Autumn flowering narcissus in the Northern Hemisphere 2018

[Yann]

While our australian friends taunt us with their spring daffodils...our autumn species are also blooming 

The shy and shiny Narcissus serotinus.

[Gerdk]

Yann, that's quite early! Congratulations!

Did you water to wake it up?

Gerd

[annew]

Lovely little thing, Yann. And the daffodil too. 

[Yann]

Gerd i only watered my autumn crocuses and colchicum, the rest of the pots is dry as desert.
Temperatures are increasing for the next 2 weeks, inside plastic pots it can seriously heat the compost...too wet, you know how it usually ends

So i'll water may be by the end of the month.

[Yann]

perfect form for this hybrid

Narcissus cavanillesii has started to bloom very early, i watered the pot thirsday.

[Maggi Young]

I've made a new thread for these delightful narcissus

[Yann]

Good idea, more will follow in the next weeks 

[Gerdk]

Good idea, more will follow in the next weeks 

- Yes! This is my first cavanillesii - a selected form with bigger bulbs and often two flowers/stem.
I hope this will continue next year.

Gerd

[Yann]

2 stems per bulb, not common.

[annew]

Interesting little daff - would fool most gardeners (and me) I was lucky to obtain some bulbs this autumn, so look forward to try growing them. Meanwhile, I covet yours   

[Gerdk]

Thank you Ann & Yann!

This full splendour lasts only 2 days (of course due to the the recent temperatures).
@Yann: I  am not sure that the two stems came from one bulb.

Gerd

[Gerdk]

This is Narcissus cavanillesii var. mauretanicus in comparison to
N. cavanillesii from Spain (last pic).
The variety from Morocco is slightly larger and flowers more reliably than the other one.

Gerd

[Yann]

Gerd that's interesting to show the difference. What can explain that?

Distance between Tanger's riffs and Tarifa is so short. 
Those i saw in the cap Spartel has stems 2x bigger those i grow (Cadiz region).
Does the morrocan variety is a relic and the ones from Spain evolved over time once the actual spanish corner detached from Africa?

mauretanicus has elongated bulbs and 2n=28, it's not the case for spanish bulbs but forms in Cadiz region has also 2n=28
and others farthest north has 2n=14/21.

Michael Salmon published a doc http://dafflibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/Michael-Salmon-on-N.-cavanillesii.pdf

Since DNA analysis gave also 2n=28 for ssp humilis

Very confused

[Gerdk]

Yann,
If I recall correctly it was stated that the origin of some autumn flowering daffodils (cavanillesii/serotinus/viridiflorus) was North Africa probably. Because of the more extensive distribution of these autumn flowerers there I don't guess that the Moroccan variety of cavavillenisii is a relic.
It seems that the Spanish/Portuguese populations are outliers of the African ones.

From a growers point of view it is clearly evident that var. mauritanicus flowers more reliably than var. humilis from Spain.
I received my first bulbs of the Moroccan variety from Ian Robertson in 2011 (a pot illustrated in the report of the Autumn South AGS Show 2010) and since then they always do better than all of the Spanish forms from different sites. Perhaps the future will show that a selection from El Palmar (shown here at September 18 th) will be an exception.

I would be glad if you let me know the reference for DNA analysis 2n=28 for ssp humilis.

Gerd

[Yann]

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs00606-008-0015-1.pdf