Oregon · Washington · Idaho

When to plant daffodils

Plant in fall: Portland and Seattle Oct 1 – Nov 15; Spokane Sep 25 – Oct 31; Boise Oct 1 – Nov 1; Bend Sep 20 – Oct 20.

Daffodils, or narcissus, are spring bulbs grown for trumpet-shaped flowers in yellow, white, orange and pink, among the first big color of the year. Types range from tiny rock-garden species to large-cupped hybrids and fragrant, clustered kinds like paperwhites. Every part of the plant is poisonous, which is why animals leave them alone.

Add to my garden plan

Puts daffodils on your free plan, with dates for your town and a spot in your beds.

Difficulty: Easy
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Spacing: 4 to 6 inches apart
Planting depth: 6 inches deep, pointed end up
Frost: Fully hardy; needs winter cold to bloom
Flowers: Blooms from late winter to spring, depending on variety

Deer and rodents leave them alone, and they come back for decades. Plant in fall once the soil cools.

Daffodil planting dates

Towns	Plant in fall
Portland, OR, Seattle and Tacoma, WA, Astoria, OR	Oct 1 – Nov 15
Spokane, WA	Sep 25 – Oct 31
Boise and Meridian, ID	Oct 1 – Nov 1
Bend and Redmond, OR	Sep 20 – Oct 20

Dates for six main cities. For any of the other 80 towns, type it in the box at the top of the page or browse all towns.

Gresham, OR, Hillsboro and Beaverton, OR, Oregon City and West Linn, OR, Portland, OR, St. Helens and Scappoose, OR, Wilsonville and Canby, OR	Oct 1 – Nov 15

Corvallis and Albany, OR, Cottage Grove, OR, Eugene, OR, McMinnville and Newberg, OR, Salem, OR	Oct 1 – Nov 15

Ashland and Talent, OR, Grants Pass, OR, Medford, OR, Roseburg, OR	Oct 1 – Nov 15

Astoria, OR, Brookings and Gold Beach, OR, Coos Bay and North Bend, OR, Newport and Lincoln City, OR, Tillamook, OR	Oct 1 – Nov 15

Bend and Redmond, OR, Burns, OR, Klamath Falls, OR, Lakeview, OR, Madras, OR, Prineville, OR	Sep 20 – Oct 20

Baker City, OR, Enterprise and Joseph, OR, John Day, OR	Sep 20 – Oct 20
Hermiston, OR, Hood River, OR, Ontario, OR, Pendleton, OR, The Dalles, OR	Oct 1 – Nov 1
La Grande, OR	Sep 25 – Oct 31

Bremerton and Port Orchard, WA, Everett, WA, Kent, Renton and Auburn, WA, Olympia, WA, Seattle and Tacoma, WA, Shelton, WA	Oct 1 – Nov 15

Anacortes, WA, Bellingham, WA, Friday Harbor and the San Juans, WA, Mount Vernon and Burlington, WA, Oak Harbor and Whidbey Island, WA	Oct 1 – Nov 15

Aberdeen and Hoquiam, WA, Forks, WA, Long Beach and Ilwaco, WA, Port Angeles, WA, Port Townsend, WA, Sequim, WA	Oct 1 – Nov 15

Centralia and Chehalis, WA, Longview and Kelso, WA, Vancouver, WA	Oct 1 – Nov 15

Chelan, WA, Wenatchee, WA	Oct 1 – Nov 1
Leavenworth, WA, Omak and Okanogan, WA, Winthrop and Twisp, WA	Sep 25 – Oct 31

Ellensburg, WA, Goldendale, WA	Sep 25 – Oct 31
Ephrata and Quincy, WA, Moses Lake, WA, Sunnyside, Grandview and Prosser, WA, Tri-Cities (Pasco, Kennewick, Richland), WA, Walla Walla, WA, Yakima, WA	Oct 1 – Nov 1

Colville, WA, Pullman, WA, Spokane, WA	Sep 25 – Oct 31

Bonners Ferry, ID, Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls, ID, Sandpoint, ID	Sep 25 – Oct 31

Lewiston, ID	Oct 1 – Nov 1
Moscow, ID	Sep 25 – Oct 31

Boise and Meridian, ID, Emmett, ID, Nampa and Caldwell, ID	Oct 1 – Nov 1
McCall, ID	Sep 20 – Oct 20

Burley and Rupert, ID, Idaho Falls, ID, Pocatello, ID, Rexburg, ID, Twin Falls, ID	Sep 25 – Oct 31
Salmon, ID	Sep 20 – Oct 20

Daffodil year at a glance

Task	J	F	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O	N	D
Plant										Oct	Nov
Cut flowers		Feb	Mar	Apr

Around Portland. Colder towns, especially east of the Cascades, run a few weeks later; the table above has your town's planting dates.

How to grow daffodils

Buy firm bulbs from a garden center or bulb grower.
Pick a spot with soil that drains well; full sun or light shade both work.
Plant them on your city's dates, 6 inches deep, pointed end up, 4 to 6 inches apart.
Water once after planting. After blooming, leave the leaves until they yellow so the bulbs come back next year.
Harvest: Cut when buds are just opening. Their sap harms other flowers in a vase, so stand them alone for a few hours first. Let the leaves die back on their own.

Growing daffodils in your part of the Northwest

The same plant behaves differently on the wet west side, the foggy coast and the dry, colder east side.

West-side valleys

Willamette Valley, Puget Sound, southern Oregon

Daffodils naturalize well in west-side gardens and return every spring. Deer and rodents leave them alone.

Coast

Oregon and Washington coast

Daffodils handle the wet coastal winters and bloom reliably.

East of the Cascades

Columbia Basin, Yakima, Boise, Spokane, north Idaho

Daffodils are hardy and need little water in summer.

High desert and mountain towns

Central Oregon, high eastern Oregon valleys, McCall, Salmon

Daffodils are hardy and deer resistant, a good choice for high-desert gardens.

More daffodil varieties

More widely sold picks that do well somewhere in the Northwest. The tag says which part of the Northwest suits each one best.

Tête-à-Tête

Miniature, yellow · Blooms February to March

One of the first daffodils to bloom, with several small golden flowers per short stem. Perfect for pots, rock gardens and edging, and it multiplies steadily year after year.

Both sides

Dutch Master

Large trumpet, yellow · Blooms March

The classic big yellow trumpet daffodil, tall and bold. It naturalizes readily, ignores deer and rodents, and brightens gray Northwest spring days for many years.

Both sides

Thalia

Triandrus, white · Blooms April

An heirloom with two or three nodding, pure white flowers per stem and a light fragrance. Graceful and long-lived, it blends well with tulips and other mid-spring bulbs.

Both sides

Ice Follies

Large-cupped, white and yellow · Blooms March

Creamy white petals around a wide, pale yellow cup that fades toward white. It is one of the most vigorous naturalizers, spreading into big clumps even in heavy soil.

Both sides

Jetfire

Cyclamineus, yellow and orange · Blooms February to March

Swept-back yellow petals with a bright orange trumpet on a compact plant. It blooms early, multiplies well and adds a pop of color to containers and small beds.

Both sides

February Gold

Cyclamineus, early yellow · Blooms late February to March

A dependable early daffodil with slightly swept-back golden petals. It naturalizes freely under deciduous trees and in lawns, often blooming with the first crocuses.

Both sides

How much to grow

How many to plant

Plant in groups of 10 or more. They spread over the years.

In the vase

Cut daffodils last about a week. Stand them alone for a few hours before mixing.

Key numbers

Fall, after soil coolsPlant
6.0–7.0Soil pH
About 6 weeks after bloomLeave leaves
When blooms dwindleDivide

Top care tip: Leave the leaves for about six weeks after bloom, and don't tie or braid them.

Growing notes

What makes the difference in Northwest gardens, in plain language.

Why daffodils are so easy

Daffodil bulbs, leaves and flowers contain toxic compounds, so deer, voles and squirrels leave them alone. That makes them the go-to spring bulb where animals eat tulips. They need a winter chill to bloom, which the whole Northwest provides.

Their one weakness is soggy soil. Bulbs sitting in cold, waterlogged ground over a wet west-side winter can rot. Plant on a slope, in a raised bed or anywhere water doesn't puddle after rain.

Let the leaves work

After flowering, the leaves keep making food and sending it down to the bulb for next year's bloom. Leave them in place until they yellow, usually about six weeks. Cutting them early, tying them in knots or braiding them shades and weakens the leaves and leads to fewer flowers.

A sprinkle of bulb fertilizer or compost as shoots come up in late winter helps older plantings. Snap off spent flowers so the plant doesn't spend energy on seed.

Dividing and problems

Daffodil bulbs multiply, and after several years clumps can get so crowded that they produce lots of leaves but few flowers. When that happens, dig the clump once the leaves have died back in early summer, separate the bulbs and replant them right away or in fall.

Narcissus bulb fly larvae can hollow out bulbs, leaving soft, empty ones. Firm the soil around the leaves as they fade so the flies can't reach the bulbs, and discard any soft bulbs you dig up.

Good neighbors

Tulips and other bulbs. Daffodils deter animals that dig bulbs.

Pests and problems

What most often goes wrong with daffodils in Northwest gardens, how to spot it and what to do.

Bulb rot

Signs: Bulbs turn soft and fail to sprout.

What to do: Plant in well-drained soil.

Narcissus bulb fly

Signs: Leaves sparse and grassy; maggot in the bulb.

What to do: Discard soft bulbs and plant fresh ones.

Blind bulbs

Signs: Leaves but no flowers.

What to do: Divide crowded clumps, and let the leaves die back naturally.

Common questions about growing daffodils

When should I plant daffodils in Oregon, Washington and Idaho?

Plant in fall: Oct 1 – Nov 15 in Portland and Seattle, Sep 25 – Oct 31 in Spokane, Oct 1 – Nov 1 in Boise and Sep 20 – Oct 20 in Bend. Pick your town at the top of the page for your own dates.

Why didn't my daffodils bloom this year?

Common reasons are leaves cut off too early last year, crowded clumps, too much shade or bulbs planted too shallow. Let the leaves die back on their own, divide crowded clumps and make sure they get some spring sun.

Can I cut back daffodil leaves after flowering?

Wait until they turn yellow, usually about six weeks after bloom. Until then they're feeding the bulb for next year. Plant them among perennials whose new growth hides the fading leaves.

Can I plant daffodil bulbs in spring?

Bulbs sold in fall should go in by late fall or early winter. If you find unplanted bulbs in spring, plant them anyway; they may bloom late or skip a year, but firm bulbs often recover.

Also on these lists: