LIDL daffodil bulbs are cheap and plentiful, but are they any good? After constructing the raised bed in my front garden I decided it was too late in the season to go planting it up. I wanted to let it fallow for the rest of the year but then I thought some Spring colour would be nice.

Ten Euro For 5kg of LIDL Daffodil Bulbs

You can pick up a bag right now for €9.99. Each bag contains 5kg worth of bulbs. To offer a comparison, thegardenshop.ie offers 3 kg of mixed daffodils for €8.15. They estimate 16 bulbs per kg which would indicate that their bulbs are bigger and more developed. As you might expect with the Lidl daffodil bulbs, they are mixed quality. There are a few well developed ones in the mix but for the most part they are average or small in size. I estimate there were 120 bulbs in total in the unrecyclable plastic mesh bag (hessian would be so much better). About 25 of these LIDL daffodil bulbs were bad, already rotten away.

You cannot plant the rotten bulbs. You have to discard them because they can cause others to rot and may carry disease.  Best thing to do with them is put them in the brown bin. Keep all bulbs away from kids and pets, narcissus can be lethal if eaten. 

Planting in Clumps

The most natural way to plant daffodil bulbs is in clumps as this is how they grow in the wild. I scattered some randomly around the raised bed and buried them about 15cm deep in the soil. This particular raised bed is full of leaf mould that I made about a year ago. 

Speaking of Leaf Mold

Now is an ideal time to gather leaves to make leaf mold. It couldn’t be easier. Just get as many leaves as you can and make a pile, the best way to keep them contained is with chicken wire fencing. Place some damp hessian bags on top, you can get these for free from the Java Republic coffee roasting HQ in Blancharstown industrial estate. They always leave piles of hessian sacks outside their adjoining café along with free bags of spent grinds.

Progress

Winter is upon us but I will monitor the progress of the bulbs and report on their success/failure in the coming months. I will post some photos of the raised bed I built here as things start to grow develop.

SPRING 2019 UPDATE

I said I would update this post with some pictures and Spring has sprung. The daffodils are up and some are flowering. Overall I think nearly all of them have grown but I imagine the show will be better in subsequent years when they get more established. The bulbs were relatively small and underdeveloped but that’s what you get for the price. Everything you do in a garden involves an investment of time. If you’re willing to wait two years for lots of bright yellow flowers then Lidl bulbs appear to be a decent way to go. The photos below were taken on 24/02/2019.

The Answer is Yes.

After a month there are way more bright yellow faces greeting me in my driveway when I come home. I was cheerful to see these when I got home today. As a result I would say yes, cheap daffodil bulbs from Lidl are worth the €9.99. The photos below were taken on 20/03/2019.