Narcissus March 2007

[KentGardener]

Not sure if this will help – this description is in the book Narcissus by Michael Jefferson-Brown published in 1991:

"The first hybrids to be noted were the wild progeny of N. triandrus and N. pseudonarcissus.  These attractive plants were given the name N. johnstonii, but were better known as ‘Queen of Spain’ and ‘King of Spain’.  Under these names they were introduced into our gardens.  With long stove-pipe coronas and swept back petals, and standing around the height of the ‘Lent Lily’, they make a distinctive picture in pale primrose-sulphur shades.  A few gardens still retain bulbs of these plants which were originally imported towards the end of the last century, and topped up in the earlier years of this one.  As they are such distinctive and sought-after plants, they make natural candidates for artificial increase by bulb chipping or tissue culture."

regards

John

[Maggi Young]

pale primrose-sulphur shades

You will see that the plant which Ian believes he has traced back to Q of S has indeed got the pale primrose colour mentioned in M. J-B's book.

[mark smyth]

Oh well straight in from work and out for a photo. Englanders have now raised their heads. Supposed Queen of Spain stands 9" 23cm Englander 8" 20cm

[Maggi Young]

Mark, if you went out to take a photo here you'd need treatment for hypothermia.. its flipping 'orrible! Sleet, hail, YUCK!

[mark smyth]

As you can tell the sun was shining when I went out. Same nasty weather as yesterday but very warm in between. Here is another photo. These two cyclamineous hybrids are slightly different especially petal length and shape

[mark smyth]

Ian will have to get one of his bulbs twinned so we can all have some or get someone to repeat the cross
from Daffnet
Seed Parent: N. pseudonarcissus
Pollen Parent: N. tri.pallidulus
Comments: N. x johnstonii selection; Name cannot be applied with certainty to any one of several clones of N. x johnstonii, per RHS 14th Supp.; *cc: 20 or 21; petals reflexed, sulphur colored

This is x johnstonii

[mark smyth]

With permission from Keith and Sandy Fridler I can show you this photo they showed recently on Daffnet

"This gives you an idea of the immense numbers of n. Jonquilla blooming along the roadside there in Pine Mills Texas. This one drift stretches along about 1/2 a mile of highway right of way. This shot was taken 3-16-07. You could spend a week sorting through the different shapes and sizes of these"

[David Shaw]

Tony
I cann't find any info or pictures of John Wall to compare, but my Queen of Spain (8") is much deeper coloured than the ones shown by Ian.
Whatever, it's a super flower.

[annew]

Wow! The scent from those jonquils must be quite something!

[Maggi Young]

That was my first thought, too, Anne, when I saw those drifts of Texan jonquils! Oh to be able to catch that fragrance on the air!

[Lesley Cox]

No, I don't believe it - just a low growing form of gorse. On the other hand, I can just about smell them from here.

[mark smyth]

ummm the scent of Gorse on a warm, late spring day, bees a buzzin', larks a singin'

[Maggi Young]

 Here are two urls that will be helpful to  those of you interested in narcissus but new to this world!
http://www.rhs.org.uk/seedlist/registerpages/intro.asp

The International Daffodil Register and Classified List
An introduction to The International Daffodil Register and Classified List (1998), comprising:
Daffodil classification
Cultivar registration
Scope of the Register
Interpreting the Register
Illustrations and glossary of descriptive terms
Amending the Register
Acknowledgements
Horticultural classification
Botanical classification (124KB PDF document)
Botanical names in alphabetical order (249KB PDF document)

Use this link to search the Daffodil database:
http://www.rhs.org.uk/seedlist/registerpages/DaffSearch.asp

The American Daffodil Society :
http://daffodilusa.org/         
has DaffSeek, where one may search many registered daffs:
http://daffseek.org/

Hope this helps some newbies out there!

[tonyg]

Narcissus aplenty both at home and at the AGS Kent show on 17th March
First the show plants
Narcissus bulbocodium
Narcissus rupidulus - I presume a cross between N triandrus pallidulus and N rupicola
N ? triandrus x fernandesii - this is the name suggested by Bob & Rannveig Wallis who raised it.

[tonyg]

These were at the show but now they are at home!
Narcissus bulbocodium - the form I gave to Lee M.
Narcissus calcicola - raised form AGS seed
Narcissus cuatrecassasii - lost its label but Bob Wallis agreed my choice of name!  Not typical of N cuatrecassasii but it could not be much else.  (Tony Darby posted a plant acquired as N scaberulus which looks rather similar ... my lost label might have said the same thing!)
Narcissus dubius - seed raised.