FLIMBY: Planted now, daffodils will bring spring smiles

This is another installment in our Flowers in My Back Yard series, dedicated to blooming plants.

Daffodils pay dividends. With a little effort (not much more than digging a hole), these low-maintenance bulbs will bloom dependably year after year after year. In addition, most varieties keep multiplying, often doubling their blooms from one spring to the next.

I know. I originally planted dozens of daffodils, tucking them around my rose beds more than 20 years ago. Each spring, I now have hundreds (if not thousands) of blooms as the daffodils have multiplied many times over.

If for some reason they stop flowering, it’s usually because they ran out of room to keep adding to their bulbs. (The solution: Dig, divide and replant.)

They’re incredibly resilient, blooming during drought years as well as after deluges. In the foothills, they have an added plus: Deer and squirrels don’t like to eat daffodils. (In fact, they’re almost pest-free.)

And they easily “naturalize,” growing without human aid or extra irrigation. That’s made daffodils a welcoming sight along rural roads and suburban highways (such as Interstate 80 near UC Davis). Once planted, daffodils keep giving.

Daffodils also have proved they’ll sprout and bloom after wildfire, as witnessed in Paradise and other communities devastated by flames. They truly seem like little miracle plants.

That trait has made daffodils a symbol for support of cancer research worldwide. (The daffodil also is the national flower of Wales.)

Mediterranean natives

Native to meadows and woods in southern Europe and North Africa, daffodils are a natural for our Mediterranean climate, too. They love a dry summer (that’s when they go dormant) and need no summer irrigation. They’re happy with just-OK soil, as long as it has good drainage.

Daffodils rank among the oldest known cultivated flowers. The Greeks grew them. So did the Romans. (They loved daffodils’ sweet scent.)

Daffodils belong to the Narcissus genus with more than 40 species. Some varieties also are known as “jonquils,” especially those with all-yellow flowers and strong scent.

As with many bulbs, it was the Dutch in the 16th century that popularized daffodils as a cut flower. That started centuries of hybridization as well as spread daffodils around the globe. American colonists grew daffodils, too, because the flowers reminded them of home.

Now, there are more than 32,000 named daffodil varieties to choose from, ranging from miniatures barely 6 inches tall to classic trumpet varieties with 4- or 5-inch blooms on 2-foot stems. Those varieties are divided into 13 classifications depending on size and flower form.

The best known variety likely is ‘King Alfred’ – a large golden trumpet with outer petals to match. According to daffodil experts, ‘King Alfred’ was introduced in England in the late 1800s. But the ‘King Alfred’ we grow today is actually an improved hybrid; the original ‘King Alfred’ was phased out in the 1930s. Other classic yellow daffodils include ‘Dutch Master,’ ‘Golden Harvest’ and ‘Marieke.’

In my garden, I’m particularly fond of ‘Ice Follies.’ I have a huge drift in a usually shady spot under a Japanese maple. But it gets sun in early spring, the warmth triggering the bulbs to sprout. With the blooms lasting weeks, ‘Ice Follies’ start out with butter yellow cups surrounded by a white skirt of petals. As the flowers age, the cup and petals turn the same shade of cream.

Where to start?

Daffodils bloom early (February), mid-season (March) or late (April). To extend daffodil season, plant a few varieties from each group.