Last fall we planted over 250 mini daffodil bulbs along the sides of the garden path in hopes we’d have a spectacular display come spring. Planting bulbs and as well as digging up daffodils is a lot of work and it took Lucy and I a few hours to dig the trenches and fill them with bulbs.
Fast forward to when we were outside yesterday for a walk and noticed some of the other daffodil bulbs we had planted sprouting up in the yard, I decided to get out my garden trowel and do some digging along the garden path and investigate.
Lucy Started Digging Up Daffodils
At first I couldn’t find anything, there wasn’t a bulb in sight. I thought maybe the chippys might have snatched them all up.
But after digging up daffodils a few more feet down the row… we found a few bulbs. ROTTED!
All that hard work. Gone to mush. And I have no idea why. 🙁
All the other bulbs I planted in the yard {and even the garlic bulbs I planted 2 feet away from the garden path} are coming up just fine. I’m beginning to wonder if the drainage along the brick path is the problem.
Maybe the snow, or the rain collects there? But wouldn’t I have noticed that? Had there been puddles of sitting water I’m certain I would have noticed.
I have never had a batch of bulbs rot before. Do you have any ideas?
Has this ever happened to you?
I love the idea of lining the garden patch with perennial flowers, but now I may have to re-think the idea.
~Mavis
Mel says
Do you know if they were “certified disease-free”? Is that a thing with flower bulbs the way it is with garlic and potatoes? If they were, you might be able to get a refund. If they weren’t, that might be something to look for next year (if it’s available). I think wet weather or less than ideal drainage usually only causes problems if there were existing disease issues (assuming they aren’t just in standing water all winter), but I’m not sure about that. We’ve definitely lost whole batches of bulbs in areas that were well-draining.
Mel says
It looks like some of the Van Engelen mini varieties say they do better in the south or warmer areas, but they still list most of them as hardy in zones 5-9. Maybe you ended up with a cold-sensitive type?
Mavis Butterfield says
We hav mini’s that we planted from the same batch popping up by the road {which is slighly sloped} which makes me think it was more where I planted them. 🙁 Very frustrating.
Mel says
Hmm I was thinking the ones that came up were a different variety. So strange!
Terri Lindeke says
Did you plant them deep enough. You’re in a colder climate now, may be less forgiving if you don’t plant them deep enough.
Sandra says
Have you thought of digging your trench deeper and using a coarse sand or a light builders mix (that’s what it’s called in NZ) and put it a bit of soil in then your bulbs and lastly the remaining soil maybe worth it a try happy gardening
Wynne says
That’s what I’m thinking, too. If Mavis is right with the drainage hypothesis, this could be a fix. Though if the soil is clay, adding sand makes trouble. I’d probably put a pretty thick layer of lasagna garden stuff in the trench.
Toni Wood says
That’s heartbreaking never mind back breaking. Chippy’s and squirrels don’t normally bother daff burbs but they will sure eat the heck out of crocus and tulips.
Christie says
So strange. We have our front walk lined with daffodils and have never had a problem. I actually need to divide them this year. My motto with gardening is: you win some and you lose some but it’s always worth it in the end.
Jamie says
I would check with with where you bought them and also did they need to be deeper so not to freeze like that? They don’t look very deep in the first picture….. but I’m so sorry! Would’ve been lovely!
Ashley Bananas says
Did you use sand and salt on your walking path during the winter? The salt can kill off the bulbs. We planted near the roads edge once thinking it was a good sunlight position, but hardly anything grew. We lived in CT and thought that the sand and salt from plow trucks on roads were a contributing factor to the bulbs not doing well there.
Virginia says
I was thinking either salt used for winter ice and/or a piling up of snow adjacent to the walkway when snow was shoveled.
Mavis Butterfield says
Nope. We did not use salt on the path.
Virginia says
You might consider getting your soil tested via your local cooperative extension office. I wonder how living right next to a body of salt water affects your soil? Test results might reveal something that will give you a clue about the issue with your bulbs, but will also help you fine tune your soil for your veg garden as well. Now is a great time to test before planting season begins.
Lisa says
Too shady? Does it get that great afternoon sun?
Dianne says
I do not plant new bulbs until it is 65 at night and the ground is warm.
Carrie says
My first thought is fungus. Some bulbs come infected.
Daffodils don’t like to be wet; you could hill them up alongside the walkway to get them a little drier maybe.
Did they chill enough before you planted them? Garden.com might offer you some insights.
Claudia says
Could something be leaching off the bricks that poisoned them?
James Rancourt says
Mom and Gram always said not to plant anything that can’t be eaten or used for healing. Daffodils fall into a somewhat gray area. In certain cases they can be used to cure, and in others, they are deadly…
Daffodil is a plant. The bulb, leaf, and flower are used to make medicine. People use daffodil for the common cold, swelling (inflammation) of the main airways in the lung (bronchitis), wound healing, and joint pain, but there is no good scientific evidence to support these uses.
Daffodil contains chemicals that help reduce pain. Daffodil is also being studied for possible use in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.
Traditionally daffodils have been used to induce vomiting and as a poultice for burns and wounds. Unsupervised ingestion has proved fatal.
Medicinal Uses: Daffodils are highly toxic and should not be used medicinally. In fact, biting down on a stem can cause chills, dizziness, …
https://www.flyingthehedge.com/2018/03/herbarium-daffodil.html
So, with the above in mind, if you don’t know “exactly” how to use them, then you are wasting garden space.
Just saying. Do as thou wilt, girl, for I know you will. Huggs. 🙂
Candice says
I always plant daffodils in the areas where I have deer problems because they won’t eat them due to them being toxic.
Margaret M says
Bulb rot can be a fungus or bacterial infection. I think I’ve lost a few tulips to the same sort of problem this spring. Cold, wet conditions make it worse. I read that you should discard the bad bulbs and some of the surrounding soil, and plant your next batch of daffodils elsewhere. Better luck next season.
Gigi says
I planted about 50 tulip bulbs and a few others. All the ones in the ground are coming up. Those I put in planters, well only a few popped up. Past years, the pots (with drainage holes) did just fine. No clue. I would have expected the ground ones to have rotten since we have clay “soil”
Jamie says
Looking through your photos from last year I would wonder if the water from the pathway streamed off into the bulb area and collected in the trenches you dug. From your posts it seems that your husband has the mind of an engineer, so I am sure he made sure the path was level when it was built, but that can change a lot over the first year of use. My guess would be that the shifting path combined with the closeness of the sand to your bulb trenches resulted in a scenario where water would pass around the stones and through the sand and into the subground faster than it could be absorbed. This would result in the water spreading outwards across the plane of the sand and then collect in the trenches where the soil wasn’t as compact as it was in undisturbed regions of the garden. This collection would be at its greatest when a few inches of snow melted in one day or you had a strong downpour on a cool day, thus setting the perfect conditions for bulb rot. To fix this you might be able to dig a sacrificial trench close to the pathway that is a bit deeper than a new trench you might dig for the bulbs that would be a bit farther out.
Lace Faerie says
Did the bulbs come with any guarantee? Some companies will replace the bulbs if the don’t grow? My sister swears by Brecks, they have always might things right when she has had any problems. Costco purchased bulbs might have same guarantee?
Linda says
I remember seeing the pic you posted of planting those daffodils, and even said to my husband, gosh she planted sooo many bulbs sooo close together, I wonder if they will come up. I am not sure they had enough drainage between them to dry out and thus rotted? You should send that pic to the company you bought them from and they can tell you what the issue was, and perhaps replace those bulbs if crowding was not an issue for them. Good luck, such a disappointment for you.
Cindy Brick says
I would definitely try a letter to the company you got the daff bulbs from… it wouldn’t hurt. And they might reimburse you — or send more.
One letter, 30 min, often does the trick. Particularly since you are a VIB (Very Important Blogger).
Cindy Brick says
If it was Van Engelen, I’m betting you can get replacements — or your money back.
Ruth says
The fact 5hat you found them out in your yard and further down indicates that you have moles tunneling under the area where they were planted causing them to drop,
It would also explain them being moved out into your yard as they tunnel elsewhere
Janet says
Native perennials will not have a problem them. I always go native now.
Edna krosney says
In 1975 my mother-in-law gave me some bulbs to plant in are new home. They grew beautifully every year. Then when we built our new home in 2014 I dug up those bulbs and brought them with me and to this day they are still blooming. Should I move again I intend to dig up those same bulbs and take them wherever I go.