Narcissus January 2017

[YT]

That looks like scree beds, Anne
Is BD 03/53 fertile?

[Cfred72]

The first narcissus flowers are out on my raised bed. Still no cat digging since the track ballast was applied! (They are going in my frames instead  )
Narcissus BD 03/53 - one of Brian Duncan's babies, Moroccan bulbocodiums x N. hedraeanthus bred to give short stems.

Very beautiful Anne.

[annew]

That looks like scree beds, Anne
Is BD 03/53 fertile?

I can't remember. 

[Matt T]

That looks like scree beds, Anne
Is BD 03/53 fertile?

As both parents are in the same section, they should be fertile. I'm not sure that I got any seeds on mine last year, but that would most likely have been down to the awful weather rather than any compatibility issues.

[Matt T]

The rocks on your daff bed give a very naturalistic effect. The pic with the wee daffs pushing through could have been taken in the wild! Gad they are also having the desired effect in deterring the feline vermin!

[annew]

Maybe I should cover the entire garden in track ballast!

[Yann]

Hercule's work for next spring Anne 

[annew]

Well, we had an interesting day - our 'new' donated second-hand greenhouse was not happy with the strong winds today. This morning 3 panes of glass were out and the retaining clips of others were popping out all over the place! We quickly tried to put extra clips in as many as we could in the hope they would stay put.
We've had much stronger winds in our exposed position, so I've had to be sensible and cut our losses before we lose the plants inside.
I ordered a Rhino greenhouse to replace it today. I think we may have to remove all the plants and staging to erect it though. Hoping for a prolonged spell of good (or calm) weather.
Hercules' work for sooner!

[Rimmer de Vries]

Narcissus serontinus seedlings one month after being removed from three capsuls and sown on the surface of this mix. a clear cup was pla ed on top for humidity until green was showing.

[Maggi Young]

Growing well, Rimmer - but the  bulbs will have to expend a lot of energy getting themselves down to a  good depth and may take longer to flower because of that. So we have found here, anyway. 

[Matt T]

It might be possible to top dress them with a light covering of fine potting mix or gritty sand to give them a bit more depth for protection? I'd be very worried about desiccation if they're forming at/close to the surface.

[Rimmer de Vries]

Thanks for the advice.
I dumped some turface and sand on top.

[Maggi Young]

Weather not very nice today  so Ian retreated to bulbhouse to look at hoop petticoat narcissus

[YT]

Narcissus romieuxii var. mesatlanticus

[Matt T]

So compact as always, Tatsuo. Yours is about a 10th of the height of mine 

Daff season is certainly here:

Narcissus romieuxii mesatlanticus
Narcissus bulbocodium citrinus
Narcissus 'Limey Lass ' a Brian Duncan hybrid, which is very floriferous and increases well
Narcissus 'Lemon Flare' - another from BD
Also, a side-by-side comparison of flowers from each of BD's hybrids ('Lemon Flare' left, 'Limey Lass' right)