This brings me Phill, to a thought that is quite important. 'Peeping Tom' is, I'm sure in New Zealand and probably has been for many years, though I've not come across it myself. However, the last couple of years, bulbs have been brought in from Holland, by local wholesalers and offered in garden centres. The usual practice is to import the bulbs at their dormant time and either chill them until our planting time 6 months later, or, I believe some now are chilled for the same time, in Holland before sending here. The theory is that this will delay growth until it is the bulb's natural time to grow on the other side of the world.
I believe this is bad practice for many types of bulbs, including Narcissus. I've twice bought 'Peeping Tom' from such importations, (early 2011 and 2012). Some of the bulbs didn't come up at all and those that did either didn't flower or flowered short and badly formed. They then rotted.
In my opinion, and it is just that but based on my own experience of 50 years of importing small numbers of bulbs, it is better to buy the bulbs at the right northern time then plant them right away, either in pots or in the garden, somewhere well drained and controllable. Yes, the bulbs will flower out of season but they are still able to take on strength from the compost or soil and maintain their original vigour. By the second season, most are successfully turned around and flower at the right southern time.
I've rarely imported Narcissus from the northern hemisphere but Crocus, Iris, both Reticulate and Juno and Erythronium respond very well to this method, Cyclamen less so, but still better than being chilled and held out of a growing medium. This latter seems only to rob the bulbs of whatever nutrients they are holding so one eventually plants a weakened and even, maybe partly shrivelled bulb.
I mention all this here because while we in the southern hemisphere are very well aware and concious of the half year's difference in our respective growing times, I am constantly surprised that many in the NH have never thought of such a thing and assume that what goes from one side of the world to the other will automatically acclimatize to local conditions instantly. It doesn't. Just as I, going from a NZ summer to an English winter would take appropriate clothing for that change, the plants too, have to make changes. In my experience, plants which grow all year round, i.e. are evergreen, herbaceous, or even trees, are much easier to acclimatize to the seasonal change than are bulbs which have clearly defined growing and dormant seasons. So if you do receive material from the south, be aware that it will perform "out of the norm" for one or maybe two years before fully adjusting to its new world.
