Alan Titchmarsh shares crucial daffodil task to do now to 'guarantee flowers next year'
Daffodils flower from February to May, with planting taking place between September and November. Alan Titchmarsh said gardeners should give daffodils a "helping hand" in spring to ensure they flower next year.
Daffodils are often a sign that spring is on its way. The pretty yellow and orange blooms often brighten up British gardens during wet weather in the winter months.
There are a plethora of daffodil varieties with some flowering earlier and some lasting much later.
However, one characteristic all daffodils seem to have is they can look tatty once they've finished flowering.
While it can be tempting to chop them down when they look like this, gardening expert Alan Titchmarsh suggests leaving them for six weeks and instead just removing the faded flowers.
After six weeks, gardeners can chop them down to ground level so they look neater.
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The 75-year-old also shared a simple way to "guarantee" your daffodils flower next year - giving them some food.
He said in a video for Waitrose & Partners in 2014: "One thing you can do to give them an extra helping hand is to feed them.
"I'm an organic gardener and blood, fish and bone for me is the fertiliser of choice.
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"It contains the main three plant nutrients - nitrogen phosphates and potash."
Alan said a handful or two of blood, fish and bone fertiliser around each clump of daffodils should ensure the plant produces more flowers next year.
He added: "The combination of taking off those seed heads, allowing the sun to photosynthesise through the leaves and stalks and feeding the bulbs, and bunging a bit of fertiliser around them will guarantee you flowers next year."
Daffodils that fail to flower could be suffering from "blindness" which is when they produce foliage but no flowers.
Daffodil "blindness" can be caused by a lack of space, too much shade and poor-quality soil.
If this happens to your plants, dig them up in the autumn and replant them elsewhere ensuring they are placed in favourable conditions.
It may take a couple of years for the daffodils to eventually flower.
