For daffs, my very favorites are Ehrlicheer - small, very fragrant double creamy blooms. I've also had good luck with Avalanche (Seventeen Sisters) and Grand Primo.

I've also had good luck planting my paperwhites outside after forcing them (which I do with Ehrlicheer as well.

Good luck!

Lin

I have planted 'Tete a Tete' daffs around my daylilies for many years. I like the short, miniature varieties because by the time my daylilies and other plants come up, the dying daff leaves are hidden. In our area I start seeing them bloom around the end of Feb. I have a full sun garden and quite a few daffs naturalize and return each year.
My friend has a large area under pecan tress where she puts masses of Home Depot mixed daffs and it looks great. In my garden I prefer not to use that much real estate for bulbs so I have little clumps here and there. You might look for ranunculus and anemome bulbs, if you have room. I get a very nice showing by April of those, too once the daffs are done.
Good luck!

LOTS of them grow and lots return.

I love the tiny ones too. Just planted a bunch I got from Sam's on sale yesterday.

If you want a rule of thumb, go with daffs that have a small or short trumpet.

If you are a Sam's member. My store still had boxes with Barret Browning, Ice follies, and Tahiti and more. I've had great luck with these returning. I have not had luck with King Alfred returning, but others have.

c

During the 7 + years that I lived in Dallas, I tried many types of daffodils. Most of them returned reliably every year, but I don't remember all of the names. The one that does stand out as the best was a jonquilla type called 'Quail' - I seem to remember that it produced more flowers and that the flowers lasted longer than my other types.

I also grew tulipa clusiana var. chrysantha (both the regular ones and varieties 'Cynthia' and 'Tubergens Gem'). They all look very similar to each other, and I planted them next to each other, so they were mixed together. After several years in the ground, the clumps became quite large and seemed to flower longer. Even though the flowers are small, they are still showy and bright. I really liked them a lot.

I used Scott Ogden's book "Garden Bulbs for the South" as a guide for my bulb selection. He recommends daffodils in the jonquilla division for doing the best on clay soils. He has now put out an expanded version of this book with nearly 150 more pages. The public library probably has a copy or you can buy used copies online at Amazon, Alibris and others.

You can probably find a lot of good choices locally, but if not there is always mail order.

Kathy

Here is a link that might be useful: jonquilla type daffs from Brent and Becky's Bulbs

I couldn't figure out how to add more than one link to my message, so here is another link for the clusiana tulips with good photos:

Kathy

Here is a link that might be useful: clusiana tulips

Quail is one of my FAVORITES! A really intense deep yellow, nice upright stalk and foliage that is so fine that it seems to disappear soon after the long-lived flower does! I agree with clusianas too. Just hard to find them except online. B&B's bulbs are great quality.

And right now bulbs are 50% off at Brent and Becky's, so time to try some. This is one of the few sites with Ehrlicheer, and it looks like they're available.

The Ice Follies that I've planted have returned without problem. I'll let you know this summer if the ones I planted last year come back...but I'd be surprised if they don't. I leave them in the ground and don't do anything with them after I plant them.

I grow Quail too, I'm in Ellis County and they do very well.

I have been planting in Texas for 26 years (man I feel old saying that), and I have tried alot of daffodils, since I'm basically lazy and cheap, and want them to keep coming back every year without me having to replant them. That way I can plant other stuff instead. Like another rose bush.

Here is my list, which has many of the previously listed above varieties:

Ice Follies- early white with yellow fading to white cup 18" high (my no fail daffodil)
Ehrlicheer- can't remember info on this one, but I have had it forever, and never have replanted it.
*Tete a Tete- early mid bright (screaming) yellow 7" high (tiny but just too cute)
*Grand Primo- very early white with yellow cup 18" high (just too pretty)
*Pipet- early mid pale (delicate) yellow with white stripes 15" high
*Thalia- mid solid white (fragile looking) 14" high
*Geranium- mid to late white with pale orange cup 16" high
*Cheerfulness- mid to late white with yellow cup like thingy 15" high
*Yellow Cheerfulness- mid to late yellow with yellow cup like thingy 15" high
*Falconet- mid yellow with orange cup 16" high
*Minnow- early to mid white with yellow cup 8" high
Petrel- mid to late white 10" high
Pink Charm
Obvallaris
Golden Ducat
Double Campernelle

The * star means they can have multiple flowers per bulb.

I always buy a value bag or 3 of mixed daffodils to plant in my rose bed, and usually half or more come back every year, but they aren't labeled. If you buy them the weekend of Labor Day, most online nurseries have a great sale (like $10 for 50 mixed daffodils).

I plant sometime after Thanksgiving through December, whenever the weather is nice for a day.

I have just bought some from Wye Mountain church in Wye, Arkansas, when we went on vacation last week. I don't know if they will repeat here, but the Empress and black daffodils I bought from them have been growing in their seven acre field for the last 70 years. They smell heavenly, and it is a sight to behold to see daffodils blooming as far as the horizon in front of you. Just fabulous. Wye is maybe 50-100 miles directly north of DFW, but further east. Near Hot Springs.

Good luck!

I planted Winston Churchill and Ice Follies (I think) years ago.
The Winston Churchill comes back but the other one doesn't.
I think it was the location I planted it got too much foot traffic.

The Ice Follies I planted both last year and years ago came back with no problems. I'll have to look into the others this fall and see about adding more.

You should check out Southern Bulbs, they specialise in bulbs dug up from old homesteads here in Texas. I'm about 100 miles outside Dallas and everything they sent me has bloomed, bar for two tulips they no longer stock (and I really, really wanted to be a success). I have old-fashioned doubles, Bread-and-Butter, in my yard and love them.

Here is a link that might be useful: Southern Bulbs for heritage bulbs

I live in Bosque County and put in a new flowerbed last summer. In the fall I bought bags of bulbs from Sam's plus ordered the specials from Breck's for all the pink, double, white and other varieties of daffodils. They are gorgeous.
My old King Alfreds bloomed starting Feb. 12 and usually last about two weeks. All the Breck's bulbs bloomed over a very extended period of time and they are still blooming into April. Gorgeous. Beautiful ruffles and pleats and colors.
I highly recommend that you go to their website right now and order them for delivery this fall.

Here is a link that might be useful: Breck's daffodil collections

I remember years ago an older lady who ran a "mom and pop" nursery told me that Dutch Master was her best to return. I havent tried it, but always remembered what she said - she really had a green thumb and knew her stuff.