Daffodil: March Birth Month Flower

Looking for a more thoughtful floral gift for a March-born loved one? Get a bouquet with her birth month flower.

There’s a corresponding bloom to represent each month of the year. These blooms give each month a character as they reflect what that time of the year stands for. Birth flowers also bring more meaning to gifts as they symbolize messages, feelings, and wishes.

For the third month in the Gregorian calendar, Daffodil is depicted as the birth flower. Let’s get to know this popular bloom and see that there’s more to it than its bright and cheerful look.

Scientific name: Narcissus jonquilla

Alternative names: Jonquil, Narcissus, Narciso in Spanish and Italian, Jonquille in French, Lent Lilies,

Daffodil Growing Do’s and Don’ts

• Do plant in a sunny spot with at least six hours of bright sunlight per day.
• Do plant in a well-draining soil.
• Do plant twice as deep as the bulb’s width.
• Do allow the foliage to die down naturally.
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• Don’t plant in a dense shade or they will not bloom.
• Don’t let daffodils sit in wet, soggy soil.
• Don’t plant them near pets as the yellow flowers are toxic to animals.
• Don’t cut back daffodil blooms to soon after blooming as cutting early can affect the blooming period.
• Don’t keep them together and congested for a long time. Divide and separate clumps of daffodils every 3-5 years for continuous blooming.

Non-Yellow Daffodils and Other Varieties

Yes, they do come in different colours. There are over 13,000 unique varieties of daffodil so expect them to not come in just a golden yellow shade. You can find daffodils in yellow and white colour combination, pink orange, and in pastel hues.

Daffodils also come in different shapes and forms. Aside from the popular trumpet-shaped daffodils, you’ll also find ones with large cups with ruffles, small cups, lampshade-shaped cups, and doubles with rows and rows of frilly petals that they look like carnations. The Triandrus daffodil has petals that flare back and droop downwards. Cyclamineus daffodil have smaller blooms with petals that flare back from the cup. Poeticus daffodils, on the other hand, have shallow cups with red-rimmed centre.

Daffodils with uncommon and interesting forms and colours include White Thalia Daffodil, Salome Large Cup Daffodil, Tahiti Double Daffodil, Replete Double Daffodil, Red Devon Daffodil, and Mary Gay Lirette Daffodil.

Companion Flowers for Daffodils

When creating a daffodil garden, consider choosing flowering plants that will grow well together with a narcissus.  This way, optimal health will be achieved as the plants won’t bring damage to each other. Companion planting ensures the plants enhance each other’s growth. For daffodils, amsonia makes the perfect companion plant. You can also plant daffodils together with crocus, tulips, hyacinths, and Grecian windflowers.

In a vase, daffodils are best placed in a vase all their own. Alkaloids from the stem of daffodils affect the longevity of certain blooms, like roses and tulips, making them wither and die quickly. The opposite happens, which means aging is delayed, when daffodils are stored in the same vase as irises.

Daffodil Meaning and Symbolism

In the United States, daffodils represent rebirth and new beginning as they begin to bloom after winter, at the start of spring. Daffodils quickly return each spring, year after year, making them the perfect flower to signify a fresh start.

Given such symbolism, cancer societies in the 1950s began using the daffodil flower as a symbol of hope. They started the Daffodil Day as an annual campaign to raise awareness and funds for cancer research. In Australia and New Zealand, Daffodil Day takes place in August every year. In Ireland, Canada, and the US, Daffodil Day is held in March.

Daffodil, as a March birth flower, is also seen as a bloom that reflects the personality of March babies. Those born in this month are viewed as optimistic, creative, and capable of adapting to any situation much like the sunny yellow blossom that is daffodil.

Send a bouquet of charming daffodils to show appreciation to someone’s sunny disposition. Recognize a March-born’s creativity, optimism, and positive outlook in life with a vibrant display of jonquils. Alternatively, you can also wish someone hope, joy, resilience, and prosperity by gifting a lush bouquet of golden daffodils.