Simple Pleasure: Narcissus pseudonarcissus.

I have just this season identified a "buttercup" as they are called locally as the species N. pseudonarcissus.

My father planted these in the 1970's. They were transplanted from a "old homeplace" of a relative and I knew they were at least a family heirloom and perhaps an antique variety. I really didn't give it a lot of thought and didn't until maybe the last couple years.

My father had planted them in a very "row of soldiers" style about 200 feet long. I planted lots of other plants in the same border and transplanted this and that, and over time, the strict line became a more natural but thin swath. Of course, through all this digging and so on bulbs got tossed some distance away, carried off in garden debris, transplanted to other areas with the plant that was actually getting moved, and so on. So when I began noticing how they turned up in odd or unexpected areas, I put it down to one or more of those causes. When I noticed them *very* far away, I still didn't process the event and just thought the bulbs had washed along and rooted in.

It finally dawned on me that there were never any bulbs on the surface of the soil and many were obviously young plants with only a few leaves and no bloom. A light went on!

I had planted a few of the seeds in the border but had never marked the spot. I had no way of knowing whether they had germinated or not. I just thought I'd see a different-looking plant some day (if they were hybrids). My interest was growing along with the spread of the bulbs. I wondered if they were a dwarf variety for awhile, but when they grew taller in part-shade, I gave that up. I began researching in books and on the web and am 99% sure the are N. pseudonarcissus and I just love them now!

They are quite dependable and tough little bulbs that will bloom in part shade to full sun in virtually any soil including our clayey loam. They range from about six inches (including bloom) to about 12 inches (same), depending on situation. As is usual, the more sun and drier the location, the shorter the foliage and bloom. I have never fed them (but I will from now on!) so I can attest to their ruggedness. I can only imagine how a regular feeding will spur on their growth. They offset fairly well and make viable seed, though I wouldn't say prolifically. I haven't noticed a lot of seedheads, but then again, I haven't looked for them. When their show is over, I just forgot about them. Not anymore! I plan to collect the seeds this year.

I love this plain little Jane! It was given "pseudonarcissus" to indicate that it isn't all that special, but it is one of the beauties that covers much of Wales, so is worthy of adoration anyway. Tough and beautiful like the Welsh folk! I love wildflowers and their often understated beauty and this bi-colored species has now charmed me in a big way. I love the quarter turn of the tepals and the subtle bi-coloration and longish trumpet. I love them, period.

Robert.
edited re: turn of the tepals. They're are generally a quarter turn, more or less, when it occurs, and usually less and I haven't observed any with a lot more twist than that.


This message was edited Mar 12, 2006 8:52 PM

Lovely story, Robert.
K. James
Ed. to add:
Could I convince you to contribute some pictures, if possible?
Thanks

This message was edited Mar 8, 2006 11:08 PM

Kenton~
I took a few on film but will try to get my brother's digital so I can post here more easily.
Robert.

edited to get "Kevin's" name right.......

This message was edited Mar 9, 2006 1:17 AM

yes, please, a photo or 2... and wonder if they'd do in a dryer 6B climate.

Most bulbs do all right here, but my Narcissus [ the reg kind ] insist on pushing their way up in December, never get to bloom because it freezes, and then they just sit there with grassy stems that slowly wither away just in time for the daffys to start showing up.
Are they naturalized in NC?

I get that a lot. It's better than "Clinton."
Can;t wait to see them. PF could use'em.
Kenton

I have seen it listed as naturalized in North Carolina and quite a few other states as well. I know as I driving around, lots patches that look to be it, but I have never stopped to exzamine more closely. The loose spread-out nature of them makes me think that they are.

"Flowering spring. Roadsides, fields, waste places; 0--1000 m; introduced; B.C., Nfld. and Labr. (Nfld.), Ont.; Ala., Ark., Conn., Ga., Ill., Ind., Ky., La., Md., Mass., Mich., Miss., Mo., N.J., N.Y., N.C., Ohio, Oreg., Pa., R.I., S.C., Tenn., Tex., Va., Wash.; w Europe; expected naturalized elsewhere."

(From: http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242101787)

These are a daffodil (like jonquils, king Alfreds, etc), Bloomswithaview. They start blooming here in February. We've had some freezes (25-30 F) and they come through fairly well with light damage to open blooms and none to the foliage. I'm thinking if your other dafs do ok, these should be fine.

If you're referring to "paperwhites", they suffer the same fate here and are always forced in pots indoors in the fall and winter. (I can't stand the "fragrance" myself!) I tried some in the ground once and they soon disappeared.

Robert.



Robert.

yep paperwhites... came in a pot one year... then i planted... it's been about 5-6 years and they keep coming up and freezing back.. nature it's a wonder

Hi All, took a pix of my Pseudo's last week when it snowed, their the first ones to flower in the Spring, in fact, I have a couple flowers in Feb.

I like the way the petals wrap the trumpet. Enjoy!

Pic of N. pseudonarcissus at my place.
Color isn't very true.
Robert.

Another pic.

This little clump is from volunteer seed.
Robert.

Below the step is a single plant that has sprung from seed.

Now, the kicker: Have either of you contributed these to Plantfiles?
Especially that wide-angle shot, Robert. You have me hooked. They go on the list for next fall.
K. James

Thanks Kenton. And that's only about half the "swath".

I have been working all week in the yard and the wooded areas here at home and owe a lot of it to these "St. Peter's Leeks" (Welsh:Cenhinen Bedr (daffodil, literally "Peter's leek")). I have been raking the "swath" bed and the wooded area to see how many plants there are and to help the small ones receive more light and to expose the soil to the light and watering I've been doing to (I hope) germinate seeds that (I hope) have lain there dormant waiting for their chance.. I'm amazed at how many young plants there are. I do expect to see a lot of new sprouts in the bed and I hope the same is true in the wooded area.

I have been taking note of how they've been naturalizing on the property. Much of the spread, as you see in the wide view, is just the natural dropping of the seed, the resultant plants occuring away from the main clump by the length of the seedhead, which drops outward as the seeds ripen.

But the bed is on a slope and the seeds have washed down the slope and eventually entered the drainage flow across our lawn. (There's an old unpaved roadbed across our property.) So, they have either sprouted in the flow lane directly below the "bed" in the lawn (perhaps being trodden into the ground to stay put), or, as the lane carries the runoff for a large area, have been swept into the wooded area to sprout there.

I've found many two-leaved plants and some single leaved ones. There are probably many more of the singles to be seen but they are grasslike and resemble our "wild onions" and "wild leeks" which are plentiful as well.

I rescued a five bulb clump that had a single spent bloom on it today and potted it up. It was perched precariously on the eroding edge of a deep drainage ditch in which two families (mine and my brother's) have been depositing everything imaginable in order (I guess) to someday have it filled in or save on dump fees . A heavy rain or two would have sent it into the ditch where no doubt it would have perished under the pile of garden and woods debris (and so much more!) deposited there. Yes, I'm coo-coo over these little commoners and so what!

I plan to transplant all the plants that are in poor positions in the yard to more suitable locals in the same general area. Those plants in the wooded are I plan to leave as they are for the time being but may transplant them as well if flowering diminishes or ceases. It isn't all that great for natural spread, as it is, for two reasons. First is that it is wooded and the trees cut so much of the direct light when they leaf out and the second reason is that we've been "droughty" here in NC for at least a decade and the only water they get is from natural rainfall. The covering of dead leaves may hinder growth to some degree but might help retain moisture for germination as well. A better setup would be if the drainage would have carried them into a better light and the weather wasn't so "unhelpful".

Robert.
PS: I have sent two pix to the plantfiles and they should appear there after review.

K.James wrote:
You have me hooked. They go on the list for next fall.

They are truly a delight! I am so glad I've rediscovered them this year. I'm looking at them with new eyes after having become inured to their dependable annual show. You must order scads (technical merchandising term) of them!

I was looking through an old (1977) John Scheepers catalogue to see if they offered N. pseudonarcissus. Yes they do. For some reason it's under "Species Miniatures" and I missed it the first go 'round as i never thought of N.p. as a mini. It is probably in their "Miniature Narcissi Mix" for naturalizing.

The other "naturalizing mixes" seem to be all hybrids. (!)
I just take issue with that. Natural-izing? I think that would have to include spreading by seed, not merely multiplication by offsetting. I know what they mean, but still.......

Edited to correct my myopic reading of Scheepers catalogue. All apologies.

Robert

This message was edited Mar 11, 2006 3:21 AM

Bloomswithaview~

I meant to say also that with irrigation after setting and through their cycle, they should do ok. It just takes commitment to go out and water when it's cold or at an inconvenient time. You might also have to adjust the pH of your soil if it is an extreme one. They're adaptable but within the "normal" range of garden soils. I wish I could tell you more specifically but I haven't sought out that particular information.

Do you have other narcissus that do well?

Robert.

Here here!
I think that seeds should be a concrete requirement. I will have to check B&B to see if I can order one and a half scads.

And how, Robert, could you be just now "rediscover(ing)" them? Were they not showing well in years previous? Or were you like me, not appreciating something until you realized it was there?

It seems that species Narcissus are not so popular here. Just look for a non-culitvar or non-hybrid N. cylamineus. I bought a number of N. bulbocodium conspicuus and hope that they naturalize.
K. James

Blooms, do you think that the odd "Indian summer" you have in the canyon has anything to do with your Narc. not doing well? Robert, they are extremely adaptable to high pH like Blooms's.

JamesCo~

I just got so used to them. Of course I enjoyed their lovely spring show each year, but I didn't *love* them. I get kinda crazy and start doting on a plant sometimes, I know.

What has happened to me is like being married to someone for so long that you just take all the wonderful things about them for granted. (Not that I have ever been married ;-) ) Then something happens and you rediscover what it is about them that you fell in love with and then you discover things about them you never appreciated before.

I think discovering this Narcissus to be a species and not a hybrid was a biggie. I sometimes love the common much more than the hybrids: my favorite columbine is Aquilegia canadensis by a country mile, though I have never seen a columbine that wasn't pretty, if you get me......

Just looked at http://www.oldhousegardens.com/bulb.asp?Cat=DA&page=6 and have found even more to love: In cultivation since 1200 AD. WOW!!!!!

Robert.

Robert.

This message was edited Mar 11, 2006 12:18 AM

Kenton~

Scheepers has great prices on N.p. but it seems to be a different ssp or cultivar than I'm used to seeing.

Can't get the link to take. You can search under miniature species.

Robert.

This message was edited Mar 11, 2006 3:28 AM

This message was edited Mar 11, 2006 11:30 AM

This message was edited Mar 11, 2006 11:31 AM

Failed link, my fellow nightowl.

Robert, I so agree about these wonderful, if common, gems. Always the first to bloom here. And to see huge wads of them naturalized among the bloodroot and dutchman's breetches is heartwarming. Your telling of your rediscovery of them was lovely and poetic.

Kenton, don't buy them by any means! I can can send you many scads and oodles of them to boot! There are areas where the creek bank is eroding and the bulbs literally fall by the clump into the creek. The bulbs are small, so over 100 will fit in a flat rate box.

Neal

gemini_sage~

Glad you can relate to my "inner gardener-poet" .

Funny you should mention bloodroot. One just bloomed today, about a month earlier than usual. It's in a bed in part sun. That's what did it. The ones in the woods are still hiding.

Your spring array of wildlings sounds beautiful!

I'm thinking of starting a collection of species after all this chat and Kenton, bulbocodiums are at the top of my list, along with N. minor, triandrus, cyclaminus, cantabricus, and watieri and more to be added I'm sure.

As far as old varieties, I've been feeling a need for some "Rip Van Winkle", "Irene Copeland" , and "Pencrebar"(got a doubles thing going on!)


Robert.

N.canaliculaticus and N.bulbocodium were among my 50% off aquisitions last fall, and I can't wait to see them. Everything I planted late is being slow, but I've been checking, and they're on the way. I'm a fan of doubles as well; many are sweetly fragrant. I like the voluminous qualities of the full ones and the dainty tazetta types to. I have an old one I thought was called Mary Copeland, but it's been 25 years or more since I aquired it so there's no tellin'. I've never met a daff I did'nt like, LOL.

I am sure like both of you, I was curious about the difference between N. bulbocodium conspicuus and N. b. 'Golden Bells.' So, I have one of each planted side by side; I will keep you informed.
Poetic? Now I'm thinking about N. poeticus!

My friend had a bunch of N. canaliculatus last year, they were the last to fade away. They were such a sturdy thing for such tiny, bowl-centered things. Thus, I ordered 20 or something. She planted several species last fall, so pictures of them on this thread are a given.
Speaking of bloom time, when does N. bulbocodium show its funny little flowers?
K. James

Robert, thanks a great deal for starting what has becoome a specialty Narc. thread.
'Midget' beginning to open.

The Midget is charming!

I'm wondering if there is much chance of inter-specific crosses coming from a mixed species planting.......

Have either of you (or anyone else following this thread!) had any experience with scoring or sectioning etc. narcissus? What about with other bulbs?

Robert.

I've accidentally halved my share of Narcissus, and some of those that got it 50/50 ended up growing.

Are you saying those that weren't sliced 50/50 just died? Maybe it was the time of year.
I read on one site that narcissus are best done around mid-summer (with the bulbs presumably at rest) and are kept under warm conditions.

A lot of web instruction are way too general to be of much use: not enough of when a genus should be propagated, specifics on temperature and so on.

I'm also looking into finding someone to micro-propagate for me. Maybe a "Titan"...... or the hosta I "discovered". (I called it "Garbo", but haven't registered it with the AHS. Used to be a member.) Anyway, I have _Plants_ From Test Tubes_ and if I could afford it, I think it'd be a fascinating undertaking. There's even little tissue culture kits for home use. What won't they think of next?


Robert.

Ones sliced 60/40 sees the death of the "40." I think that the meristem has to be left in both for survival.

Were your plants growing at the time? That's the only reason I could see that both parts didn't take. From what I've been seeing, you can divide them into up to 10 pieces as long as each has some basal plate.

http://www.coopext.colostate.edu/TRA/PLANTS/index.html#http://www.coopext.colostate.edu/TRA/PLANTS/bulbprop.html

Robert.

Oh, hooray! I was enjoying reading down this thread, and was just starting to wonder if this might be the "small, old fashioned" daffodil Neal (gemini_sage) sent me scads of last fall.... and it is! It is really charming! I planted them under DH's favorite mimosa tree out back (at one end of my work-in-progress island bed of daffs & daylilies), mixing in some clumps of 'Minnow' daffs. They're sprouting up well, but it's still too soon for blooms other than the crocus in that bed. DH checks their progress daily, as daffs are his favorite flower!

Just as a (insert adjective) note, Curtis Swift is a great lecturer. He's teaching the Master Gardening class I'm taking.

I think when I wontonly chopped mine, they were dormant in fall or late summer.
K. James

K.James wrote:
I think when I wontonly chopped mine, they were dormant in fall or late summer.

Oh. That's different.

Critterologist wrote:

They're sprouting up well, but it's still too soon for blooms other than the crocus in that bed.

Mine are really going over now. We've been having high 70sF the last few days, warm nights (I've been sleeping with the windows open). Really sends them on their way! Tuesday is supposed to be 68F and 37F at night. I'll have to bring in all my amarilli and tender plants. In-out-in-out. That's spring in this part of the world.

Robert.

I left some Hippeastum seedlings outside. Their leaves froze shortly before being laced delicately with fluffy snow. Did I mention they are fine yet?

I tell you, my "propagation" was purely accidental and I wished then that I hadn't done it, as niether bulb bloomed that spring!
K. James

'Rip van Winkle' and his fineries.

Hello fellow daffodil lovers,
I have been collecting and planting these wonderful carefree bulbs for 30 years. I used to deadhead them each spring, but after my count reached 2000, I stopped counting! I finally stopped deadheading all of them as well, and I, too, started seeing seedlings here and there on my property.
I must have 4000 of these by now.
Here is the downside: In early June, the whole property seems to become a bedraggled mess of flopped-over yellowing foliage. What a sight. I try to go on vacation about that time, LOL.

Raydio, I loved your garden poetry and sentiments about the touching beauty of a familiar and sometimes taken-for-granted bloom. I have often felt the same emotions and wonder.

Do any of you know the name of this old-time variety? I used to know it, but now that I am past 50 I guess there is no use in learning it again, ha.

Toxi

Here's what I'm enjoying in the wilds beyond the yard, just across the creek:

A little closer:

Kenton, do you think we can find enough of em for ya? LOL

This message was edited Mar 17, 2006 9:38 AM

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