The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 10, Issue 8 (November 1, 1935)
Method of Planting
Method of Planting.
Wherever your beds may be placed, the ground should be dug deeply, and well drained, if there is not good natural drainage. The digging should be done long enough before planting time to let the soil settle, for the Narcissus bulb does not do well in loose soil. If for any reason you are obliged to prepare your beds shortly before planting time, it is a good and simple plan to take the opportunity when the soil is not wet to press the bulbs down firmly by placing a fairly wide board on the surface and standing upon it. This very primitive method gives an even and not too great pressure, and will relieve you from the necessity of planting in too loose soil.
Though the Narcissus likes plenty of moisture when it is in vigorous growth, it likes that moisture to pass through, and not remain stagnant in the soil, and the bulbs of most of the varieties strongly resent being water-logged, in fact, they soon get diseased under such a condition. Those bulbs which are in deeply dug beds do better both in dry and in wet seasons than those planted in shallow soil. A good deal must, of course, depend on the nature of the subsoil, but as a general rule deep digging and good drainage are necessary for permanent success.
Some of the best blooms shown at the National and Auckland Daffodil Shows, 1932. (1) Fortune, (2) Kingdom, (3) Beersheba, (4) Maharajah, (5) Lady Superior, (6) Silver Dawn.
Planting should be done, if possible, when the soil is nicely damp (not wet) and in planting, great care should be taken to settle the base of the bulb firmly in the soil, so that no air space is left under it. After planting, the surface of the beds should be kept open by “lightening up” with a hand fork about every ten days throughout the autumn; otherwise it will become too hard set by the autumn rains.
Varieties which increase slowly may, if they seem quite happy, be left for three years; but on the other hand delicate sorts which look as if they were not doing well, may, with advantage, be lifted year by year. When it is necessary to apply manure it should be borne in mind that the daffodil likes phosphates, but strongly objects to ammonia. Basic slag and bone dust make reliable manures. The best method is to apply them as a top dressing soon after planting, mixing them in with a hand fork in the covering of soil above the bulbs, but not in immediate contact with them.