Why aren't my pink daffs pink

I have the salome , replete and one other one I'll have to go dig the name up, they aren't pink at all, the parts that are suppose to be pink are yellowish pink, not pink but not yellow. Is replete suppose to be pinkish?

The other one I ordered last year in the coop was petitfour isn't it suppose to be pink?

im not home now but i'll take pics of them today and post, later on

Salome is not a good one. I originally ordered a ton of them to line one side of my front yard. Then they bloomed. Ugh. The photos and descriptions in the catalogs cannot be trusted. I now have lots more of the so called pink ones. I hate Salome and did not replace it at my new home. Replete turned ugly too. Also, Accent starts too yellow before it turns. Rost Cloud went bad here too. The doubles seem to be a problem for me, they turn greenish? I had Petit Four once, it was too pale peachy for me. Most of my old ones were pale peachy pink. Some were OK but I wanted stronger colors.

However, I have really good looking ones that are peachy pink, salmon pink, coral pink. None are true pink. The best ones for me (I love salmon or coral) are: Precocious (frilly coral pink - love it), Palmares (light peachy split but I like it - it blends well with others), Strawberry Rim (long cup, coral rim - love it), Rose Caprice (short cup, coral rim - love it). I have 6 more new ones but cannot tell what they are like yet. You can still buy Precocious and Palmares. Not sure about the others.

I wish they called these peachy or salmon. They are not pink. Pink daylilies are not true pink either. Wish these guys would get their colors correct. Lavender is NOT blue. Purple is NOT blue. Maybe they are all color blind?

here is my Pink Charm, not as "pink" as i would like, but still pretty.

tracie

Pink Charm is one of the new ones that I have not seen yet. Looks great here. I also got Pink Parasol, Pink Wonder, Chinese Coral, Vie En Rose, Chromocolor. Here's hoping.

someone sent me some "pink" daffodils in a trade last year. i was so excited to see them bloom. these are them, if you can believe it!

tracie

That pink charm is beautiful. where are youguys getin gyour pink ones at?

i got my Pink Charm at a local Dollar Store, if you can believe it! the bulk of my other bulbs i got at local big box stores.

tracie

not pink, but really big and pretty!
Gentle Giant

Where did you get all yours carol? i've not heard of those pink ones

I wish I kept better track of who I buy from. I have had 3 orders of Capricious. The second one was not the correct bulb; it was more like Accent. Hope the third one is correct.

Brett and Becky's Bulbs have Chinese Coral, Chromacolor, Pink Charm, Precocious, Vie En Rose. The quantity is about 10 for most - I prefer 5 if I can get it. It is cheaper and better if I do not like them a lot. This is the first year I have ordered from them. They are perhaps the top seller. So, I do not expect them to be mismarked.

I have been getting 'pink' ones for over 12 years now and kept buying them from anyone who sent me a catalog. Most were not good. Thought I bought some bulbs last 2 years from both Bluestone and Park but not sure what. I keep my list in a spreadsheet but do not have where I got them. An omission. Especially since I got mislabled tulips and daffodils recently. I have the paper orders somewhere but not in a decent file.

I've never heard of a pink daffodil - as you say sellers will try and entice you with something new but they should be realistic about the true colours. It's like finding a blue rose, I just can't see it happening as it's not natural.

I have a couple of pinks that start out yellow but eventually turn a pretty shade of pink or coral. I don't hold it against them that they start out a different shade. LOL

Brecks has a pretty lousy rating in watchdog, but I got a set six kinds of pink daffs, five bulbs each, from them and the bulbs were great - big, healthy bulbs. It's usually around $30 and there's nearly always a coupon code around for $25 off of a $50 order. If you get catalogs from them, sometimes there are $25 off any size order codes on the catalogs.

Agree with Carol and Galathophile completelty. I don't believe there is a truly pink daffodil. I bought a bunch of Repletes a few years ago and they were this ugly washed-out Salmon color. Some of the catalogues - Brecks' is especially bad - appear to doctor the pictures and make them look much "pinker" than they naturally are. I have not tried the number of varieties some here have and I am sure there are some better than others. Same goes for daylilies as carol pointed out. I spent $50 per plant x 6 once on Strawberry Fields Forever thinking I was getting a pink daylily and it was anything but and a big disappointment. Just like Hyacinths don't really do a true yellow - Yellow Queen is the closest but is still a light primrosey-yellow and not what you'd see on a daffodil, where yellow is a natural color. I think the pink daffodil thing is nothing but a clever marketing gimmick that has managed to dupe many of us. I stay away from them!!! LOL

Then every catalog and supplier out there doctors their pink daff pictures, cause their all over the place and their ALL pink colored in their pictures.

Just my experience, kathy, which some others seem to have shared.....if you end up finding some truly pink ones and they bloom true to color for you, please post pictures! I have never seen one and I gow a lot of daffodils. I look for the leaf color in the pictures on any plant as even some of the most reputable ones will change the lighting to make colors appear more intense than they are.

It's just discouraging, it's like we're being lied to by all these suppliers, and such a big let down when they do bloom for us and aren't the color their advertised to be.

You're absolutely correct...I tried Rosy Cloud and Replete and a few others a few years ago and was totally disappointed by a) washed out, untrue coloring and b) generally poor garden performance. I have found daffs do best in yellow, white, and orange coloring. Some of the big guys want to promote the "new thing" or "color breakthrough" in a plant where that color is not typical and it is often just a gimmick. It sucks when you have your heart set on something and it ends up being a big disappointment. Maybe a truer pink will arrive someday, but they usually look peachy or salmony as others have pointed out. The leaf color is usually a good indicator of a plants color....if the greens are too dark or are bluish-looking, that's an indicator the picture is being played with a not a true representation of the gardening results most of us will get.

WEll, you know what they say when the hybridizers start messing with the genes LOL, their harder to care for. harder to propigate ( not daff's but other plants. and the variegation never stays variegated for long. It's all those older varieties that stay true and do the best.

That "pink charm" is FABULOUS!

I've asked for some ID's and one is light pink. Take a look if you want.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/828728/

Here is my pink charm but it is peach.
Kaleem

That "pink charm" of looks isn't nearly as dark and pink as the one above. It also looks like one of the ones I'm trying to ID. How Bid is the bloom? ID'ing can be so difficult.

not the best picture, i had trouble getting them all together. but, it may give you a better idea of the size of the flower. they are pretty tall, i would guess about 28 inches or so.

tracie

Pink Charm

Hi there: Hope you all won't mind my jumping in here. Just a suggestion...find your local daffodil society. If you can, attend a show...there will be daffodils to knock your socks off! Plus, as a society member, you can order bulbs through the club. Not cheap, but will really open your eyes.

I'm on a different computer, but later will try to get to the one that has my pictures. I've a couple to share that I took today, i.e., Ring of Fire and Easter Bonnet.

I remember some years ago when Easter Bonnet first bloomed that I called the company to complain...didn't realize it would fade to pink.

Take care now and I'll try to get those up a bit later.

I second the opinion to join the American Daffodil Society and your local state daffodil society.

Here's Easter Bonnet

Here's Ring of Fire

oh my I love easter bonnet. It's beautiful


so is brent and beckys bulbs wehre you get all your daffodils except for buying them through the society? asking everybody really.

Brent and becky was kind of pricey

has anyone grown Pink Pride? i planted some, they havent bloomed yet. wondered how they have done for others.

tracie

I get all of mine from Texas growers that are members of ADS and TDS.

I just looked up arkansas daffodil society, there were some places listed to purchase, Ithink i'll check them out.

http://www.daffodilsandmore.com/

http://www.asis.com/users/nwilson/index.html

http://www.web-ster.com/havensr/mitsch/

http://www.billthebulbbaron.com/

For what its worth--the last guy, Bill, is in about 5 bulb societies I belong to and is really a nice person.

Hi kathy_ann: I don't know if you meant me, so if you didn't, please disregard. I would have to say that I have ordered from and brought from all around. I got very frustrated and tired of bulbs that were not what they were supposed to be. I'm a collector type of personality (so I've decided!) and it mattered to me.

I have mixed feelings about B&B. I do order from them. I'm generally pleased. I don't want to just single them out (because it isn't just them) but one of the reasons I joined my local daffodil society (WDS) was to avoid the ones I consider to be pricey annuals. I want to grow those that multiply and hang around for years and years.

I've been happy with Old House Gardens although they need to add to their inventory...hehe.

But, back to sources. B&B have a large listing each year which is like candy in a candy shop! So tempting! However, there is such a big world out there (that I didn't know about) when you join a club. As I mentioned, you will see daffodils that you've never seen in stores or catalogs. I received my first club order last fall and I was very pleased with the quality of the bulbs. We'll see this spring! I don't think any of those have bloomed yet and will take some time to settle in, I'm sure...as some have come from overseas from specialty growers.

Anyway, as to pink....I think that is somewhat in the eye of the beholder. I'm into daylilies as well and there are many things that affect color. I would guess some of those apply to daffodils as well. To my eye, I saw pink (real pink!) at the show I went to last year...I also saw so many beauties that are not available to the general public.

I mean, it just depends where you are going and what you want.

Thanks, I like Easter Bonnet, too. They both came from Park's a number of years ago. I have Easter Bonnet around my two redbud trees as I bought a larger number of them originally. I think I just bought like 3 bulbs of Ring of Fire, but it's really increased, too.

I've posted more daffodil pictures on my blog and will keep adding throughout spring. I have....ahem...quite a few varieties (but not as many as daylilies, hehe)!

Happy spring to you and I hope your pink improves. They do get a bit pinker as the days go by. Take care.

Thanks gone_gardening.

I just happened to notice that the people complaining about color are in the middle of the country, and I wanted to put my 2c worth in. We can't get the color that the west coast, Virginia, England, ireland and Australia/New Zealand get. It just will not happen. They have the most incredible weather -- misty rains and decent winters (as compared to Indianapolis) Daffodils, but also LIlies and Dahlias are all in the same boat: our colors are not as vivid.

It is so bad here, that hybridizers do not even recognise their own flowers when they see them in bloom!

If you want to buy a pink daffodil that might get pink, and stay pink, then you need to buy new ones and give them more water, more potash, and keep them out of blazing hot sun. To buy new ones, go to www.daffseek.org and look up the choices that your bulb vendor offers and choose the ones that are the newest in terms of hybridization. When it came out, Rainbow and Accent were to DIE for -- really high price on each single bulb. But that was 1960s and a few generations have some and gone, you know?

I can tell you that Chromacolor is one of the newest of the pinks avail, if that helps any.

Suzy

Suzy, not sure I agree with you on that one....I think there is more to it than that. Australia gets more direct "blazing sun" than most of us here do due to a) ozone issues in the southern hemisphere and b) they're closer to the equator than we are with respect to latitude, though in the opposite hemisphere. Virginia can be pretty nasty in sumer and muggy. I lived in NW Europe (Belgium) for two years and the only US climate that approximates that is the coastal Washington state/Puget sound climate. My daffs bloom in February and March when it is cool and rainy and the sun is not direct or intense, even here in TX. I am originally from your neck of the woods about 85 miles west of Indy so am familiar with that climate too. Lilies would be another story as they bloom much later in the season than daffodils do, and I agree the effect of the sun bleaching them is a big one, especially in places like Texas. Maybe pink just isn't a good natural color for daffs? Kinda like daylilies.

I was going to say that the atmosphere and growing conditions have loads to do with the color and growth of the daffs, too. Brent & Becky talk about this in their book. The weather and climate and perfect soil conditions have made Virginia one of the daffodil centers of the world. Likewise Oregon and other parts of the Northwest.

Last year I went to the Southwest Ohio Daff Show and they had a marvelous exhibit of about 50 or 100 daff specimens flown in from Oregon by the Grant Mitsch hybridizers and they were gloriously colored compared to the same ones grown in my garden. I was amazed at the difference, but all the daff judges and experts (like Illoquin) agreed that there was something about the atmosphere and the weather that made daffodils there exquisite.

http://www.web-ster.com/havensr/mitsch/garden.html

I think if you called the Mitsch number and asked about your pink daffs and recommendations for bulbs they would give you all the background on it. Might be interesting to talk to them (daughter's family runs it now, I think) since I believe Mitsch was one of the first who hybridized non yellow daffs. Right, Illoquin?

Maybe this one is 'pink charm'---I know I bought a lot of those bulbs last year from B & B's sale... not pink but still pretty enough...

I look forward to seeing more pics of the 'pink' daffs. (-:

This message was edited Apr 10, 2008 5:08 PM

Aw, Tab, thanks!

The trouble with specialty daffodils is the sticker shock. People are used to buying 10 daffodils for $10.00, not 1 daffodil for $10.00. LOL!

If you click in the Mitsch links above, it will take you to their website. They are behind on their computer skills and still sell from a gorgeous catalog, but if you can find it, scroll down to the bottom and take a look at one called 'Young Love'. Is that pink to you?

If not, you might want to investigate the new pinks from red breeding, but after seeing the prices, I think you'll stick with the Dutch propagated bulbs.

Look at this one: http://www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com/spring/productview/?sku=01-0129

Isn't it pretty? Now read the text: "salmon rose" is NOT pink. One called Riot looks pink in the photo, but the text says "coral pink", not good.

The only pink one from B&B is Sentinel, and I think it's pink, but your eye might seeit differently.

Steve, the blazing hot sun burns the cups, it doesn't bleach them out. The Aussies have burnt cups, too, in field grown bulbs, but bulbs on display always have afternoon shade. They even make things that look like cone-shaped paint filters that hang on a stake to shade a single bloom for photos after the flower has gotten some size on it, for display, &/or for show.

A friend of mine in Virginia (where they grow really good daffodils) took one look at my soil and said, "Why is it GRAY????" (It was a near shriek) She was astonished! (My soil isn't gray, it's brown, but it isn't reddish brown like hers is)

She decided then and there the answer was iron. Indiana was obviously iron deficient and that's why the daffodils were lacking color. Maybe we have too much lime, not enough lava rock, not enough air fro the ocean? I have no idea, but there is somehting we have or are lacking that makes people shake their heads when they see our flowers.

Suzy

I would agree about the soil ingredients having a lot to do with color, or rather intensity of color, because it might make a peachy daffodil a very vivid, dark peach but it still ain't pink LOL. The iron does sound like a good explanation. Most people I know who plant amend their soil though and I think few of us just stick bulbs in native soil and let 'em go - at least I don't. Not sure what the iron composition of the soil is here and perhaps I should have it tested. Much of it is reddish brown in my area and not sure if that is due to iron or something else, though 15 miles away where I used to live it's totally different and very black with lots of clay. I'm no "expert", I just grow a lot of stuff for fun and have my own experience. Not so sure about the sun/rain/water though as I expressed in my earlier post - maybe it's a convenient explanation but not necessarily an accurate one. The heat does burn flowers when it's hot, but daffodils bloom so early that I can't see that being a factor even in TX when the air temperature is 55 degrees. The sun does bleach lots of things and I am not sure flowers are an exception.

My soil and well water is full of iron and my pink daffs aren't spectacularly pinky pink. Here's some photos I took today.

Two kinds of pinks here.

Another type from another bed.