Was out in the country this weekend, and saw a number of clumps of this flower along the road, as well as at the entrance drive to an old homeplace. Looks like a daffodil or narcissus to me, but awfully late to bloom. Does anyone recognize the cultivar?
Old House Gardens has a number of heirloom bulbs that look similar. They are lovely.
http://oldhousegardens.com/display.aspx?cat=daffodil&page=1
Hmm...Queen of the North does look a bit similar, but these petals are more reflexed and indented (my new horticultural term)! It does show it as a mid/late, so that fits...
Edited to say-- I had also posted this at the bulbs forum, and I believe I have my answer. Copied this from there. Take a look at the pics in Plantfiles, and I think you'll agree it is correct: Also, Scott Ogden, at page 111 of his "Garden Bulbs for the South," discusses a Narcissus which also looks a lot like yours. He says,
Quoting:"The old hybrid called April beauty or twin sisters is actually Narcissus xmedioluteus (N. biflorus), a natural cross of N. poeticus and N. tazetta cultivated since the sixteenth century. The round, white-petaled blooms bear small, yellow cups, and appear mostly in pairs, but sometimes singly or three together. They often close the daffodil season in late April."
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Go to Google books, search for this book, and then scroll down to that page. There is also a picture of it there, which caption states, "April beauty or twin sisters (Narcissus xmedioluteus) is a late-blooming historic variety common in the upper South."
This message was edited Apr 19, 2011 8:34 PM
I wouldn't want to go around pronouncing that name, LOL. How cool that you identified it and I hope you can "acquire" some of the bulbs. Sounds like they need to be rescued.
Hop on over to the bulbs forum and see the discussion (sorry, didn't link). Says that this bulb has been planted for over 200 years in the south. Cool, eh? I love seeing what people grew in years past. We plant, and envision what we plant will look like in 5 or 10 or 20 years. Imagine if you could check out some things you planted 100 years later!
