Poet's daffodil

Questions about poet's daffodil

Does poet's daffodil need sun or shade?

Poet's daffodil grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).

It wants soil that stays evenly moist, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells. Once settled in, it stands drought.

What zones does poet's daffodil grow in?

USDA zones 3 to 7. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).

Above zone 7 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.

Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.

When does poet's daffodil flower in my zone?

In zone 5 it flowers early May to late May. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.

Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.

How far apart should poet's daffodil be planted?

4 in (10 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 5 in (12 cm), so a group knits into one patch.

It grows 16 in (40 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.

How many poet's daffodil plants do I need?

At 4 in apart, set out in staggered rows:

• 107 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
• 31 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
• 343 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own

In a mixed border, plant it as handfuls of five or seven, in the gaps between other plants.

In the bed above, the planner used six in two groups.

Is poet's daffodil poisonous to dogs and cats?

Yes: moderate toxicity to people, dogs, cats and horses. All parts, especially the bulbs, cause vomiting if eaten, and large amounts can affect the heart. The sap can irritate skin.

Rated from NC State Extension and the ASPCA. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.

Is there a pet-safe plant like poet's daffodil?

These come closest to doing what poet's daffodil does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:

• Checkered lily: the same job in a bed and the same colour; 4 in shorter, flowers mid April to early May.
• Grape hyacinth: the same job in a bed; 10 in shorter, flowers mid April to early May.

Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.

Do deer eat poet's daffodil?

They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.

What can I plant to hide poet's daffodil's leaves after it flowers?

A bulb's leaves have to be left to yellow for about six weeks after flowering, to feed next year's flowers. Plant it among perennials that come up late and spread wide, and they grow over the leaves as they fade:

• Daylily: 2½ ft tall and 24 in wide, a recorded partner, in flower late June to early August.
• Lady's mantle: 18 in tall and 24 in wide, in flower late May to early July.
• Catmint 'Walker's Low': 24 in tall and 2½ ft wide, in flower mid May to mid September.

What does poet's daffodil look like in winter?

Poet's daffodil is underground: it dies back after flowering and waits as a bulb until spring. Mark where it is, so a fork does not find it first.