Forcing and Greenhouses

In the 2025-2026 daffodil season, the head gardener at Oak Spring Garden Foundation graciously agreed to embark on tazetta trials – both with traditional forcing and with raised beds under glass. She found the tazettas grew well with both methods, but was very pleaseded with how readily and easily they forced. 

Unsurprisingly, the tazettas responded to the gray winter skies of northern Virginia by growing taller than their usual habit in the Gulf coast. However with the protected conditions, they remained in flower for weeks, to the delight of staff and visitors.

Potting Tazettas at OSGF

• All bulbs are sprayed with Cleary’s 3336 F fungicide (Thiophanate-Methyl) and left to dry.
• Dry bulbs are planted in pre-moistened ProMix BX General Purpose potting      medium in clay bulb pans and pots.
• Pots are placed into either the walk-in cooler or the floral cooler. The floral      cooler glass windows are blacked out and lights are kept off. The floral  cooler is kept at a steady 40°F degrees and the walk-in cooler fluctuates  between 40°F and 45°F. Most of these bulbs went into the cooler between  10/15/2025 and 11/17/2025. No fertilizer was added.
• Bulbs are checked for water weekly and usually watered every few weeks.
• The first tazetta (mid-January) to come out of the cooler was ‘Dainty Doll’. All are out of the cooler and now in the greenhouse.

Planting in the Formal Glasshouse

All bulbs were labeled and planted on November 17 in the raised beds in the Formal Glasshouse. These beds are mostly ProMix BX potting mixture. We add Osmocote twice a year and have periodically watered (maybe 3 times) them over the winter with a 20-20-20 liquid feed.

• ‘Maquette’  - bloomed early/mid late January
• ‘Miss  Lindsey’ - bloomed late January
• ‘Atelier’ - bloomed end of February
• ‘Icebox Pie’ - bloomed late January
• ‘Astrid’s  Winter Stars’ - bloomed late January
• ‘Yulinglong’ - bloomed late January
• ‘Miss Linda’ - bloomed late January, lots of blooms, pretty
• ‘Astrid’s Friend Luna’ - bloomed late January, lots of blooms
• ‘Staaten-Generaal’ - in bud late February
• ‘Floreligium’ - coming up in late February. Received and planted much later than the other bulbs (December?).

More Greenhouse Growing

A grower in the Netherlands handled his tazettas in a somewhat similar fashion. He potted them up in December, but then left them outside in the cold to stay dormant. If the temperature dipped to -8*C / 17*F, he took them into a shed, which provided some protection but isn't heated. He then moved them into a polytunnel in March, and away they went! (The tunnel is less climate controlled than a greenhouse so nighttime temperatures can dip to near freezing and daytime temperatures rise to near 90*F.) (Images courtesy of Michiel de Waard)