I bought several narcissus plants. How are they planted? Do I cut back the foliage when planted?

All the narcissus are bloomed out and green. How shall they be planted? Do I use bonemeal with the plants. Shall I separate the plants -- there are three plants in each pot. Also, the little green nubbs behind the flowers, are those seeds? Are they to be cut also? I got a grea buy on them. So I bought a bunch.

I bought several narcissus plants. How are they planted? Do I cut back the foliage when planted?
Narcissus are bulbs, thus, they have no seeds. Don't separate the plants now. Just plant them as they are. A good mulch mixed in should be all you need. If you live in a cold area, you can leave the bulbs in the ground through the winter and they will bloom again next year and every year thereafter. Bulbs love and need cold weather. If you live in a warm area that doesn't get snow or at least temps slightly above freezing, then you will have to take out the bulbs every year and put them in the fridge and then replant them next spring. And then do this every year. You should separate bulbs every three or so years. You should only cut back the leaves well after the flowers die and the leaves begin to shrivel. Let them shrivel well first though. They're ready to be removed when you can actually just pull the leaves out of the ground.
Reply:Narcissus (Daffodils) should be planted 4-6 inches deep in a well drained rich soil in the semi shade to sunny position. Mine grow well under deciduous trees and I live in a warm temperate climate. Bonemeal is a good fertilizer for them and usually they are fertilized as the new leaves appear each season. Bulb foods are good also because they have some extra nutrients that bonemeal does not have. Narcissus are extremely hardy and I leave mine in the ground all year round (rotting off due to too much moisture would be your only problem in most places).





I wouldn't seperate them this year if they are one bulb, but if you have three seperate bulbs in each pot no problem. Narcissus do have seeds, thats how they get new varieties, your seeds my not come to anything though. Easier to get new plants by dividing the bulbs when they get too crowded.





It's rubbish to say they won't come to anything because they have been potted this year. You may find if they have been "pushed" to look great this year they may need to rest a bit next year, and won't look their best but they will soon bounce back with the right care over the years.





The trick to daffodils is to feed them when the leaves appear and remember the feeding this year produces the flowers for next year. Do not on any account remove the leaves to plant or for tidiness. The leaves feed the bulb for next year, let the plant die down naturally. When the bulb dies down don't over water.





I enjoy mine year after year even with drought, heat waves and moderate frost and little care. Hope this helps.
Reply:If you live in the south, there is no need to dig paperwhites up. They will naturalize and multiply. I live in zone 9b, they come up with no help every year.
Reply:In my experience in SoCal, Narcissus that were purchased potted and that have bloomed WILL NOT BLOOM AGAIN! I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news. And MAYBE it could be different for you. I have tried planting them in the ground after they have bloomed. The following year they put up spindly new leaves and never bloom. It seems like they use up all their energy just to bloom in the pot.





Now, if you purchased bulbs and planted them directly in the ground, they will come back every year. I don't know why. They do.





Good luck.
Reply:Just b/c a plant is a bulb does not mean that it doesn't also seed. For example, narcissus, amaryllis, sparaxis are a few bulbs that I know definitely make seeds. My neighbor and my aunt both had narcissus plants pop up in their yards (from the seeds probably spread by birds). And my narcissus (a gift from the neighbor) made it thru 11.5 ft of salt water sitting for 3 weeks b/c of the levee breaks after Katrina. They are very hardy! And I saved them before my house was torn down. They bloom, seed, then go dormant. If you want more energy put into the bulbs, cut the seeds off. And when the foliage fades, cut it back. Just remember where you planted it! You can use the bone meal as you would for any bulb. Plant them about 2 inches deep. But what zone you are in also matters. If it gets too cold, they could freeze. I am sure they are fine in 8 and 9, but below that I am not sure.

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