Wild daffodil
Sources last read 14 September 2026.
Forgiving Among the more tolerant plants here.
Also called averill, bell rose, bulrose, cennin pedr, chalice flower, common daffodil, daffodil, daffy-down-dilly, eggs and bacon, Lent cock, Lent lily, Lent rose, Trumpet Daffodil, trumpet narcissus and yellow crowbell.
Wild daffodil is toxic
- Toxic to cats. Toxic principle: Lycorine and other alkaloids. Clinical signs: Vomiting, salvation, diarrhea; large ingestions cause convulsions, low blood pressure, tremors and cardiac arrhythmias. Bulbs are the most poisonous part. ASPCA ASPCA names the genus (Narcissus spp), not the species.
- Toxic to dogs. Toxic principle: Lycorine and other alkaloids. Clinical signs: Vomiting, salvation, diarrhea; large ingestions cause convulsions, low blood pressure, tremors and cardiac arrhythmias. Bulbs are the most poisonous part. ASPCA ASPCA names the genus (Narcissus spp), not the species.
- Toxic to people. Harmful when eaten; irritates skin. Use gloves and protective gear when handling it. RHS
What the sources say about its care
Sources file this plant under other names: Narcissus spp (ASPCA, genus only). Citations below point at the name its source uses.
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shadeRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Water
- Moist but well-drained or Well-drainedRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Humidity
No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.
ASHRAE recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 60% 30–60%Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026- Temperature
How cold this tolerates, not what it prefers. No source read for this site publishes a preferred range for a plant indoors.
H6 — -20 to -15°C -20 to -15 °CRHS · read 13 September 2026- Soil
- Chalk, Clay, Loam, Sand; pH Acid or Alkaline or NeutralRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Toxic to cats
- ToxicASPCA names the genus (Narcissus spp), not the species.ASPCA, filed as Narcissus spp · read 13 September 2026
- Toxic to dogs
- ToxicASPCA names the genus (Narcissus spp), not the species.ASPCA, filed as Narcissus spp · read 13 September 2026
- Harmful to people
- Harmful when eaten; irritates skin. Use gloves and protective gear when handling it.RHS · read 13 September 2026
How it usually goes wrong
- Buds form and fall before they open
Buds appear on the wild daffodil and then fall while still closed, often within days of the plant being moved, turned or left to dry out.
Sudden changes in light, warmth or watering cause buds to be abandoned, because a bud is expensive and the plant cannot tell whether conditions will recover. Its source describes full sun, partial shade.
Telling it apart: A fallen bud under a magnifying glass. Insects or scarring point at pests; a clean bud points at a change or at water.
RHSWild daffodil leaves falling off: causes- Leaf tips go crisp and brown
A narrow dry border on the wild daffodil, often with a faint yellow line against the healthy tissue. It appears on several leaves at once rather than spreading from one.
Transpiration rises as the air dries, and the tissue furthest from a vein loses first. Penn State Extension notes there is no single humidity figure that suits every indoor plant, which is why this site publishes a range rather than a number. That applies while it is grown indoors; its RHS rating of H6 describes a plant that also grows outside, where the air is seldom that dry.
Telling it apart: What else in the room changed. Edges that browned when the radiators came on point at the air rather than at the watering.
Penn State ExtensionWild daffodil brown leaf tips and edges: causes- The plant yellows from below and the pot stays heavy
A sour smell from the compost is common on a wild daffodil, and the lowest leaves on each stem come away when pulled. The surface may look dry while everything beneath it is not.
Roots sitting in water run out of oxygen, and the first sign above ground is the oldest leaves being given up. Its source describes moist but well-drained or well-drained soil, which is air as much as water.
Telling it apart: Whether the drainage hole drips when the pot is tilted. Water still running out days later is the answer.
RHSWild daffodil leaves turning yellow: causes- Whitened areas where the sun falls longest
Upper surfaces lose colour while the undersides stay green, and nothing below the top of the plant is touched.
Sun through a window on a still day heats a leaf far above the air around it. Its source describes full sun, partial shade; the glass adds the heat that does the damage.
Telling it apart: Whether it followed a move or a season. Scorch appears within days of a change in position.
RHSWild daffodil leaves falling off: causes
Not sure which it is? Ask the diagnosis questions for Wild daffodil.
Routine care
- Propagation
- By division.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Remove offsets in early summer as the leaves fade.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Pruning
- Pruning is not needed.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Pests and diseases
- Can be troubled by slugs and snails, bulb mites and narcissus bulb fly.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Bulb scale mite, narcissus eelworm, narcissus bulb fly and slugs can attack it. Disease risks: daffodil viruses, narcissus leaf scorch or narcissus basal rot.RHS · read 13 September 2026
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Photographs
About the plant
Narcissus pseudonarcissus, commonly named the wild daffodil or Lent lily, is a perennial flowering plant.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026
- Native range
- W. EuropeWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026Western EuropeNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026W EuropeRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Climate
- temperateWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- Growth form
- bulbous geophyteWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026Bulb, Herbaceous Perennial; habit clumping, erect, spreadingNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Tufted (deciduous)RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Size
- Height 12–18 in; width 9–12 inNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Height 0.1-0.5 metres; spread 0-0.1 metre after 2–5 yearsRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Flowering
- Flowers gold/yellow; blooms in springNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Flowers yellow in springRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Uses
What sources record people using this plant for. A traditional or medicinal use listed here is a record of use, not advice to eat it or treat anything with it.
The flowers yield a yellow dye.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Common problems with Wild daffodil
More of the Amaryllidaceae family
Plants with similar care
Blue passion flowerA thin dry rim that crumbles between the fingers
Dog roseEdges of the leaves brown while the middle stays sound
English lavenderBuds form and fall before they open
Flaming KatyA thin dry rim that crumbles between the fingers
Hardy fuchsiaBrown, papery patches on the leaves nearest the glass
HyacinthFlowering stops while the foliage carries on
Sources
- ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Wikipedia · read 13 September 2026
What this does not cover
The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.
Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.
If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.