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.

The typical symptoms of cold damage are drooping, curled, shriveled, discolored or dry, brown foliage. Contorted growth of new leaves - the most tender and vunerable portion of the plant - would be extremely atypical! Those would most often appear shrivled or discolored, not contorted. And we've already determined based on location that cold damage is highly unlikely, however you believe it may be manifested. And I have no idea why you would assume that these plants were purchased as aphid infested. Aphid populations can come and go extremely rapidly, as is evidenced by the OP claiming to see no sign of them on his plants currently. The same thing can happen in a nursery setting (although they may also treat to control) but the distorted foliage will persist untll removed.

If you keep up with it, it will be gone in a couple of years. You'll always miss a few bits of rhizomes, but you'll get them later when they sprout.

Sprtphntc7a, no, I was talking about the 3 plants in the very back row. Never mentioned the others. I obviously forgot which place I planted the Black-eyed Susan and Shasta Daisy in, was thinking they were reversed for some reason. The clumps are still in the same place, although bigger, no bird involvement yet. The one in front of the drain thing is an annual, Zinnia, long dead.