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Daffodils: when they're in season in Australia

Daffodils are in season in Australia from June to September.Being confirmed

Right now
In season in September
Season
June to September
Vase life
4 to 6 days
Yellow trumpet daffodils standing tall against a clear blue sky
Photo: Uberprutser, CC BY-SA 3.0, source

At market, month by month

Being confirmed
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Drafted from Australian grower, wholesaler and market sources, and being checked with our founding florist. Seasons shift a couple of weeks with the weather.

Daffodils and their scented cousins, jonquils, are a winter and early spring flower in Australia, at market from about June to September. Jonquils come first in mid to late winter, with the classic trumpet daffodils following into spring. They are grown commercially here, including in cool areas of Victoria and Tasmania. Daffodils are the flower of the Cancer Council's Daffodil Day in August. Their sap harms other flowers, so give them a vase of their own first.

Where to buy daffodils

Among the cheapest flowers at market in winter, sold by the bunch. Being confirmed

How to choose good daffodils

Look for buds that have turned from green to colour and bent over at the neck, the stage growers call goose neck. Being confirmed Stems should be upright, firm and green, not soft, split or slimy at the base. Avoid bunches where the papery sheath behind each flower has gone brown and crisp and the petals look thin, as these were picked a while ago. Daffodils are cheap, so buy generously. Three bunches make a proper jug, and a single bunch suits a narrow glass. Midwinter, when supply is strongest, is the best time for value.

Founding florist

Tulipanna

Bondi NSW · est. 1992

A Bondi Road florist since 1992, with seasonal bouquets, arrangements, roses and potted orchids, and a weekly note on what's at market.

Visit Tulipanna →(02) 9387 3991

Grown here or imported?

Daffodils are not native to Australia, but they're grown here commercially.

Where they're grown

Trumpet daffodils need a cold winter, so Australian growing centres on the cool south-east, especially the Dandenong Ranges and hills east of Melbourne, the Victorian highlands and Tasmania. Being confirmed Many farms are family bulb growers who sell bulbs by mail order with cut flowers as a sideline, and several open display gardens in spring. Jonquils are tougher and grow in warmer, drier gardens, which is partly why they turn up first. In cool gardens, daffodils naturalise under deciduous trees and return each year, and old country homesteads often have drifts that go back generations.

Stems at Australian markets are mostly grown here, so when they are out of season they are hard to find. Being confirmed

Months at market

Colours, varieties and care

Colours

  • yellow
  • white
  • lemon
  • peach
  • orange cup

Varieties to ask for

  • King Alfred
  • Tête-à-Tête
  • Erlicheer
  • Paperwhite
  • Soleil d'Or

Vase life

4 to 6 days Being confirmed

Making them last

  1. Buy tight buds that show some colour
  2. Recut stems and stand them alone in water for about six hours
  3. Do not recut again once conditioned, as fresh cuts release more sap
  4. Only then mix them with other flowers
  5. Keep cool to slow opening

Using them at home

Daffodils share late winter with wattle, tulips, anemones, ranunculus and freesias. Yellow daffodils with wattle make a bright all-yellow jug, and white Erlicheer or Paperwhite look crisp with blue anemones. Condition them alone first. They look most natural bunched tightly in a tall straight glass or an old enamel jug, stems tied and cut level. Buds open over two or three days and the heads turn towards the light. Scented types fill a room quickly, and some people find Paperwhite too strong indoors.

Meaning and birth month

Traditionally a symbol of new beginnings.

Daffodils are a traditional birth flower for March.

Where to see them growing

Questions people ask

When are daffodils in season in Australia?

Daffodils and jonquils are at Australian markets from about June to September. Jonquils arrive first in mid to late winter, and trumpet daffodils follow into early spring.

Can I put daffodils with other flowers?

Only after conditioning. Daffodil stems release a sap that shortens the life of other flowers. Stand them in water on their own for about six hours, then add them to a mixed vase without recutting.

Why is March the daffodil birth month when they flower in winter here?

Birth flower lists come from the Northern Hemisphere, where daffodils flower in March. In Australia the seasons are reversed, so they flower here in winter and early spring instead.

Are daffodils poisonous to cats and dogs?

Yes. Animal Emergency Service, an Australian emergency vet group, rates daffodils as moderately to highly toxic to cats and dogs. Signs include drooling, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, a faster heart rate and abnormal breathing. The bulbs are the most toxic part, so store and plant them out of reach, and call your vet if any is eaten.

Can you grow daffodils in Brisbane?

Trumpet daffodils rarely flower well in Brisbane because the winters are not cold enough. Jonquils and other clustered types such as Paperwhite and Soleil d'Or are a better bet in warm climates. Plant in autumn in full sun. Some gardeners chill bulbs in the fridge for several weeks before planting to help them flower.

All flowers
Bunch of red and yellow flamed tulips opening in a vase against a pale wall
ExoticPeak now

Tulips

Tulipa gesneriana

Single violet blue Anemone coronaria with a dark navy centre, growing from feathery leaves
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Anemone

Anemone coronaria

Where this season information comes from