Pacific Northwest Garden Forum: If I were a daffodil, I'd be a narcissist!

Author

Message

DebbieTT
Admin Group

Sunset zone 5, USDA zone 8

Joined: Jan-25-2003
Location: Washington, Kitsap Peninsula
Posts: 4241

Topic: If I were a daffodil, I'd be a narcissist!
Posted: Oct-10-2011 at 10:44am

Here are a few Narcissus that I planted last year. Both lovely! Anyone else have a favorite daffodil?

Narcissus 'Sundisc':

Narcissus 'Hillstar':

IP Logged

Chrissa
none
none

Joined: May-07-2010
Location: Washington, Long Beach Peninsula
Posts: 72

Posted: Oct-10-2011 at 8:30pm

Those are very pretty.

I will admit a certain disappointment with daffodils ever since discovering that they cannot be eaten like the teacups in Alice in Wonderland.

IP Logged

JeanneK
none
none

Joined: Jul-28-2003
Location: Oregon, Greater Portland Metro
Posts: 2068

Posted: Oct-10-2011 at 9:06pm

I like Narcissus Mt. Hood. Nice white daffodil, tall, large cup. Almost glows at night. Although, it is hard to pick just one...

Jeanne

IP Logged

DebbieTT
Admin Group

Sunset zone 5, USDA zone 8

Joined: Jan-25-2003
Location: Washington, Kitsap Peninsula
Posts: 4241

Posted: Oct-11-2011 at 12:19pm

Chrissa, I hope you didn't learn that lesson the hard way!

Jeanne,
Mt. Hood is very nice! I think I have a pic of it around here somewhere.

I'll post up some more. I also have a bunch in the Plant Gallery.

IP Logged

Chrissa
none
none

Joined: May-07-2010
Location: Washington, Long Beach Peninsula
Posts: 72

Posted: Oct-11-2011 at 4:23pm

No, I could tell just by touching it that it wouldn't taste like candy!

One of the things I like so much about this place (this forum) is that I get to see how very many different sorts of flowers there are - I only thought there were about three kinds of narcissuses before. The Thalia is beautiful.

IP Logged

DebbieTT
Admin Group

Sunset zone 5, USDA zone 8

Joined: Jan-25-2003
Location: Washington, Kitsap Peninsula
Posts: 4241

Posted: Oct-11-2011 at 4:31pm

Not only is Thalia beautiful, it has a nice fragrance.

I just put Narcissus 'Trepolo' in the gallery. It's a split corona type and colorful to boot!

Plus Narcissus 'Ara' with the long trumpet.

IP Logged

Phlox
none
none

Joined: Feb-25-2004
Location: Washington, Southwestern
Posts: 409

Posted: Oct-12-2011 at 2:21pm

I vote for Thalia too!

Also bought some paper whites, still deciding on them.

Love the ones you posted too Debbie.

"The only limit to your garden is at the boundaries of your imagination." -Thomas D.Church

IP Logged

JeanneK
none
none

Joined: Jul-28-2003
Location: Oregon, Greater Portland Metro
Posts: 2068

Posted: Oct-12-2011 at 2:27pm

Oooh, I like 'Trepolo' too. Like the orange cup. Very nice. Oh and Thalia gets a good vote too.

Jeanne

IP Logged

DebbieTT
Admin Group

Sunset zone 5, USDA zone 8

Joined: Jan-25-2003
Location: Washington, Kitsap Peninsula
Posts: 4241

Posted: Oct-12-2011 at 4:01pm

Originally posted by Phlox

I vote for Thalia too!

Also bought some paper whites, still deciding on them.

Love the ones you posted too Debbie.

Remember to get those paperwhites drunk!

IP Logged

DebbieTT
Admin Group

Sunset zone 5, USDA zone 8

Joined: Jan-25-2003
Location: Washington, Kitsap Peninsula
Posts: 4241

Posted: Oct-12-2011 at 4:04pm

Jeanne, I can't believe I don't have one pic of Mt. Hood. I've grown those many times. I guess I will have to plant them again. Sigh. A gardener's got to do, what a gardeners got to do. Mt. Hood in the NW? Heck yes!

IP Logged

JeanneK
none
none

Joined: Jul-28-2003
Location: Oregon, Greater Portland Metro
Posts: 2068

Posted: Oct-13-2011 at 1:09pm

I might have some photos! Let me check. Not that I am trying to stop you from buying some and planting them.....

Jeanne

IP Logged

DebbieTT
Admin Group

Sunset zone 5, USDA zone 8

Joined: Jan-25-2003
Location: Washington, Kitsap Peninsula
Posts: 4241

Posted: Oct-13-2011 at 1:17pm

Yes, please post any photos you have of any of your dafs! I've have more dafs on file, but haven't had time to post any. Soon as I get my fuchsia article up I will post some more pics.

IP Logged

greenmann
none
none

Joined: Jan-13-2006
Location: Washington, Puget Sound Corridor
Posts: 534

Posted: Oct-13-2011 at 2:59pm

Thalia is always a favorite for me, both for the flowers and the fragrance.

Tete te is also a personaly fav, espeically since they bloom so early. And I just like the dwarfer ones.

We also had one my grandmother gave me that I have never seen a name on, but it is a nice mid-sized daff with soft butter yellow trumpet and creamy white sepals. Unfortunately mine caught something a few years ago and I lost them :(

Green Man Gardens
design and consulting with a focus on native plants and wildlife habitat

IP Logged

Phlox
none
none

Joined: Feb-25-2004
Location: Washington, Southwestern
Posts: 409

Posted: Oct-13-2011 at 5:34pm

I'm afraid mine will have to be satisfied with the rubbing kind Debbie, LOL! But, I will try it!

I almost forgot, I have another Nar's. that I like really well but don't have the name for..... maybe someone could help me out with that?

Sorry it didn't come up as clear as it should have.

"The only limit to your garden is at the boundaries of your imagination." -Thomas D.Church

IP Logged

DebbieTT
Admin Group

Sunset zone 5, USDA zone 8

Joined: Jan-25-2003
Location: Washington, Kitsap Peninsula
Posts: 4241

Posted: Oct-13-2011 at 8:21pm

'Têté a Têté' is a very nice early. I love quite a few of the Cyclamineus Narcissi such as 'Jack Snipe', 'February Gold' and 'Ara' that I posted above.

IP Logged

DebbieTT
Admin Group

Sunset zone 5, USDA zone 8

Joined: Jan-25-2003
Location: Washington, Kitsap Peninsula
Posts: 4241

Posted: Oct-13-2011 at 8:37pm

Phlox, LOL! I don't drink hard stuff either, so last year I bought a tiny airline-size bottle.

Your pic looks clear enough to me! Sometimes if you know what company they came from you have a clue as to which small-cupped cultivar it is for sure. John Scheepers has one that looks similar called 'Merlin'.

IP Logged

DebbieTT
Admin Group

Sunset zone 5, USDA zone 8

Joined: Jan-25-2003
Location: Washington, Kitsap Peninsula
Posts: 4241

Posted: Oct-13-2011 at 8:52pm

I found Mt. Hood, but I'll let Jeanne post hers!

So many daffs, so little space. BTW, I plant most of my daffodils in pots because I don't like to take up space in the garden with withering foliage. I do have a few varieties in the ground, but most of my daffodils I grow in pots.

I have a gynormous but shallow pot that I stuffed with daffodils. I had 100 bulbs, but I can't remember if I managed to squeeze them all in or not. When I plant them I make sure the bulbs aren't touching. This was 'Mon Cherie':

This next one is a small terra cotta pot, I just placed in the garden when it was in bloom. This is 'Elizabeth Ann'.

'Spellbinder' in a terra cotta pot.

I will pot up 4 or 5 bulbs in a one gallon pot. When it blooms I can hide the pots in low shrubbery, or throw this in a small urn. When the flowers are finished I just whisk away the pot and hide it away, while the foliage cures. This last one in a black plastic gallon pot is called 'Billie Graham'.

IP Logged

DebbieTT
Admin Group

Sunset zone 5, USDA zone 8

Joined: Jan-25-2003
Location: Washington, Kitsap Peninsula
Posts: 4241

Posted: Oct-14-2011 at 12:15pm

Adding more to this thread. I hope you will add some pics or just tell your favorites!

The first one is called 'Lorikeet'. It is similar to 'Mon Cherie with its apricot-pink cup (perianth), but the petals are a creamy yellow. This was a favorite that I grew back at the turn of the century. I should try to find this one again, as it is sweet!

Here's the diminutive imp 'Tête à Tête' below that Brett mentioned as his fav, I am placing it here because it is nice to compare it with some of the other cyclamineus daffs. Such as 'Elizabeth Ann' and 'Ara' mentioned earlier in this thread and the ones I am adding below this one. I can't remember if I mentioned this earlier but this group has the reflexed petals that I think gives them a haughty attitude look or at least they are on the move.

Below is 'February Gold' which is similar to 'Tête à Tête' but is a taller one with larger flowers. And as its name implies it is an early one.

Next is 'Jetfire' which I think looks like they are soaring like a bird, high on a thermal. The cups have some lighter variegation to them.

IP Logged

haika
none
none

Joined: Oct-23-2008
Location: Washington, Puget Sound Corridor
Posts: 202

Posted: Oct-14-2011 at 12:24pm

'Golden Pond' is still one of my favorites, but I lost it the second year after my move from my old place. Most of my best ones come from Grant Mitsch or from Brent & Becky's Bulbs. I'm partial to the Divison 5's and 6's (from N. triandrus and N. cyclamineus origin). I'm not partial to the pinks but like the reverse bicolors. I'm having lots of trouble with narcissus bulb fly (both greater and lesser) at this new place. Come to find out, there's a landscaper at the end of our little dead end road who tosses bulbs down an embankment when done in his commercial plantings. Could be the origin of the pests and I'm sure he hasn't a clue that could be happening. There are management strategies to handle this but it certainly complicates things.

IP Logged

Phlox
none
none

Joined: Feb-25-2004
Location: Washington, Southwestern
Posts: 409

Posted: Oct-14-2011 at 2:06pm

I usually keep the info on the plants that I buy but missed saving the one for this Nar I guess, so, I will adopt the name Merlin for it for now.

Thanks for the name Debbie!

And actually, I meant sorry for the size. Will try to keep the pics I send smaller.

I also love my little "Tete A Tete"

"The only limit to your garden is at the boundaries of your imagination." -Thomas D.Church

IP Logged

DebbieTT
Admin Group

Sunset zone 5, USDA zone 8

Joined: Jan-25-2003
Location: Washington, Kitsap Peninsula
Posts: 4241

Posted: Oct-14-2011 at 3:29pm

Haika, I heard years ago to keep the rust fly from get to the bulbs, when you pull the spent foliage make sure the hole left behind is plugged with soil. I don't know how effective that is, but I've always done that ever since.

Too bad he wouldn't compost them or something to keep the problem at bay.

Phlox, do you remember where you purchased the bulb from? That might help figure out more positively which one it is. The size isn't so critical now that the program puts an arrow in so the pic doesn't mess up the tables. When I install the new forum program with our new interface the tables will be a lot wider, so it won't be much of an issue.

IP Logged

Phlox
none
none

Joined: Feb-25-2004
Location: Washington, Southwestern
Posts: 409

Posted: Oct-15-2011 at 12:47pm

Thanks for letting me know about the size Debbie.

I will have to do some researching on the where I bought the bulbs...... to many places to choose from to probably finding it right away.

Of course, there is a possibility of finding more that I like while I'm looking.... right?? Lol!!

"The only limit to your garden is at the boundaries of your imagination." -Thomas D.Church

IP Logged

DebbieTT
Admin Group

Sunset zone 5, USDA zone 8

Joined: Jan-25-2003
Location: Washington, Kitsap Peninsula
Posts: 4241

Posted: Oct-15-2011 at 1:36pm

Be careful out there it can suck the wallet dry!

IP Logged

JeanneK
none
none

Joined: Jul-28-2003
Location: Oregon, Greater Portland Metro
Posts: 2068

Posted: Oct-17-2011 at 10:02am

You are not kidding! I went to Portland Nursery with my 5 year old daughter and blew my budget on cover crop, seasonal reduction plants and lots of good ground covers. I didn't even get to the bulbs. My kid likes to shop...I am terrified about what she is going to be like when she is a teenager!

Jeanne

IP Logged

haika
none
none

Joined: Oct-23-2008
Location: Washington, Puget Sound Corridor
Posts: 202

Posted: Oct-18-2011 at 12:17pm

From what I've read and found through experience, the narcissus bulb flies (both greater and lesser) lay the eggs right where the leaves go into the ground IN THE SUN, so if you shade that spot in any way, you can minimize or prevent eggs from being laid. Some folks put a mesh over the drying leaves, some use a 'cover' plant (like catmint....which is what I'm experimenting with) that will grow quickly over the daffodils seasonally. Plugging-the-hole can help as well, as DebbieTT suggested. I'm leaning towards the 'overcrop'....more aesthetically pleasing and the daffodils come up and bloom while the coverplanting is still basically dormant. The parasitic nematodes won't work since the soil is supposed to be kept quite dry during this period. Nasty critters.

IP Logged

DebbieTT
Admin Group

Sunset zone 5, USDA zone 8

Joined: Jan-25-2003
Location: Washington, Kitsap Peninsula
Posts: 4241

Posted: Oct-19-2011 at 4:05pm

Jeanne, You may have blown your budget, but what a great way to spend with your daughter!

Haika, Thanks for sharing what works and doesn't work for you. I never had the pest, so I can't speak from experience. Please let us know how the catmint works as a hiding crop. It sounds like a good plant for hiding the dying foliage.

IP Logged

Archived Gardening ( Forum Locked)
Pacific Northwest Garden Forum : The Archives : Archived Gardening