Narcissus September - December 2009

[David Nicholson]

Labels amended now, to "ex JCA 805"

Thanks for the link Maggi I'd forgotten that otherwise wouldn't have opened my big mouth.

[Maggi Young]

Happy to help, David and Gerry.... it is tough to keep up with the volume of info on the forum.....I shudder to think how many trees would have been cut down to print books of all this info... or how many hundreds of gallons of ink.....

[Lesley Cox]

Thanks for the link Maggi I'd forgotten that otherwise wouldn't have opened my big mouth.

That's what mouths are for David, and cake of course.

[Paul T]

And chocolate, Lesley.  Well until they find some way to give it intravenously of course. 

[Lesley Cox]

Paul I wrote chocolate first then changed it for cake, this note for David rather than for MAggi. I'm not keen on the intravenous thought though. It would bypass the tastebuds.

[David Nicholson]

 

[pehe]

Can anybody identify this narcissus?
I believe it is a romieuxii cultivar, but I am not sure. I bought it some years ago labelled Narcissus cyclamineus.
I grow it in the open garden and the flower opened some days ago. Then it was slightly creamy. The flower is 45 mm across on a 10 cm stem.

Poul

[Maggi Young]

What a cute thing to have in the open garden at this time, Poul.
Coming so early it is a  N. cantrabricus, probably foliosus....quite a surprise from a purchase of cyclamineus!

[Gerry Webster]

What a cute thing to have in the open garden at this time, Poul.
Coming so early it is a  N. cantrabricus, probably foliosus....quite a surprise from a purchase of cyclamineus!

Poul - I'm inclined to agree with Maggi. You can confirm that it is  N. cantabricus foliosus by the presence of a pedicel (a short length of stem between the top of the main stem & the ovary) - no other forms of N. cantabricus have this. Incidentally, that is a very large flower, much bigger than mine!

[Regelian]

not really the place to ask, but I want to find more information on hybridizing in the genus Narcissus.  I've checked the various society websites, but, if there is any info specifically for hybridizing, I've missed it.  I have recently been gifted some nice seedlings and a few irish-bred cultivars and want to start working more seriously with the genus.

Also,  shouldn't Narcissus have it's own forum?  Strikes me as important enough and having the southern and northern threads together is a bit overwhelming. 

ciao für now,

Jamie

[pehe]

Maggi, Gerry,

Thanks for the identification, I will label it N. cantrabricus foliosus.
I am not so keen on Narcissus, but when I first saw the grass like leaves, I knew that it could not be cyclamineus.
I had decided that if they not flowered this season I would dig them up and put in a pot in my bulb frame. But now that they are in flower I am in doubt. How hardy are they? The last winters in Denmark have been quite warm. I bought them as 2-year old bulbs and now 3 years later 2 out of 3 are flowering. They seem to be quite happy in the garden, but maybe I have been lucky.

Poul

[Maggi Young]

They won't take deep  frost penetrating into the ground, Poul, so perhaps it is just the luck of milder winters in your area that has lead to their survival to now. 
How brave are you feeling? You could take a chance, or lift to a pot..... I'd lift them; they last a good time and it is so good to be able to study them closely when in flower at a time that can be rather unpleasant out of doors for kneeling to apprciate such gems and the risks of frost are more easily avoided.

[Regelian]

Poul,

I agree with Maggie, lift them and maintain in a pot.  We have similar climates and, although they are pretty hardy in Cologne (Zone 8 ), they do not flower well as we have very wet Summers most years.  Without a dry period, they don't seem to bloom.  In a pot, I let them dry out during the Summer and thus get flowers.

[dominique]

My viridiflorus in flower

[Sinchets]

My first Narcissus of this season- I think maybe it is N.cantrabicus. Doing quite well considering I dug it out of a tomato bed a few weeks ago, where it has spent the summer rather wet being flooded every few days with lots of tomato food.