Daffodils

Wallaby,

Your Rip van Winkles have lasted well, and they look so brave poking out of the bits of snow. I am going to have to try growing some of the smaller narcissi. Today, I talked to my sister in law near Grantham, Lincs and she said their garden was covered with snow, too.

Chris

Chris, the small narcissus have plenty of charm, and seem to naturalise well too.

Grantham is not far from me, about 20 miles. We usually get some snow at Easter, but this year that is earlier so there has to be a connection, lol. It's mostly just wet stuff which doesn't settle. The nights have been around freezing too so they are doing well.

here are my Thalia. I have been watching them very closely and while most are entirely white from the get go, some have a very, very pale yellow cup at first and change to white within 24 hrs.

I planted 50 thinking I would make a statement. Pffft! Now I know why people buy bulbs in the 1,000s!

Here are a few Pipit, so small and dainty, unlike this gardener! lol

And I have at least 10 more days before Sir WC puts on a show (well, whatever show you get with 10 bulbs, lol)

LOL vossner - it is addictive, isn't it? - pretty soon you'll lose your senses and order crazily like the rest of us!

Congrats on your daffs finally, critter :-) They look great! And love the SWC, chris - mine have not bloomed yet.

Here are some Ice Follies

And I just love these Quails - will plant lots more next year.

OK I think I got them straight now....this is "Bahama Beach" - it is the first one open.

Steve, about how many bulbs do you plant together, for example the Quails. How many different daffs do you have?

And this is "Bella Estrella"

HMMM Nery - let's see....I planted 8 varieties last year for about 160 narcissi, as we'd just moved in and there wasn't time to plant many more not to mention money was tight :-) - and about 7 more varieties this year (all different) for 350 additional. I am sure I'll expand next year but I have some varieties I just like (but already have) and will order again.

I plant mine fairly close together as I like a dense look. I tend to dig circular holes if possible and fill in the hole. Makes a denser and more "bouquet" like look. Of ycourse, as yours naturalise they'll do that on their own. I usually plant 7 to 11 "big" bulbs like the jumbo King Alfreds I ordered, or 13, 15, 17 smaller bulbs or more like "Quail". I tend to plant in odd numbers though who is counting when you get up to 20 or 25 LOL.

The Quails should do well in your area too as they're Div. 7 (Jonquilla) daffodils, good for southern gardens. They're really prolific and all of the Division 7 varieties have very strong scents, almost lily-like.

This message was edited Mar 24, 2008 9:29 PM

Next Fall catch me if you can while I run to the mailorder websites, lol

Steve,
What a beauty, Bella Estrella is!! That's a new one for me.

Chris

Nery, those are 2 of my favorites! I think daffs are always prettier the 2nd year, and keep getting better. I space all mine out a bit, because most daffs increase well here. You'll see a big difference next year. I like the little white alliums with Thalia, very sweet together :-)

thanks Neal. those are leucojum. planted last fall also. I am enjoying them.

here is a new one for me. boy is it big, as it name would suggest!

tracie

gentle giant

i have already posted a pic of Pink Charm, but i thought this bloom was especially pretty, so i am posting another!

tracie

Pink Charm

This message was edited Mar 27, 2008 5:19 PM

Steve - you too? You planted all those bulbs your first year?

I planted 100 quail in 2006. I forget where now... its a nice
surprise when everything blooms. There are advantages to
losing one's memory and being disorganized about record
keeping. LOL

Thanks Chris.....it is kind of different!

Tammy, I planted 160 daffs the first year (2006) at the new house, and then another 350 last fall. I had to start over at the new place as the previous owner did virtually zero landscaping. The good news is that I got a blank slate to work with, but the bad part is that it is still a lot of work as there was no base there and it still feels unfinished!!! I have found daffodils planted by someone else scattered around the lot in weird places - like in the middle of the yard - but not sure how those got there. I had Quails at my old place but unfortunately did not bring too many bulbs with me when we moved like Neal was smart enough to do.

I agree about the "surprises" one finds when one forgets what was planted the year before!

These pipits have an irresistible charm, Vossner.
I love the soft cream colour.

I like the beautiful shape of the flowers of your Quails, Steve , they look delicate.
Bahama Beach is superb.

Your Gentle Giant does honour to its name, Tracie! I love the translucent orange frilled cup.

Today, I had an appointment with my dentist and arrived too early, instead of sitting in the waiting room (not one of my favourite occupations , lol), I wandered a bit around and came upon a very old abandoned small farm, that had been spared from the expansion of the city. In the wild lawn of the farm, I noticed a group of the ancestor of (I think) of trumpet Narcissuses (how does one say the plural of Narcissus?).

According to my botany book it is Narcissus pseudonarcissus subsp.pseudonarcissus, the description and the habitat corresponds with the ones I found;

from another angle, most were damaged by the nasty weather from some days ago, but this one was still looking fine

how nice, i love to find old bulbs. did you "collect" a few for your own garden? i have been known to collect old bulbs from abandoned homes, with permission, of course! lol thank you for the compliement on Gentle Giant, had several more opening today and i am amazed at how big they are. make quite a statement in the garden.

tracie

here is another photo on Gentle Giant, might be able to tell the size better since there are other plants for a frame of reference.

There are so many species and subspecies as well as old hybrids it can be difficult to name them. It looks to me the trumpet is too flared, and the petals too broad to be N. pseudonarcissus ssp pseudonarcissus, but it is certainly close.

http://www.floralimages.co.uk/pnarcipseudsps.htm

There are a few in bunches on the road side opposite me which look close too, I took this on 7rd March. This one could be N. pseudonarcissus minor as the trumpet is barely flared, that's how it's described on the growers site but they used the same pic for both.

http://www.qualitydaffodils.com/home.php?cat=17

Yes Tracey, Gentle Giant really makes a statement there!
Amazing that you already have Aquilegia blooming at this time!
And no, I didn't dig out any bulbs, even if I wanted to I had no tools with me except my bare hands and I could hardly arrive at the dentist with muddy hands and filthy fingernails, lol!

I see what you mean, wallaby with the trompet looking a bit too flared in mine. The picture of Narcissus gayii in the qualitydaffodils site looks very similar to mine.
http://www.qualitydaffodils.com/product.php?productid=991&cat=17&page=1

I should have taken more pictures of others but they looked too damaged.

Now I just came upon this Belgian site
http://www.kuleuven-kortrijk.be/bioweb/?lang=en&detail=490

and the cups in their pics look very similar to mine ?
Perhaps mine is just N.pseudonarcissus and not a subsp.

I like your N. pseudonarcissus minor better, it looks more delicate in shape.

I found another pict. of another one in the group a little damaged but with a less flared cup;

That one does look barely flared, perhaps there is a mixture of types there. It also looks like N. gayii, lol, see how difficult it can be?

I think N. pseudonarcissus can be used to cover any subspecies, but when it's N. pseudonarcissus ssp. pseudonarcissus that is considered to be the 'base' species which (if I'm not wrong!) the use of N. pseudonarcissus should only really be used for if using correct terminology, but that doesn't often happen.

Why thanks bonitin - very lovely flowers you have been posting as well!

hmmmm. 4,000. If I don't get any more roses and get zero tropicals, I'll be able to go daff/crocus crazy

edited to add: I just posted interest in the possible tropicals coop. How am I ever going to get 4,000 bulbs????????

This message was edited Mar 29, 2008 10:23 AM

good morning guys,
got a few more pics this morning! i think this one if "Texas", but it doesnt look exactly like a photo i found on this website: www.pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/HomePage

tracie

Texas (i think)

just for fun, here is a group photo of Gentle Giant!

tracie

That's a remarkable outsized daffodil! Wow! *making note*

Your 'Texas' is lovely, too... I wonder if it was named for its resemblance to a yellow rose?

you know, you may be right! i hadnt even thought of that. i was thinking maybe because it is a big double and everything is bigger in Texas! lol

tracie

I'm almost embarrased to start posting my daf's but the first ones
are just too exciting to not shout about! LOL

Whoever said daff's don't like standing water was wrong
about this one. Its at the base of a very old spring house
and is wet year round. No idea what type - it was here when we
bought the place 10yrs ago.

Tam

dont be ridiculous! we love to see everyones pictures, yours are so pretty and delicate!

tracie

Well, the more search I do the more confusing it becomes, wallaby!
Sigh...


In this image of the floralimagessite they really do look the same as mine. The cups look more flared there..

http://images.google.be/imgres?imgurl=http://www.floralimages.co.uk/images/narcissus_pseudonarcissus_subsp_pseudonarcissus_de8.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.floralimages.co.uk/pnarcipseudsps1.htm&h=375&w=500&sz=107&hl=en&start=3&tbnid=T-600VKT52pPxM:&tbnh=98&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3DNarcissus%2Bpseudonarcissus%2Bsubsp.%2Bpseudonarcissus%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG

Then in my botany book (considered to be a serious one) it says that Narcissus pseudonarcissus is entirely yellow, outer petals and cup.

I am almost sure now that mine are the subsp.pseudonarsissus.


It could very well be as the farm was really old and falling apart, not being inhabited for a long time and must have been settled in woodland areas (natural habitat) in the past.

Your daffs are charming Tammy!

In your last pic bonitin it does look like ssp. pseudonarcissus.

The pic I posted shows the petals as more yellow, it is very delicate but they don't flower well where they are. I don't know who they belong to on the road side, I would dig some up if no-one was watching, lol.

Your bunch is flowering well Tammy, even though it's congested. Some just don't flower well like that but yours looks very happy.

aggie, I love 'Texas', and Gentle Giant does make a statement!

You have some lovely bunches there Steve, I haven't been able to load this page until recently so sorry for ignoring you!

Well Tammy I know how exciting it is when something first starts to come up....I am already posting about lily sprouts - even those still an inch or two under the surface! LOL. Very lovely daffodil clump you have.

You have done a great job this year, aggie....continue posting - very nice!

Well bonitin, what type of dentist do you visit that you can stroll to abandoned farms (within walking distance?) and still not miss your appointment? BTW I lived in Beligium for two years when I was a teenager - in Lommel - Limburg.

Wallaby, I would never think you've been ignoring me :-) Sometimes it is hard to keep up with all of this!

Emperor blooming

Cheerfulness

Tammy, yours looks like N.subsp.pseudonarsissus too. I've found those to be perfectly happy in wet areas. I guess around here most wet areas dry out somewhat during summer, which is when they are most likely to rot from it. But from fall, when they've started growing roots, till after bloom they seem to ignore high water.