A TIME OF DIVISION
At long last, spring appears to be committing itself to this area. Even the cold nights are getting warmer and occasionally we see glimpses of sunlight during the day. The early daffodils have folded their tents and dropped their petals, beginning the long process of preparing for next season’s blooms. The mid-season daffodils will do the same thing shortly and the late-season bloomers are coming into their glory. All of this means two things–it is time to gaze appreciatively at the tulips and think about dividing the daffodils.
How do you know if your daffodils need dividing? If you have big, established clumps that have been around for more than three or four years, they are probably ripe for division. If those clumps have produced lots of blooms in years past, but have underwhelmed you this year, chances are you should help them out with timely action. Crowded daffodils also tend to produce flowers around the outside of the clump, but not in the middle.
Dividing is not hard, no matter what people say. All it takes is a good brain, a sharp spade, some compost and a little patience. A kneeler comes in handy as well.
After an overcrowded clump of daffodils finishes blooming for the season, dig gently but decisively around and under the entire clump and lift it out of the ground. If the leaves are still green, do not remove them, even if they seem to get in your way. The plants still need them.
Brush off the excess dirt and pull apart the clump into two, three or even four pieces. You should be able to do this with your fingers. Place one of the divisions back in the original hole, adding compost or other organic material as you do. Be sure to plant at the same depth as the original clump. Install the other divisions in other places.
I think it is impossible to run out of room for daffodils, but if you have found a way to do it, pot up the divisions and give them to friends. If you do not have friends who would appreciate such gifts, ask your local cooperative extension agent if he or she knows an organization or institution that might be able to use them. Churches, temples and other houses of worship often accept such donations to help beautify their grounds. Personally, I think if you don’t have a friend who would appreciate your divisions, you need a wider circle of friends.
While you are dividing, consider installing some ground covering plants around the new divisions. Ground covers help to mitigate daffodils’ major deficiency–ugly after-bloom foliage. For a time after the flowers disappear, the leaves are attractive and valuable for photosynthesis, converting and storing the sun’s energy to strengthen and renew the plants. As they age, though, they start to become brown and scrawny, spoiling the looks if the beds that were so glorious when the flowers were in bloom. Earlier generations of tidy gardeners used to cut off the foliage right after bloom or braid it into neat little bundles. Neither of these methods does the plants any good and most gardeners have abandoned them. Those of us with lots of daffodils would never have braided anyway. There is too much else to do in the spring garden.
There are scores of ground cover plants, but to hide the unsightly aftermath of daffodil glory, you really need something that grows six to eight inches tall with enough foliage to hide the remains of the early spring days. My favorite plant for this is big-root geranium or Geranium macrorrhizum. These plants, which are widely available through garden centers and mail-order vendors, have dark green palmate foliage and small, five-petaled pink flowers that bloom in late spring. They prefer full sun, but will bloom in light shade as well.
Happy big-root geranium plants will establish themselves quickly and grow into clumps within a year or two. Daffodils have no trouble growing up through the clumps and the leaves disappear into them once bloom time is over. The geraniums give extra value for the money by providing scented, deer resistant foliage that reddens nicely in the fall.
Another plant that can provide cover is the celandine or golden wood poppy, Stylophorum diphyllum. As you might expect from the name, the blossoms are poppy-like and bright yellow. The leaves are deeply dissected and resemble those of buttercups. Celandines can take more shade than big-root geraniums, which is especially handy if you are trying to cover up daffodil foliage under deciduous trees that are in the process of leafing out and shading growing areas.
Established celandines require absolutely no care. Though they only bloom once a season, the leaves are attractive and persistent. The main problem with celandines is that they spread vigorously. However, the young plants are easy to grub out or dig up to be transplanted to empty garden spots or given to those garden friends that everyone should have.
So divide your daffodils without delay–while you can still see the plants–and start a good cover-up to hide their remains.
Order celandines from ForestFarm, 990 Tetherow Road, Williams, OR 97544; (541)846-7269; www.forestfarm.com. Catalog free to US residents and $5.00 in Canada. Big root geranium is available from Bluestone Perennials, 7211 Middle Ridge Road, Madison, OH, (800) 852-5243; www.bluestoneperennials.com. Free catalog.