Daffodils are among the most recognizable bulb-grown flowers, and you'll find a surprising variety within the group! With over 200 years of history bringing flower bulbs to America, Breck’s is your premier source for daffodil bulbs. Let's look at the different groups of daffodils, when they bloom and which will be best for your garden.
Daffodils by Height & Bloom Time
When planning your garden, are you curious how tall different types of daffodils typically grow and when daffodils bloom? This chart illustrates the general height and bloom time of each type of daffodil that Breck’s offers. At a glance, you can easily see what varieties will extend your garden’s blooming season and pair well with other plants and bulbs growing in your garden. Enjoy a long-lasting display of daffodil blooms!
An easy way to enjoy a long-lasting daffodil season is to plant a curated long-blooming daffodil bulb mix, such as 3 Months of Mixed Daffodils or 3 Months of Yellow Daffodils from Breck’s.
Types of Daffodils
There are 13 main divisions of daffodils as described by the Royal Horticultural Society. Below we’ll outline the characteristics of the 11 main types of daffodil cultivars. Division 12 includes other daffodil cultivars that don’t fit into any of the other classes, and Division 13 includes daffodil cultivars distinguished only by their botanical names.
Miniature Daffodils
Breck’s selection of miniature daffodils includes two divisions: Narcissus cyclamineus and Narcissus bulbocodium. Cyclamineus daffodils have reflexed, backward facing petals. Bulbocodium daffodils have a dominant but dainty bell-shaped trumpet and very small petals; they are sometimes called petticoat daffodils.
These are some of the earliest blooming daffodils, which makes them a must-have to extend your garden’s bloom season. Seeing these cheerful flowers at the start of the garden season is one of the best joys of spring. Miniature daffodils are compact, making them a great option for layering in the front of a garden or naturalizing in a lawn area. They multiply and spread easily, so give them space when planting.
Tête-à-Tête is a popular cyclamineus variety that is easy to grow, often bearing multiple blooms on each stem. Arctic Bells and Golden Bells are two bulbocodium varieties with beautiful delicate blooms.
Trumpet Daffodils
Trumpet daffodils feature coronas that are longer than their petals, creating a trumpet-forward appearance. These are your classic daffodils, and they grow extremely well in cold climates. Our Yellow Trumpet Daffodil Super Sak® is ideal for mass planting and larger gardens, delivering tons of bold, quintessential yellow blooms at a great value. Our mix of Giant Trumpet Daffodils offers a variety of colours, perfect for cutting gardens and flower beds. Looking to go even bigger? Colossal Mount Hood Daffodil is a standout as one of the largest, all-white daffodils on the market. Its large white flowers are beautiful in bouquets and complement spring’s colourful gardens.
Large-Cupped Daffodils
Large-cupped daffodils are known for their large, showy blooms. A large-cupped daffodil has a cup that's more than one-third the length of the petals surrounding it—but not as long as the petals themselves. Large-cupped daffodils feature a single bloom on each stem and can display a wide array of colours, including white, peach, orange, pink, coral, red and many shades of yellow. Many form brilliant bicolour combinations. Chromacolor Daffodil is among our favourites of the large-cup variety, featuring a coral-pink corona nearly as wide as their 5" blooms. Decoy Daffodils bring a red-hot addition to the group, with bright red-orange centres.
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Triandrus Daffodils
Triandrus daffodis are an uncommon type, with gently nodding flowers, often two or more per stem. Moonlight Sensation features blooms in a misty green-white tone and Hunter Morn features soft yellow-green blooms that gradually fade to clean white. With their elegant form and shifting tones, these varieties are a special addition to any spring garden and give it tremendous interest. They are well suited for use in borders, naturalized areas and floral arrangements.
Double Daffodils
Double daffodils are luscious, ruffled versions of the flower we know and love. These petal-packed blooms feature multiple layers of petals, or tufted, ruffled cups, and some cultivars have inner petals rather than a true corona. They are as reliable and easy to grow as other daffodils. These beauties attract a lot of interest from gardeners and growers alike, so you'll find some truly unique colour combinations in this class. Pink Performance is the only daffodil on the market with a bicolour double centre, featuring yellow and pink ruffled petals within a halo of creamy white petals. Boaz Daffodil offers a unique copper hue. White Favorite or Easter Born are snowy white double daffodils that create a glow in the spring garden. Delnashaugh is an outstanding pink double daffodil, with fragrant, long-lasting, fluffy peach-pink blooms.
Split Corona Daffodils or Butterfly Daffodils
Split corona daffodils are often called butterfly daffodils thanks to their enticing, fluttering ruffled petals. Their coronas are split to create a wide-open, butterfly-like appearance. These romantic, ruffled blooms are outstanding in bouquets. Grow our Butterfly Daffodil Mixture for a selection of some of the most exquisite daffodils available.
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Small-Cupped Daffodils
Small-cupped daffodils have cups that are not more than one-third the length of the surrounding petals, which form a ring called the perianth. They, too, have been bred for a variety of colours. Barrett Browning is one of the most famous small-cupped daffodil varieties with broad white petals around orange centres. Small-cupped daffodils are a beautiful complement to balance out larger, more ruffled varieties around the garden and in bouquets.
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Jonquilla Daffodils
Jonquilla daffodils often bloom with multiple flowers on one stem and are known for their fragrance. While most daffodils have bladelike foliage, jonquils have narrower grasslike foliage. This, coupled with their extra-long bloom time, make these daffodils an exceptional choice for naturalizing in a garden, lawn or meadow.
Jonquilla daffodils tolerate heat well, making them a popular variety in Southern gardens; in fact, they are so popular in the South, that in that region the term “jonquil” is often used to refer to any daffodil. (Jonquils, or jonquilla daffodils, are in fact just one subset of daffodils.)
Try our Jonquilla Daffodil Mixture to enjoy the range of colours this unique variety offers.
Tazetta Daffodils
Tazetta daffodils bear multiple smaller blooms, forming anywhere from three to 20 of them per stem. These bloom clusters often release a pleasant fragrance. Paperwhites are a form of tazetta daffodil. Avalanche is another favourite with clusters of supple overlapping white petals and vivid yellow cups.
Poeticus Daffodils
Poeticus Daffodils, also called poet’s or pheasant's eye daffodils, have easily identifiable characteristics. They feature airy white petals and small coronas that are very short, typically with a distinctive red rim. These elegant flowers are some of the last daffodil blooms of the season, and they often produce a strong fragrance. Original Poet's Daffodils bloom a little later in the season and are typically quite long lasting. The Actaea Daffodil is an heirloom variety that performs well in partial shade.
Daffodil Types by Traits and Uses
Easiest Daffodils to Grow
It’s true that the whole daffodil family is very easy to grow! They're all virtually deer- and rabbit-proof, plus other critters also tend to steer clear (the bulbs are toxic when eaten). What’s more, daffodils reliably return year after year.
If we had to pick our easiest daffodils to grow and naturalize, we would recommend three of our highest-rated types:
- Miniature Tête-à-Tête daffodils, since they bloom early and spread easily
- Yellow Trumpet Daffodils, some of the most popular and proven daffodils to grow with classic large yellow flowers
- Breck's® Colossal™ Daffodil, the largest, brightest yellow daffodil available (and exclusively at Breck’s!)
These are lovely grown together for their complementary height and bloom time.
Additional top-rated customer favourites include Golden Echo, Goblet , Golden Harvest and Exception daffodils.
Another very easy-to-grow solution is our Weatherproof Daffodil Mixture, featuring boldly beautiful large-cupped daffodil varieties that can withstand cold, wet spring weather. Daffodil bulb mixes are the perfect place to start for beginners looking for a big reward from an easy planting project.
Best Daffodil Varieties for a Shade Garden
For the best results growing and naturalizing daffodils, at least six hours of sun per day is recommended. However, after years of testing, Breck’s has curated a mix of daffodil bulbs that have proven to come back year after year in shady woodland environments: the Shade Daffodil Mixture! , Tête-à-Tête, Ice Follies and Actaea may also tolerate gardens that receive less sunlight.
Best Daffodils for Naturalizing
Favourite daffodils for naturalizing include miniature Tête-à-Tête cycalmineus daffodils, Actaea poeticus daffodils, Yellow Trumpet Daffodils , Mount Hood trumpet daffodils, Jetfire cyclamineus daffodils, Ice Follies large-cupped daffodils and Barrett Browning small cupped daffodils.
Breck’s has also curated mixes and collections of naturalizing daffodil bulbs to make garden design easy.
Learn more about planting a naturalized garden: Naturalizing with Daffodils
Most Fragrant Daffodils
The daffodils best known for their fragrance are jonquils, tazettas and poeticus. Shop our selection of fragrant daffodil bulbs, or let our Dutch bulb experts assemble curated assortments for you—including the Ultra Fragrant Jonquils Mixture, the Most Fragrant Daffodil Collection or the Spectrum Sweet Aroma™ Daffodil Mixture
Pink Daffodil Bulbs
Could there be anything more romantic than pink daffodils in the spring garden?
Shop Breck’s selection of pink daffodil bulbs and our Pink Daffodil Collection