I may have an opportunity to dig up some daffodils from an old abandoned farm house. I will need to dig them while they are still in bloom. I will re plant them in the fall but what do I do in the mean time? MJ
Where I live, I replant bulbs in the same day as I dig them.
If they are still in bloom, they are also still in leaf. That means the leaves have not yet replenished the bulbs for next year's growth. Few of them will survive in storage. They require sun, moisture, and soil nutrients for the leaves to do their work on the bulbs.
If the house is abandoned and assuming you have permission why does it matter when you dig up those bulbs?
So I will know where they are
You'll still know where they are after the flowers fall off and then way later when the foliage browns... plus you can always mark the area with some stakes, or just dig a small trench around the area since you will be digging there anyway. You'll prabably want to use a garden fork to dig up the bulbs in clumps, it'll damage less than digging with a spade. Choose a time after some days of heavy rain when the earth is soft.
Thanks for all the input but it turns out the property is not owned by who I thought it was so I won't be doing any digging
mj wrote: ...
ok.
don't wait until fall to dig them up. they start putting out new roots to get ready for next spring in the fall. it's best to dig them up a few weeks after they've died back. around here (mid-Michigan) that means anywhere from mid-June to late August (some varieties are green longer).
i mark them with sticks, stones or plastic stakes. if there aren't many to mark i put three markers that triangulate the location. that way if one of the markers gets moved it's not too bad.
i move clumps of growing daffodils at times. it's not the best thing to do, but sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do. take the whole clump up and replant it immediately and water it in.
songbird
Dig hole they will be transplanted into first (or a trench back behind something or other to screen them). Dig, then transplant the same day. Water in well.
Kay
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