Why are my daffodils all leaves and no flowers?

A blind daffodil is not diseased. It is a bulb that did not accumulate enough reserves last year to build a flower inside itself, or one that is now too small to. Everything on this list traces back to that, and the useful thing about diagnosing it is that the cause always lies in the previous season rather than the current one.

What you'll need

• Garden fork
• Spade
• High-potash liquid feed (optional)
• Bulb fertiliser (optional)

Step by step

1. Check whether the clump has become congested.This is the most common cause by a wide margin. A clump left for many years multiplies into a dense mass of small bulbs, all competing, none of them big enough to flower. Dig a small section and look: dozens of thin bulbs pressed together is the diagnosis.
2. Lift and divide a congested clump.Do it once the foliage has died down, or in early autumn. Lift the whole clump with a fork, separate the bulbs by hand, discard anything soft or diseased, and replant the largest ones at a good spacing and proper depth. Small bulbs can be planted separately to grow on for a couple of years.
3. Think back to what happened to the leaves last year.Leaves cut, mown, knotted or plaited before they had yellowed and collapsed is the second commonest cause. Daffodil foliage needs at least six weeks after flowering, standing and green, to rebuild the bulb.
4. Assess the light.Daffodils planted under a tree or a shrub that has grown considerably since they went in may now be in deep shade just at the time the leaves need to work. Bulbs under deciduous trees usually manage because they finish before the canopy closes; under evergreens they do not.
5. Consider drought after flowering.A dry April and May while the leaves are working reduces the bulb's build-up substantially. This is a common cause in a border against a wall or under a hedge.
6. Check the planting depth.Bulbs planted too shallow, or working their way up over years, flower less reliably. Daffodils want at least twice and preferably three times the bulb's own height of soil above them.
7. Feed while the leaves are green.A high-potash liquid feed two or three times after flowering, and a bulb or general fertiliser scattered around the clump in early spring. Feeding in autumn does far less than feeding in the six weeks after flowering.
8. Deadhead the spent flowers.Snap the developing seed pod off behind the flower. Seed production takes energy that would otherwise go into the bulb.
9. Wait a year and judge again.A divided and fed clump often flowers only moderately in its first spring and properly the year after. Bulbs work on a full-season cycle and there are no quick fixes.
10. Rule out narcissus bulb fly if only some clumps are affected.A bulb that produces a few thin grassy leaves and no flower may have been hollowed out by a bulb fly larva. Lift and check: an affected bulb is soft with a large grub inside. Bin them; there is no cure.

Tips

• Daffodils in grass need the grass left uncut for six weeks after flowering. Mowing too early is the single commonest reason naturalised bulbs go blind.
• Dividing every four or five years keeps a clump performing. Some people do it as a matter of routine once flowering starts to thin.
• Bulbs lifted and divided in the green, while the leaves are still on, transplant well provided they are replanted immediately and watered.
• A few blind bulbs among many is normal. Wholesale blindness across a clump is a real signal.

Common mistakes

• Feeding in autumn and expecting it to help — The bulb builds its flower in the six weeks after flowering. Feeding then is what counts; autumn feeding is largely wasted.
• Cutting the leaves down when they start to look untidy — Untidy yellowing leaves are still feeding the bulb. Six weeks minimum, and ideally until they collapse and pull away easily.
• Leaving a clump undivided for a decade — It becomes a mass of small competing bulbs, none of which can build a flower. Division every four or five years prevents it.
• Tying the leaves into knots — It halves the leaf area exposed to light and does the same damage as cutting them, for the sake of tidiness.

Questions people ask