Narcissus February 2015

[Matt T]

Quite so, the flowers are just as lovely and if anything the long, tall scapes give her a graceful air.

[fermi de Sousa]

- below is Tatsuo's clone of the same plant growing in Yorkshire this morning.

That clone seems to combine the attributes of var petunioides and (no longer valid) var clusii, a flat corona with upward facing flowers!
Does it come true from seed
cheers
fermi

[YT]

My goodness, my heart nearly jumped out of my chest! All right, you may now laugh - below is Tatsuo's clone of the same plant growing in Yorkshire this morning.

Thank you for posting the picture, Anne. It's very interesting to compare same clones in different condition

That clone seems to combine the attributes of var petunioides and (no longer valid) var clusii, a flat corona with upward facing flowers!

I think both have upward facing flowers, Fermi

[YT]

Narcissus cantabricus ‘clusii’ Its stems are longer than usual year but form a larger dome on the pot

[Matt T]

That last image is a useful side-by-side comparison.

Tatsuo, what kind of potting mixture do you use for your bulbs?

[annew]

I think we need a new show class for cushion narcissus!

[fermi de Sousa]

I think both have upward facing flowers, Fermi

Hi Tatsuo,
I like your forms, as Anne says they are perfect "cushions"!
This is the form of Narcissus cantabricus var petunioides I grew from seed many years ago (and sadly lost ) which had outward facing flowers with much less scalloping on the corona,
cheers
fermi

[YT]

Tatsuo, what kind of potting mixture do you use for your bulbs?

See the picture below, Matt. I use same soil for all bulbs. I use pumice, kanuma and akadama blend. The largest grains for bottom of the pot, middle ones for top dressing and the finest ones for growing medium with some perlite and charcoal chips. No organic matter for avoiding root/bulb rot during our deadly heat and humid summer. Pushing several pellets of slow release fertiliser (5-10-15) into the soil when their leaves pushing out soil surface and regular feeding with diluted organic liquid fertiliser (3-2-2) once a week. When the flowers over, 2000 fold dilution of dibasic potassium phosphate instead of the organic liquid fertiliser.

[YT]

This is the form of Narcissus cantabricus var petunioides I grew from seed many years ago (and sadly lost ) which had outward facing flowers with much less scalloping on the corona,

Thank you, Fermi I'm sorry for you've lost that so beautiful seedling
Here are my petunioides from 2 defferent source, from JJA (seedlings) and Van Tubergen (the clone, same as Anne's). They look 'upward' rather than 'sideward'

[Matt T]

Thanks Tatsuo, that's really instructive. Seeing the quality of your plants as well as the mineral soils that bulbs grow in the wild, they can clearly do without organic matter under the right regime. We're not so warm here but do struggle with humid, wet conditions at times so I'm planning on increasing the drainage/aeration in my potting mix even further this season. What proportion of charcoal chips do you use? I presume it's only a small part of the mix?

[YT]

What proportion of charcoal chips do you use? I presume it's only a small part of the mix?

They look like crushed gravel. The size is same as or a bit bigger than the soil graine. Yes, 2 handfull charcoal chips to 10 litter blened soil at a rough estimate.

[Roma]

Wonderful cantabricus and petunioides, Tatsuo.

Narcissus albidus ex SF110 again.  I have 5 bulbs with 6 flowers from 4 of them. The one in the centre has a smaller flower but with a rolled back edge to the corona.
Narcissus cantabricus
Narcissus 'Mitimoto' and
Narcissus bulbocodium flowering in the garden     

[annew]

Beautiful hoops, Roma.
Matt - doesn't Ian Y use an equivalent mix for his bulbs - just grit with a little leaf-mould? I'm thinking if there is no organic material, it might be possible, as Ian does, to reuse the compost, as it could be sterilised.

[Matt T]

That's right Anne, Ian uses 2 parts each of grit and sharp sand with one part leaf mould. I believe he just mixes in a bit of fresh leaf mould and bonemeal with the old mix at repotting time as the organic matter breaks down. There's also Paul C's method for frits in Seramis/cat litter. I'd be tempted to go for such a mineral-only mix, but think you then need to be much more attentive with watering and feeding.

[YT]

Wonderful cantabricus and petunioides, Tatsuo.

Narcissus albidus ex SF110 again.  I have 5 bulbs with 6 flowers from 4 of them. The one in the centre has a smaller flower but with a rolled back edge to the corona.
Narcissus cantabricus
Narcissus 'Mitimoto' and
Narcissus bulbocodium flowering in the garden   

Thanks, Roma. Your N. albidus ex SF110 and N. cantabricus are so good!