In the 1700s and early 1800s, tazettas were grown in the open garden in colder climates, but required measures to protect the bulbs through winter. The bulbs were planted in the fall with the rest of the spring blooming bulbs, but were planted deeply and given a very thick layer (six inches or more) of dense mulch. Between the deep planting and heavy protection, the bulbs remained cold enough to maintain dormancy but were below the soil freeze depth, and thus buffered from very hard cold. When spring finally arrived and the threat of hard cold past, the mulch was completely removed to expose the soil to direct sunlight. The warming soil triggered the bulbs to break dormancy, which quickly lept into action.
A central Maryland grower circumnavigates his winters by means of his refrigerator to maintain dormancy, rather than by heavy soil protection or even in pots in his garage (which he has had freeze over before!). Residing in the Blue Ridge Mountains northwest of Washington, D.C., he holds his bulbs in the refrigerator, stored in paper bags, until late February. Once the threat of hard cold and snow appears to have passed, he plants at around four to six inches deep. In the spring of 2025, he had sufficient varieties in bloom to enter a divisional collection of five (cultivars) in an April 19 judged daffodil show. He leaves the bulbs in the ground for much of the summer, figuring the bulbs will get their desired hard summer baking more effectively out in the field than in the garage. He digs early to mid-August, and once cured into the fridge they go. Though admitting his tazettas are not as robust as those grown in a warm climate, they still are attractive for the show bench and are incorporated into his hybridizing program (when not inadvertently picked for exhibition!).