we had not built on soil that high. Yesterday, a good rain finished off the thaw, and the soil under where the deck was is now level with the rest of the property. I believe that the "mushroom" concrete pour (or the Bigfoot form they sell now that is cone-shaped, wider at the bottom), set into gravel, plenty deep is what I need to do. I am planning (and reading all these related topics) to remove the clay, bring in a LOT of gravel, put 3 new, deep, anchored footings, and run a drain (O-Ring drain pipe) out to where I have a gravel bed for other drains (runs 200 feet away from the house). So, since clay does not absorb water, the water just sits there, freezes, and heaves. So, getting rid of the clay seems important. Gravel, as stated here, allows the water to run deep and run away (in the drain pipe). I am on the top of a hill, so it is all downhill from here. Deeper footings, better water flow, improved soil, new drains. I have some lighter soil that I can put back instead of the clay (soil that absorbs and holds water). Maybe mix the two soils. I had not thought of compacting the soil in layers when it goes back down. I am guessing and I think that a lot of what we find in public forums is people trying to guess what to do. My backhoe buddy has a lot of experience with draining clay soils, and with foundation work, so I will take him everything I find and let him do what he does. So far, what I just described seems to be the thing to do.

Thanks Dinie. It's a very dry spot. However this is actually probably the most snow covered part of my yard, as all the snow from our driveway gets piled on it, plus the street plot throws I there too. It had about 5 feet for a month or so early this year! So I am not going to wish for more snow cover!!! And I should have added that the other plants were heaved as well... Even the dandelion crowns were an inch above the soil. It just seemed worse this year, in that bed. I don't see it in my back beds, whci doesn't get as much sun.... Maybe they just don't thaw as frequently due to less sun exposure.... Hmmm.