Narcissus cyclamineus

[Jack Meatcher]

Am I alone in finding N. cyclamineus difficult to grow from seed? I wonder if others find it difficult as plants in pots and bulbs are never as cheap as other narcissus. Does anyone have the secret of success? I imagine that, like all narcissus, really fresh seed will be a great benefit.

Jack Meatcher

[johnw]

Jack


Fresh, fresh seed that is never allowed to dry in the least. Have it sent to you in a tiny plastic ziplock upon ripening.  A well-drained mix with grit, pumice, leaf mold and some loam is what I use and I avoid peat. Plant immediately upon receipt in early summer and keep the mix evenly moist through the warm period that summer and store cool/cold and moist through the winter - indoors or in a frame.   They sprout late winter.  Outdoors they want rather heavy soil that does not dry out, I've seen them growing stream side and spreading well.  One needs two clones from different seed lots to get a take, indoors hand-pollination is a must.  Better in the ground than in pots in this climate.


Looking forward to what others have to say.

 


johnw - +8c, 94% humidity and at times torrential rain.

[Tristan_He]

Hi Jack, I've never tried growing this from dried seed, only from the garden - no difficulty then. Unlike other narcissi it does not seem to take too long to reach flowering size. I suspect the reason it is expensive commercially is because it does not reproduce vegetatively, and perhaps does not like to be grown in open fields?

If I would you I would invest in a few plants in the spring and collect seed from those. It self seeds for me.

Best, Tristan

[Susan Band]

As John says they germinate in winter sometimes in December. That often means they can get frosted as they germinate but before you see anything above ground. Keep checking under your top dressing and if any signs of germination take extra care with them until the leaf is about 1inch high. After this they can take a little frost. Good luck.

[Jupiter]

Jack I'm not sure what's going on with your seed but I have had good luck with dry seed, sent to me through the mail in a paper envelope! I must be lucky, but I sowed two pots, one last autumn and one the winter before. Both germinated very thickly and grew quickly. They are now going dormant and I'm hoping I'll have flowering sized bulbs for next spring. I suspect there's more to this than just fresh seed... perhaps it also has to do with dormancy induced by low temperatures, which my seed never experienced? Just a thought...

[johnw]

Susan - Thanks for the reminder of December germination.  I have June sown pots outdoors and haven't been checking on them. As we still await a good frost they could get clobbered if it comes after they've sprouted.  Out to find them & check.

Jamus, horseshoe over the greenhouse door?

john

[Jack Meatcher]

Many thanks to you all. Responses like those prove, yet again, that my SRGC subscription is worth every pound. Some very useful pointers I'll be following up. First though, I'll go and check I haven't got any pots vulnerable to freezing !

Incidentally, N. cyclamineus grows prolifically in the grass (lawns) at Saville Gardens where the soil seems to be very sandy (northern edge of the Bagshot Sands and Gravels I think). Saville Gardens are SW of London off the A30 in case anyone fancies a visit.

Thank you all again.

Jack

[Jan Jeddeloh]

I had (notice the tense) two or three bulbs of cyclamineus that I'd grown from seed.  It was exchange seed so obviously dry.  The plants even flowered last spring and I carefully hand pollinated them.  Got seed and promptly lost it.  This was my first full summer in my new place and pretty much all my pots got baked.  I kept all my narcissus pretty dry and they all liked it dry except, you guessed it, cyclamineus.  When I turned the pot out early fall I found nothing.  It was of course a narcissus I REALLY wanted to keep. Pretty sick about it actually.   Before we joined you and Maureen on the Portugal and Spain trip my Dad and I visited Wisley where I was enchanted by the cyclamineus growing in the grass.  I guess the moral of this is that they really don't like baking in summer.  I was able to get more seed from Dryad Nursery so I'm giving it another go. 

Say hello to Maureen for me.  I hope you're both doing well. 

Jan

[Tristan_He]

This was my first full summer in my new place and pretty much all my pots got baked.  I kept all my narcissus pretty dry and they all liked it dry except, you guessed it, cyclamineus. 

Hi Jan, this is very much a Narcissus that likes a moist Atlantic climate - grow it in the garden if possible, or if your winters are too cold don't let them dry out. Grow them as for other woodlanders like Trilliums.

Best, Tristan

[Jupiter]

Mine need to be planted out into the woodland garden ASAP. A job for this weekend...

[shaun342]

Hi folks!

About four weeks ago I planted a large quantity of mixed cyclamineus bulbs under some trees on a gentle slope. The soil is quite poor and compacted, but the trees are deciduous so will hopefully improve as the years go by as we'll use the leaves to enrich it. Am hoping they will naturalise well. Is it best to dead head them once they've finished flowering or let the seed develop? Or maybe a bit of both...

Thanks, Shaun

[annew]

Leave the seeds!

[Tristan_He]

Agree - the bulbs don't seem to increase vegetatively so they need to be allowed to self seed.

[shaun342]

Ah, thank you.

I was looking for a definitive answer/reason either way, so that fits the bill nicely 

[Philip Walker]

Sown June '12-1st flowers