CULTURAL INSTRUCTIONS 
Daffodils are not difficult to grow, but like other flowers 
they respond to good cultural practices. Nearly any good 
well drained soil is suitable, and while there are somewhat 
divergent opinions among growers, it seems rather generally 
conceded that plenty of moisture during the growing season 
is more essential than feeding with fertilizers. A soil deficient 
in plant food will quite obviously not be ideal, and while a 
good quality bulb grown there may give a good account of 
itself the first year, its food reserves will be depleted and 
mediocre results may be anticipated in subsequent seasons. 
The ground should be deeply worked before planting, and 
when well pulverized the bulbs may be planted so that they 
are covered with three or four inches of soil. If commercial 
fertilizer is to be used, see that it does not come in direct 
contact with the bulb, and use a preparation with more phos- 
phorus and potash than nitrogen. Do not expect fertilizers to 
take the place of humus. and if available use compost in 
preference, or at least as a supplement, to chemical fertilizers. 
The soil should be well drained but with plenty of moisture 
available preceding the blooming period if the finest blooms 
are to be produced. Proper cultivation is beneficial but should 
consist of shallow stirring of the soil and removal of weeds; 
deep digging near the plant tends to destroy the long feeder 
roots which may come close to the surface. 
Daffodils should be dug and replanted every two or three 
years for best results. Digging may be done as soon as the 
foliage is mostly dead, usually in late June or early July, and 
bulbs may be cleaned and divided about a month later for re- 
planting in September or October. While out of the ground, 
they should be kept in a cool, dry place. 
While Daffodils do not take kindly to forcing, they are good 
subjects for pot culture provided they are potted early and 
given cool growing conditions. Fill pots with loam and sand 
mixed with peat moss or well decomposed leaves. The drain- 
age hole should be covered with small stones, broken crock- 
ery, or charcoal to insure perfect drainage. Pots may be buried 
in soil or peat moss and kept moist. This should be done in 
September, and after two or three months, the first pots may 
be taken up and kept inside in a cool dark place for two or 
three weeks, after which they may be given more light. From 
then on they may be given a slightly higher temperature, but 
most varieties resent forcing and if given much warmth, they 
may fail to bloom or become leggy and lacking in attractive- 
ness. Flowers to develop high quality should be opened 
FLOWER ARRANGEMENT, CAMPFIRE 
18 
slowly and kept cool after opening if it is desired to keep 
them very long. 
It is essential that potted bulbs be watched closely at all 
times and be kept from drying out, as much of the success of 
growing good Daffodils hinges on their having plenty of mois- 
ture during their growing season. And it is quite as important 
that the drainage is good. Some varieties do not take kindly 
to growing in pots but, on the other hand, it is doubtful if 
some kinds ever reach the perfection grown in the open that 
they attain when grown in pots and opened indoors in a cool 
room where they are unaffected by inclement weather. Some 
of the white Daffodils are particularly entrancing when grown 
thus. 
Nearly all flowers are afflicted by some pests and Daffodils 
are not an exception. Basal rot may damage bulbs in spots 
where drainage is poor or where diseased bulbs have been 
grown previously. In some areas, the Narcissus fly is destruc- 
tive. The adult fly emerges from the ground and lays eggs 
around the base of the stem or foliage. These hatch and the 
larvae burrow into the bulb. Naphthalene flakes sprinkled 
at the base of the foliage two or three times from blooming 
season to the time the foliage dies down, or spraying with 
5% DDT are suggested remedies. If any bulbs are found in- 
fected at digging time, they should be fumigated with cyano- 
gas, or if but a few bulbs are involved, the fly larvae removed 
and the bulb dusted with sulphur. 
CUT FLOWERS 
As cut flowers, Daffodils are especially desirable both from 
the artistic standpoint and for the fact that they come early 
in the season when they can help banish the drabness left by 
receding winter days. It should be remembered that they are 
cool weather flowers and if they are cut and taken into a 
warm room they will last only a few days while in a cool 
situation they may hold up two weeks. When the weather is 
favorable, they not infrequently last three or four weeks on 
the plant. They lend themselves admirably to various types 
of arrangements in vases and bowls. 
HYBRIDIZING 
Most fanciers who are really bitten by the Daffodil “bug” 
cannot refrain from trying their hands at the fascinating 
hobby of cross pollenating some of their favorites and growing 
them from seed. There is perhaps no more intriguing pursuit 
than that of the hybridist, and the Daffodil breeder takes 
second place to none in enthusiasm. Growing something new 
and original is the privilege of every devotee of this game, 
but since it is very time consuming in the matter of waiting 
for results, one should have good quality flowers to work on. 
The technique of crossing flowers is very simple, being merely 
a matter of picking one of the six pollen bearing anthers in 
the center of the crown or trumpet with a small forceps, and 
rubbing the pollen off on the stigma (in the center and sur- 
rounded by the six anthers) of another flower. The flower 
from which the pollen is taken should be one just freshly 
opened or one which has been cut so as to avoid contamination 
by insects. If the flower to which the pollen is applied has 
had its anthers removed on first opening and it has been 
opened only a day or two, it is not necessary to cover the 
blossom as there is little danger of foreign pollen having 
reached it. Each flower crossed should be tagged showing 
the varieties involved in the cross. Seed will ripen about six 
or eight weeks later and these may be sown about one inch 
deep in early fall. They reach floweriag s#e at from four 
to six years of age. While the first cro#ses try one’s patience, 
if one makes new crosses each year, there will be new seed- 
lings to watch each season after the first ones bloom. From 
then on, it is a matter of watching each seedling as it blooms 
and marking for further observation and propagation those 
that show promise. While thousands of Daffodils have been 
introduced, there is still much room for improvement in many 
lines. At present, many, if not most, breeders are working 
to get better pinks, but this is only one of many interesting 
lines to follow. 
