[avs0020]

I know this is an old post but the same thing happened this year (2012) with my daffs. Very few flowers on both old bulbs and new ones that still had some space between them as they were only planted last autumn. But the whole idea of crowding has me confused. When growing naturally without a human slave to dig up and respace them surely they get crowded and yet they still flower?

Could there be any other reason for non-flowering taking into account the 2012 season so far? I had brand new bubs throw up leaves and there was no sign of a flower. Some of my older tulips were the same. So sad

[Greengage]

When Daffodils and other bulbs dont produce flowers they are said to be blind.
There are a number of reasons why daffodils don't flower or come up blind.
The bulbs haven't been planted deep enough the flower buds dry out and die.
Dig up the bulbs in April/early May ( before the foliage dies right down or you may not be able to find them) and plant deeper.
There needs to be at least twice the height of the bulb of soil above the bulb.
As daffodil bulbs age they go through a lifecycle. The large flowering (mother) bulbs multiply every year or so to produce much smaller, younger bulbs that aren't large enough to flower. The mother bulbs then die and it takes a year or so for the smaller ones to reach flowering size.Keep the bulbs well fed - add a granular high potash feed in early March, and liquid feed with Phostrogen, MiracleGro or similar liquid fertiliser every fortnight from April until the foliage dies down.
And plant a few bulbs every year so they don't all reach the same stage in this lifecycle at the same time.
The foliage wasn't allowed to die down naturally. Because daffodil foliage - as it ages - looks ugly, many people cut it off or tie it in neat knots. This prevents the essential food that the leaves make building up the bulbs' strength for the following year. leave the foliage alone until it dies down naturally, or remove it no sooner than eight weeks after flowering finishes.
The flower buds have been eaten by the larvae of the narcissus fly.
There's nothing you can do for the current year's display, but you can protect the bulbs for the following year. Hoe regularly around the plants to kill any larvae, and to make sure there are no large cracks in the soil around the bulbs down which the adult narcissus flies can crawl.
See its really easy this gardening

[avs0020]

Greengage. Inexplicably I only saw this now for the first time. Thank you so much for the advice