April Narcissus 2012

[Maggi Young]

I would think Nigel's are clonal, not seed raised, but I am not sure. He's such a good grower he likely can get them multiplying happily.   

 Do you see what I mean about the "non-Abaleish" form being flatter, less reflexed, less twisting in the petals? I just prefer it... personal taste.


Perth is often a fab show... only downside is the strange "sports-hall" lighting.

[ronm]

Certainly the ' non- Abaleish' form appears to be less complicated and to my mind more stylish, but theres not much in it and I don't really know Daffs ( can I even call them that? ). Abaleish looks like its had the 'hair drier treatment'! You have seen many Maggi and noted their nuances,  ; up until 2 hrs ago I had seen one and pretty much ignored it. So I go with your experience.  

Must say I've enjoyed this steep learning curve  

[Gerry Webster]

I suppose this might be N. watieri though I'm surprised to see it flowering in the open garden & even more surprised that it was on sale at a fair - it is hardly a common plant. I wonder if it could be the hybrid 'Xit'?
How tall is it Ron?

[ronm]

A plant fair with many specialist nurseries. Sorry if I misled on that. Its what we call them here.

I'll retake a pic against a ruler tomorrow Gerry, but it's no more than a few inches.

[Rafa]

Gerry, I also think it could be  Narcissus 'Xit', Narcissus watieri is also not easy to maintain in the dry Spain, so it puzzle me it can grows outdoors without problems there.

[ronm]

Is 'Xit' fertile? This sets seed profusely.

[annew]

I don't think it is Xit - the proportions of the flower are wrong. Surprised that N. watieri would manage outside though.

[Gerry Webster]

Looking at the photos of 'Xit' on Daffseek, they seem to vary somewhat (I suppose they are correctly identified).

[annew]

None of my watieri have seen fit to flower this year, so I can't show a side by side comparison.

[ronm]

Maybe this helps it -

Annual rainfall (mm)

South Holderness - 600 ( but a lot less in last few years )
Segovia - 500
Atlas Mountains  - 700

Very free draining soil ( its in our 'Med Bed' ). The rock is on the South side of the plant so its leaves (top 2/3 anyway) get full sun / uninterrupted light all day while the bulb and roots are in cool full shade from the rock all day. Plenty of other stuff growing all around it also, sucking the soil dry all year round almost ( unlike in a pot! ).

We are just very lucky I guess  

Thanks for all your help everyone. We know approx. what it is now and thats good enough for us.  

[annew]

We are just very lucky I guess  

Skill, Ron, skill...

[ronm]

A little thought went into the siting of it Anne, but only in a general 'what do bulbs from hot countries like?' sort of a way  . I don't know one Daff from another, so lets say an educated great piece of luck! 

[Anthony Darby]

Rainfall can be misleading. In a lecture I was once told that Sri Lanka is lush tropical on one side and desert on the other. We were then asked to compare Sri Lanka's rain with that of Oban. Naturally we discussed Oban's incessant rain and empathised with the people living in the wet half of Sri Lanka. However, Oban gets the same annual rainfall as the desert side of Sri Lanka, which gets it all at once in the short wet season, not by being drip fed every day like Oban.

[Gerry Webster]

None of my watieri have seen fit to flower this year...........

Same here. Likewise in 2011. It seems very fussy about summer treatment, hence my doubts about the identity of Ron's plant.
Here is mine from 2010.

[ronm]

Very true Anthony, but the Atlas mountains rainfall curve is not extreme. However point taken. We are about 1 mile N of the great River Humber and its not unusual to see rain falling heavy over the river when we have none in the garden. Perhaps its not correct, but the local people say that the river draws the rain.