Mary, how cold are winters in your zone? Odd for new bulbs to be blind the first year, unless they don't the chill time required. Many varieties that perform well in the north will be blind in the south because they need a longer, colder winter.

Ahh Neal chill time. I haven't thought about that angle. These are 2 clumps of different daffs that I think has always been blind, this photo is from today. Can I grow foliage or what?



Will definitely have to divide these next yr. I have gone through several catalogs and have written down daffs that will do well in the south. Ultimately though it just came down to a pretty face. I have an affinity for minis and pinks. So I have planted these in the last few days:
Apricot Whirl
Golden Bells
Minnow
Quail
Rosy Cloud
Jack Snipe
Avalanche
Baby Boomer
Replete which was planted a couple of months ago

OHGs listing for daffodils for the South -
http://www.oldhousegardens.com...

@jmorth it looks like I have a winner with Avalanche. I don't know a lot( ie anything) about the daffodil divisions but I was amazed at the size of the Avalanche bulbs.

I'm forcing some myself.

Well guys not only are my daffs blind, but are now deaf and dumb. I had buds y'all! With all the springlike weather and then the freezes for 3 days have made them mush. Leave the foliage alone? Will I get new foliage in the spring or is that it for the year? Some were massive clumps that desperately needed dividing, the budding ones were the ones I had divided.

Just leave them alone, sometimes they will surprise you. I've had temps in the low 20s while they were in bloom, and snow on top of them sometimes too. They lay down flat and look done for, then it warms up and they typically stand back up and look fine.

I had that happen last year, they just looked like they melted, they were limp and floppy. I had no hope for them, but in just a couple of days of warm weather they looked great with beautiful blooms. Mine are not that far along yet, normally I would be upset about that. But, I actually am happy about that with the weather this year. That happened to the ones with the broader leaves.

Seed it's supposed to be in the 60s Monday, I want sunshine and no wind!

I have looked at the OHG's list of Daffodils many times but some reason I had never paid attention to the fact that some of the Daffodils listed actually say "need shade", I have lots of shady places I could plant Daffodils. I always end up buying what is locally available it seems.

Well, Seedfork, I have learned something new. Daffodils that need shade. I grow a dozen varieties but most of them are old pass-alongs and need sun.

I had read many yrs ago that pink daffs needed some shade to keep their color so that's what I gave them. Those trees are gone now and there is no difference. I will be relocating them after their foliage dies back.

Shade or no shade? Well, like all gardening information there are two sides to every story it appears. The best I could find as to why some species daffodils on the OHG site needed some shade was to provide a cooler soil temperature. Never was able to decipher if that was for longer life span or what exactly.
Then found this nice article that states they should be grown in full sun ( the location however was up north).
http://www.amyziffer.com/?tag=...
Then read this article that states mid-day shade is good for daffs. Of course this article is from much further south.
http://www.clemson.edu/extensi...

I often see recommendations based on use of Daffodils under the shade of deciduous trees, where they get a lot of sun until the trees leaf out, which is usually just few weeks before the Daff foliage starts to ripen. I don't think the permanent shade of evergreens or a structure would be good for them- I've seen lots of stands of blind Daffs in spots that had become too shady for them. I have a lot of Daffs doing well in areas under trees where I grow Hostas and ferns.