All about daffodils (in the real world):
If you know what kind of daffodils you got, then you would follow the instructions above exactly for your species. This will insure the maximum bloom time (per plant), amount of blooms, and also make sure they all bloom at once so you get a nice show. That's awesome if you're running a display garden and you just want a small formal cluster of all the same daffodil. Most of us aren't running display gardens, don't have the time, and aren't that anal. Also I personally hate formal settings.
The real truth is, daffodils aren't all that fussy. In fact, they're the easiest thing in the world to grow. All the above shit is overkill. And you probably don't know what kind you have, or you have a bunch of different kinds. In reality, you can do one of two things:
1) Play the odds. Don't dig up all your bulbs. Leave some in the ground. The ones you dig up, refrigerate half of them and don't refrigerate the other half. The ones you replant, plant some a bit deeper and some a bit more shallow. Since each bulb is treated a little different, they'll respond differently. Within the same species, some will bloom a little earlier and some a little later. Between species, you'll at least insure that at least 1/4 of them will get the exact perfect treatment so you'll never have a disaster where you lose all your bulbs. You will get a longer bloom time overall but you won't get the eye-popping flush. Still, you should get enough to put on a decent show.
2) Be a lazy-ass (aka naturalization). Dig a trench/hole/ditch that covers the appropriate area. Make it about six inches deep. If it's not uniformly six inches deep, so much the better. Ditto if the area ends up kinda blobby instead of a nice circle/square. Grab enough bulbs to cover that area if you planted them 4-6 inches apart. Put bulbs in a bag. Shake it up. Grab a bunch of bulbs and toss them into the hole. Literally-- just toss them. Keep tossing until area is covered. Examine your spread. If one area seems to lightly covered, you can move a few bulbs around. If two bulbs are too close next to each other, you can space them out. Just remember, it's a matter of aesthetics. The bulbs could literally be touching and both plants will still grow. Cover the area. Then just leave the bulbs in the ground and never mess with them again. Over the years, they'll just sort of naturally take care of themselves to get you a nice coverage and a meadow-type look.
Bonus #2: Mix in the daffodils with other bulbs. If they're really small, you can do it layers. Go 8" deep, toss in a few big bulbs. Cover them up. Now toss in your daffodils. Cover them up. Now toss in your anemones.
Super-bonus #2. Mix up all your bulbs and just chuck 'em all in at once. Six inches is within the range of almost any normal bulb. If some of the bulbs are particularly large, you can just push them in a little deeper.
My method: Most of the time, you aren't working with a totally pristine new bed. For one thing, bulbs die to the ground so by the summer, you'll have nothing. And for the later part of spring, you'll be stuck with dying, ugly leaves-- which you do NOT want to remove, the plant is purposely draining those leaves to store energy for next year.
So anyway, you're probably working in and around perennials and shrubs. What I do I just toss them on the ground first. Then I plant them where they land using one of those bulb planting/auger attachments you can get for a hand drill. Just drill a hole where the bulb lands and toss them in. It also makes it easy mix different bulbs because you can easily adjust how far you drill the hole.
And you can do it in different seasons. Sure, every now and again you'll throw a bulb down exactly on top of another bulb and accidentally drill into one. But that's just fate. In the wild, those bulbs would have to duke it out for that space anyway so you're just replicating (kinda) mother nature.
The "plant 'em where they land" and "naturalization" strategy isn't just to save time. I think it makes the area look a lot better, because daffodils need that sort of random-y setting. I would not do this will something more formal like tulips. But then, I wouldn't plant tulips because tulips suck and pretty much need to be replanted every year anyway.
Also: I feel bad doing this, but I use OHG to read about bulbs and stuff and then order from Brent and Becky's. They're like 1/2 the price, and the bulbs are just the same quality (awesome). OHG will generally have a few things B and B don't, so they are worth checking out and ordering from just to support them, but I wouldn't try to you know, build the whole garden around them.
http://www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com/
