Non flowering Daffodils

[Marb67]

Well, I have never heard of daffodils that don't flower but of course it has to happen to me. These were lovely miniature ones I can't recall the name but absolutely no flowers and I can't understand why

[Jungle Jane]

Its daffodil blindness I’ve heard of this before where they don’t flower. Maybe the bulbs aren’t deep enough? The pot looks very small. Happens to many people Marb…

[Marb67]

Thats the first i've heard of it. Weird

[ameno]

How long have they been in that pot?
Daffodils (in fact most bulbs) will only flower properly in pots the first year you plant them. The pot holds too little water and has too little nutrient to allow the bulbs to produce next year's flowers.
Most potted bulbs should either be treated as annual, and thrown out after they are finished, or else should be planted in the ground somewhere as soon as they finish flowering (before they leaves start to die off).

[Nicos]

I sometimes get them coming up blind in the ground. Usually when it’s been a very dry late spring/early summer the previous year. Interesting what you say there ameno- it’s clearly the bulbs not fattening up for the following year.

If I buy bargain bulbs and plant them out in say February, they too will often come up blind as they’ve put their energy into roots and leaves. The following year they are always fine.

My mom used to have problems with hers coming up blind- but she chopped them down to 4” as soon as the last flower died so they couldn’t put energy back into the bulb for the following year. (The leaves are supposed to be left on for 6-8 weeks after flowering but mom loved a tidy garden)

Did you feed those last year after flowering marb?

[bramble]

I agree with Nicos. Always leave the foliage until it has totally died down.
I had this blind bulbs happen to me a few times when I cut them back too quick.

[Marb67]

I did plant some in my mum's grave a couple of years ago and they have also never flowered so nothing to do with them needing planting out.

[Plot70]

Those look "leggy" as if they have not been getting enough light.
I planted quite a few saved bulbs on the edge of my allotment early last year.
Most of the ones that did not flower now have several smaller groups of leaves.
To me it looks like the bulbs have divided so that they will later form a clump.
It may well be down to hot weather starting before they went dormant.
I also planted several saved hyacinths and the biggest one is looking better than anything I have seen in the shops. None are less than the ones in the shops. They are much better in the ground.

[ameno]

I did plant some in my mum's grave a couple of years ago and they have also never flowered so nothing to do with them needing planting out.

That doesn't really mean anything. There can be multiple reasons daffodils can fail to produce flowers. For ones in pots, the most common reason by far is failure to initiate flower buds the previous year due to lack of water or nutrients last year.
For the ones by your mother's grave, it's probably something different, like not being planted deep enough.
The reason planting deep enough is important, by the way, is to prevent the bulbs drying out and to avoid competition from plants above by planting beneath the bulk of their roots.

Last year's hot, dry weather really wouldn't have helped either, of course.
Basically, with all bulbs the key thing to remember is that they produce their flower buds in the previous year, then they lie dormant until spring. So the relevant factor for successful flowering is not the conditions during flowering time, but the conditions about 11 months previous.

[Marb67]

I will add that there were fed with blood fish and bone at the end of every season.

[ameno]

I will add that there were fed with blood fish and bone at the end of every season.

Given the weather last year, lack of water is the more likely problem.
That said, feeding at the end of the season is too late. They need feeding during or immediately after flowering. Next year's flower is produced in the month or so immediately following this year's flowering, and then it just lies dormant within the bulb for the rest of the year. Feeding at the end of the season won't help because by then the bulb has already stopped growing, and the flower is already either produced or not produced.

[Marb67]

Aaaand again they are coming up blind. Plenty of water as it's been so wet.

[Andraste]

Hi Marb67,

Are they still in the same pot and/or in the same compost?

If it's the same pot the bulbs may have got congested - lift, divide, repot.

If it's the same compost - lift & replant in fresh compost. There's only so much goodness in there even with a BFB feed at the end of the season. Even in the ground daffs do best if you give them some fertiliser in spring then give a fortnightly tom. feed when the flowers start fading (until the leaves start to show signs of dying back).

Otherwise, do you deadhead after flowering? Leaving the little seedpods to form takes energy away from the bulb that impairs re-building for the following year.

The only other thing I can think of is checking the bulbs themselves for disease/grubs that might not be bad enough to stop the leaf growth but are doing enough damage to prevent flowering.

Edited to add: Have these bulbs ever flowered for you? Just asking as I realised I assumed they'd flowered at least once but then stopped in subsequent years. If they've never flowered then as Jungle Jane and ameno mentioned it could simply be that they're not down deep enough - you want a good 4 to 6 inches of soil on top, 8 if you can manage it. x

[Containergardener]

Would yours normally flower by now as mine never do?
If so and in same pot as last yr I would see what the bulbs are like first. Could you find a corner somewhere (not in a pot) to plant for next Yr? Otherwise for next year a deeper pot with bulb fibre, I shelter mine in pots as mine get too much rain and then freeze.
Also daffs can be fickle anyway and if feel congested often just give leaves (same in the ground).

[DannyK]

Some of mine in buckets are blind.
Per the daffodil society--"After flowering keep bulbs watered and feed once a week with a high potash fertilizer until the leaves die back."
Luckily I have a load of Tomorite.