Winter flowering narcissi

[Roma]

I was about to post the following pics on the early flowering narcissus thread, but I see it has been locked. ( I totally agree with you Maggi)

The first pic is of Narcissus cantabricus hybrids, grown as such from seed a number of years ago. The second is of Narcissus romieuxii subsp. albidus var. zaianicus, a nicely shaped flower.  The other bulb in this pot has produced a rather crumpled flower as have the bulbs in a second pot.

[Maggi Young]

As the number of crocus in flower goes through a quiet spell, I wonder sometimes how I would survive if it were not for these wee gems to cheer the longest of  the dark days.... just as well I'm not living any further north, isn't it? Roma, beautifully grown bulbs.... well, of course!
Here's another pic of the same ...taken from a Bulblog of the 20th february this year..... quite a difference in flowering time, eh?

Also, our plant looks to have deeper bells... are you stamens exserted, if you'll pardon my impudent question? 

[annew]

Lovely potfuls, Roma. We at least who grow these delights will have a white Christmas. 

[David Nicholson]

I'm utterly besotted with (by?) them.

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Wonderful show Roma !!!!
I agree totally that these beauties perfectly fill the gap inbetween late and early Crocus !

[Rogan]

To the Narc aficionados,

What exactly (...or almost!) is N. cantabricus 'Petunioides'? I can find very little info on the www regarding my pot of seedling narcs (ex. JJA Seeds) - thanks.

I love your pot of narcs Roma - very beautiful!

[mark smyth]

Rogan they are my favourite but I dont own any. Their trumper is curled back and quite flat

[Maggi Young]

Rogan, have a look through these BulbLogs  ... main page here: http://www.srgc.org.uk/bulblog/bulblog.html

See Nos.
 1/03     3/04     3/06     8/08... that will give you more idea about what is more often called N. cantabricus petuniode form.....  JCA 805  and the selection 'Julia Jane' is the most well known of these types in N. romieuxii.

[Gerry Webster]

Rogan- here is a scan from Blanchard's book. The quality is poor but it will give you an idea.

[Maggi Young]

Far be it from me to start another name discussion...
but the scan shows a plant in the wild, labelled as    aff. petuniodes...... which suggest to me that while it  has some  similarities with petunioides, it is nt actually that.... and indeed the phot does not show the very petunia- like wide face that I would expect from the JCA collections.

[Gerry Webster]

Maggi - according to Blanchard, until recently most of the bulbs of N. cantabricus var. petunioides  in cultivation derive from a  single bulb received by his father in the 1930s from van Tubergen. The botanical description was apparently based on this clone & though the origin was not known for certain it was  assumed to be Algeria. Blanchard  mentions  recent wild sightings of "similar", "identical" or "typical" plants   in Morocco by himself & Mike Salmon but there is no reference to Jim Archibald. I agree that the plant in Blanchard's photo does not look all that  petunia-like but I bow to his  superior knowledge of narcissus in general & the original plant in particular. 

I had N. cantabricus var. petunioides  (said to be the original clone) from Elizabeth Strangman some years ago but lost it before it flowered so I don't know how it compares with Blanchard's photo. I believe JCA805, from which 'Julia Jane' derives, is N. romieuxii . 'Julia Jane'  is said to be easier to grow but I have never seen the genuine plant in the flesh  so  I have no idea how the two compare in their petunioidness (if there is such a word).

Edit - in the JJA seedlist of Aug 2003 Jim states that his seeds come from the original clone (selfed) but only some will be petunioid.

[Ian Y]

Gerry
I used to grow N. cantabricus var. petunioides but lost it some years ago before I went over to digital photography so I will only have slide pictures and have no idea exactly where they are.

What you state is correct that it is a N. cantabricus and so pure white but it has the same petunioide shape as some of the selections from  N. romieuxii from 805.

I only wish I could get hold of it again as seed which as you also state only the selected flat and wide flared forms can be given the varietal name - it is so beautiful even more so than it looks in the picture  you scanned

The last year it flowered was the year I made the cross between it and N. triandrus where N. cantabricus var. petunioides was the pollen parent.

[Roma]

Maggi, I have studied other pics of my Narcissus zaianicus and it does indeed seem to have exserted stamens.  It was grown from AGS seed sown in January 2004 and first flowered last year.  I find it difficult to identify these hoop petticoat narcissi and usually keep the name they were grown as.  It is easy to say something is definitely wrong if it is very different from the description but it is harder to put a true name to it especially as they can hybridise.

[Rogan]

Well, that is certainly very interesting - thanks for your comments and photos.

My 'petunioides' bulbs are two years old from seed, so I'm holding my breath for flowers this winter - perhaps its Moroccan origins explain its propensity for growth in my warm climate?

[annew]

I've been looking at photos from last year - this is a pot of N catab petunioides from seed. If I remember correctly, some of the later ones to flower were more widely flared. The second photo is of Atlas Gold, a bit 'over the top' in my eyes.