Founding florist
Tulipanna
Bondi NSW · est. 1992
A Bondi Road florist since 1992, with seasonal bouquets, arrangements, roses and potted orchids, and a weekly note on what's at market.
Seasonal cut flowerNarcissus pseudonarcissus
Daffodils: when they're in season in Australia
In season now (November 2026): No
Daffodils are outside the listed Australian season in November. The national season is June to September. Local growing conditions and supply can change the timing. Check the state guide below and ask your florist about locally grown stems before ordering, especially near the beginning or end of the season.
- Right now
- Out of season in November
- Season
- June to September
- Vase life
- 4 to 6 days
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Written by Dan d'Auvergne
Season by state
Flowers and pets: check before bringing a bunch home
Season months drafted from koch.com.au, figandbloom.com, livingflowersmelbourne.com.au, katehillflowers.com.au, flowersforeveryone.com.au. Availability varies by grower and region. See sources
Daffodils and their scented cousins, jonquils, are a winter and early spring flower in Australia, at market from about June to September. Jonquils come first in mid to late winter, with the classic trumpet daffodils following into spring. They are grown commercially here, including in cool areas of Victoria and Tasmania. Daffodils are the flower of the Cancer Council's Daffodil Day in August. Their sap harms other flowers, so give them a vase of their own first.
Where to buy daffodils
Among the cheapest flowers at market in winter, sold by the bunch.
How to choose good daffodils
Look for buds that have turned from green to colour and bent over at the neck, the stage growers call goose neck. Stems should be upright, firm and green, not soft, split or slimy at the base. Avoid bunches where the papery sheath behind each flower has gone brown and crisp and the petals look thin, as these were picked a while ago. Daffodils are cheap, so buy generously. Three bunches make a proper jug, and a single bunch suits a narrow glass. Midwinter, when supply is strongest, is the best time for value.
Looking for bulbs to grow? Read about Hancock's Daffodils and check seasonal dispatch before ordering.
Grown here or imported?
Daffodils are not native to Australia, but they're grown here commercially.
Where they're grown
Trumpet daffodils need a cold winter, so Australian growing centres on the cool south-east, especially the Dandenong Ranges and hills east of Melbourne, the Victorian highlands and Tasmania. Many farms are family bulb growers who sell bulbs by mail order with cut flowers as a sideline, and several open display gardens in spring. Jonquils are tougher and grow in warmer, drier gardens, which is partly why they turn up first. In cool gardens, daffodils naturalise under deciduous trees and return each year, and old country homesteads often have drifts that go back generations.
Stems at Australian markets are mostly grown here, so when they are out of season they are hard to find.
Colours, varieties and care
Colours
- yellow
- white
- lemon
- peach
- orange cup
Varieties to ask for
- King Alfred
- Tête-à-Tête
- Erlicheer
- Paperwhite
- Soleil d'Or
Vase life
4 to 6 days
Making them last
- Buy tight buds that show some colour
- Recut stems and stand them alone in water for about six hours
- Do not recut again once conditioned, as fresh cuts release more sap
- Only then mix them with other flowers
- Keep cool to slow opening
Using them at home
Daffodils share late winter with wattle, tulips, anemones, ranunculus and freesias. Yellow daffodils with wattle make a bright all-yellow jug, and white Erlicheer or Paperwhite look crisp with blue anemones. Condition them alone first. They look most natural bunched tightly in a tall straight glass or an old enamel jug, stems tied and cut level. Buds open over two or three days and the heads turn towards the light. Scented types fill a room quickly, and some people find Paperwhite too strong indoors.
Meaning and birth month
Traditionally a symbol of new beginnings.
Daffodils are a traditional birth flower for March.
Where to see them growing
Sydney Flower Market
Flemington
Best months: all year
Melbourne Market flower market (National Flower Centre)
Epping
Best months: all year
Questions people ask
When are daffodils in season in Australia?
Daffodils and jonquils are at Australian markets from about June to September. Jonquils arrive first in mid to late winter, and trumpet daffodils follow into early spring.
Can I put daffodils with other flowers?
Only after conditioning. Daffodil stems release a sap that shortens the life of other flowers. Stand them in water on their own for about six hours, then add them to a mixed vase without recutting.
Why is March the daffodil birth month when they flower in winter here?
Birth flower lists come from the Northern Hemisphere, where daffodils flower in March. In Australia the seasons are reversed, so they flower here in winter and early spring instead.
Are daffodils poisonous to cats and dogs?
Yes. Animal Emergency Service, an Australian emergency vet group, rates daffodils as moderately to highly toxic to cats and dogs. Signs include drooling, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, a faster heart rate and abnormal breathing. The bulbs are the most toxic part, so store and plant them out of reach, and call your vet if any is eaten.
Can you grow daffodils in Brisbane?
Trumpet daffodils rarely flower well in Brisbane because the winters are not cold enough. Jonquils and other clustered types such as Paperwhite and Soleil d'Or are a better bet in warm climates. Plant in autumn in full sun. Some gardeners chill bulbs in the fridge for several weeks before planting to help them flower.
Related flowers
All flowers
Where this season information comes from
- koch.com.au/blog/the-essential-guide-to-the-daffodil
- figandbloom.com/blogs/journal/australian-flower-calendar
- livingflowersmelbourne.com.au/blogs/news/seasonal-flowers-by-month-in-australia
- katehillflowers.com.au/blogs/bloom-journal/flowers-in-season-melbourne
- flowersforeveryone.com.au/blogs/news/seasonal-flowers-guide-in-australia