Tiny Daffodils

On the subject of mismarked Daffodils..( or possibly the customer not paying close enough attention). I planted some daffodils in my front bed. It's pretty much a finished bed and contains mostly low water varieties but I wanted some Spring color out there. a week or so ago I noted some lovely yellow spots of color and thought.. hmm.. did I plant crocus out there? I thought I had planted Daffs.. well I eventually wandered out for a peek and they are little daffodils.. only four inches high. Cute as a bugs ear but I would not have intentionally planted them in that bed had I known.. It's more for cars passing by and being viewed from a distance. (It's about 200 feet from the house) I didn't keep the information on them since they were purchased as spring color vs "Oh I love that daff and must have it"
Are there a bunch of tiny daffodils out there or do you think I have a hope of IDing it? I will get pics later..today it is POURING rain.

got a pic

Jazz, check PFs, to me they look like the Tete-a-Tete' ones. They are very small.

took another pic with a tape measure.. is this the size Tete-a-tete gets?

That looks like 'Tete-a-Tete' to me as well. I find that the first year bloom is a bit shorter...around 5-6 inches high just like yours. Next year, depending on weather conditions, they might get a bit higher. Say, around 7-8 inches. I've never had any bloom above 8 inches, though. They usually stay around 6-7 inches for me.

You'll be glad you have those. The blooms last for a really long time and they multiply fairly rapidly.

I will testify to them multiplying rapidly! I planted one very small clump last year and this year it is double in size! And they are cute as a bug's ear. I want more of them!

kbaumle~

Yes, they are one of my very favorites! I ordered 100 to plant this Fall! They look great with Muscari. They also look nice with taller yellow daffs.

I think I am going to move them to a bed that is right by the house and put some bigger ones out there by the road..

I agree with you Jazz. I think you'll be able to appreciate them more that way.

I have really enjoyed them this spring - they came up next to an orange primrose and with a bunch of blue scilla and really made a nice little tiny vignette

I had some awhile back and need to make myself a note to buy more. I am not sure if they moved with me or not. I'm still pulling stray bulbs out of what is going to be lawn at the other house.

Jazz: See, those daffs to me look like the variety "Little Gem." The only reason I know that is because I planted a ton of them last fall along with my other, much bigger daffodils. Most of my Microdils (yes, we've dubbed weensy daffodils like that "Microdils") were single bulbs, and as such only have one flower. But a handful of them had little bulbs growing off the main bulb, and I've got some multiples like yours. These guys are small, only about 4" as yours are... And that's about as tall as they will ever get.

they look similar that is for sure. The outer petals are the same color as the middle part if that helps

My vote is still that they are "Little Gem" daffs. They truly sound incredibly similar to mine. I'll try to get a picture of mine in full bloom up for you to see :-) I actually have some pictures in my camera, but the batteries died just before I could take the last shot. Oops! Tomorrow the batteries shall be charged again :-)

mmm.... would you say the petals are "slightly recurvus" and are every two blooms 'tete a tete'---that is, facing each other as if in conversation?

Here's a nice description of 'tete a tete' from Langeveld:

"Tete a tete" is named so because they flower in profuse pairs facing one another in a most charming fashion. They are extremely popular due to its ease of culture, perfect form, vigor, and prolific blooms. They produce at least two dainty, bright yellow flowers with slightly recurved petals. They will continue to flower for years and years.

And here's a nice pic of "Little Gem" from Langeveld .... they say "Little Gem" is two-toned...

http://www.langeveld.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=plants.main&alphaKey=M-O&whichName=genus&showIntro=0

Hard to tell what you may have, but now you've piqued my interest---I have both in my garden and I'm going out to take a look!

BTW, today I went to the Midwest Daffodil Show and saw quite a few miniatures...more than I ever knew existed! Here's a pic of some minis and micro-minis...

Oh goodness. What are the three on the right, on the bottom row? Do you know?

They're all so CUTE!!!!

jazzpunkin--do you see the n. 'tete a tete' in the top row left?

k., don't know but maybe you can read the label, but I met the woman who entered the above group and she hybridized some of these. They are sold by a grower in California--the name will come to me after I log off, no doubt!

I don't know much about showing daffodils, but I learned a lot visiting the show. But then when I returned home and looked at my own garden, I wasn't quite so pleased with what I saw there! (Must get some of the Grant Mitsch daffodils for next year.)




This message was edited Apr 8, 2006 8:05 PM

I am looking a a single plant of tete a tete right now that I got in an 8-pack from Homey D's last week. I put it in a pot on my dining table. the first stem out has three flowers, the second has one. there are four more stems with buds. Three of them look big enough to house a multiple flower.
I bought some of these two years ago and planted them in the ground when they were done blooming in my window box. They took a year off to recuperate from 27 days of rain last March (2005) and are blooming like crazy this year. They are very short, however. Much shorter than the plants they were in my window box. Going by the description in the brent and becky's catalog, tete a tete has a slightly darker cup than petals. Mine look this way. I will go out tomorrow if it isn't raining and take a picture of the ones outside and put it up here.
Martha

tabasco, was there a section of giant daffodils? I'm in the market for a monstruosity daff, lol

Vos, These were 'Texas sized' Grant Mitsch hybrids. Very showy and glamourous. They weren't judged in a category, though. Mitsch's fed-exed them to the show from Oregon for exhibition along with about 75 others...many of them quite large...

I don't have the Mitsch catalog list or I could ID them for you...Hawaiian themed name of some sort...

There are hundreds of different named forms of miniature narcissi. If you bought them at a store they are most likely Tete a Tete as suggested. I must warn you though once you start down the path of miniature narcissus there's no hope!

Tabassco, I shall have to go out and look at them again now that I have some guidelines to go by :) I don't know all the terms to descibe daffodils so I will just do my best :) Thanks for the photo but boy don't those make the Tete a tete look huge!
Galanthophile.. yikes.. I have found that with every flower I like.. You go in thinking oh what a cute flower.. then you find there are a zillion varieties! sheesh.. I am trying ot behave because I am at the point where i Have to dig a new bed every time I go to the nursery.. (Or rather my husband does)

Tabasco, what is the one on the bottom right? It's so cute! I love it's little rounded petals.

Badseed, I love that one also. It looks like the name is 'Spring Charm,' but I've been unable to find it anywhere online.

ok.. I went out an looked at my little daffs.. I didn't see any that faced each other although there were a couple that had two flowers coming out of one stem! the tube part is a bit darker than the petals

you guys looking at minis and I'm lusting after gigantonarcs, as kenton calls them...

T, I sent an email to the mistch people, will report when I hear from them. thanks for the info.

The cup is supposed to be slightly darker on the tete a tetes. you can have multiple flowers and single flowers coming from the same bulb. The ones I bought at Homey D's have 6-8 flowers on each bulb, maybe more.

Just to clarify.. It wasn't that there were two flowers coming out of the bulb (which also was happening) but that there were two flowers on one flower stem

If there are two flowers on each stem, it's most likely Tete-a-Tete.

and 'tete a tetes' are quite commonly sold in pots and bulbs at Home Depot and Lowes.

Great little flower--good multiplier and perennializer, early bloomer, and often a prize winner on the show bench.

AH..well Lowes is where i got them so it could be that.. I am thinking maybe I will move it to the bed by my door and alternate them with some muscari.. wouldn't that be stunning?

Yes, but try to get the muscari that blooms early-- I believe m. 'Christmas pearl' is the variety.

http://www.vanengelen.com/catview.cgi?_fn=Product&_category=Muscari

I have loads of 'tete a tetes' and they generally bloom before my more common muscari 'armenicum' (or whatever they are properly called!) and my m. plumosums, m. blue spikes and so on...I don't have 'Christmas pearl' but it's on my order list to partner with the tete a tetes.

I have some that are up right now.. course I don't know what they are since before you sent me that link I didn't realize that..like everything else..there are a jillion varieties and I can't make up my mind on just one!

I planted Tete-a-tete with Scilla sibirica 'Spring Beauty'. I am glad to hear that they multiply. They are adorable.

Hi, Pitimpinai Welcome to DG and thanks for the pretty pic of your duet!

---good information that 'spring beauty' blooms at the same time as tete a tete. And they are adorable!

I will have to order some of these scilla to companion plant for next spring!

Any more pics from your garden? Would love to see them. t.

Those really look cute together!

Thanks, tabasco.
I went on a rampage and planted a few thousand more bulbs last fall. Most were minor bulbs. Tee hee.
I planted so many different species tulips that I can't remember what the name of this one is. Might be T. violacea since it started to bloom before N. Tete-a-tete

Very cute pic. I am just discovering these tiny tulips and I will have to pay more attention to them for next year.


But, with 'a few thousand' newly planted bulbs you must have some more pics!

I think you're holding out on us!

My 'Pipit' daffodils, which have just started to bloom...

Oh, how lovely. How tall is 'Pipit'?

I was not taking a lot of pics earlier this season. I was/am just dazzled by the new blossoms. I am also rather .... at whomever helping themselves with my flowers. Everyday I come home to find flowers gone from my front yard. What a shame that people just take from others with no qualm. :-(

This was my front lawn early this spring: