We can reliably count on a few flowers being open, come New Years Day. During one mild year there were even a few open on Christmas Day! The one thing we need to keep an eye out for are narcissus bulb flies. This pest lays its eggs on daffodil foliage, and the maggots will turn their host bulb into mush. In talking with fellow gardeners, we’ve found that planting daffodils (and galanthus) where they get afternoon shade helps to prevent this. Why, who knows, but it does seem to work.