Blooming daffodils at Christmastime

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What daffodils need to bloom is water, light, and warmth. Here in Glendale, Arizona it seems a shame not to plant them because we have plenty of that, even in December.

It's December 16th and these daffodils (narcissus) have been blooming for a couple of weeks now. The temperatures during the day have been in the fifties/sixties and this location faces west, and gets plenty of sun. The water is something that I make sure to add just about every day. Towards the end of December we usually get "Christmas rains" here, but so far it's been dry.

The bulb for these plants (they have multiplied) was planted two years ago. In September, when the heat of the desert starts to die down, the leaves emerge, and the blooms started at the beginning of December. They will continue to bloom through January.

I bought a single bulb from a bin at the local nursery. I think it was about seventy-five cents. It's planted in rich potting soil, about three inches deep. When planted I included some slow-release plant food and some polymer water crystals. When it started growing again this year, I added more plant food and watered it well with Miracle Grow.

Sometimes I walk around my neighborhood and look at the yards, many of them with nothing but dirt and weeds. What a shame to waste this opportunity!

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