A second shameless plug for daffodils

I couldn't agree more.  I confess I have a bad Narcissus jones, and right
now I'm in bliss, surrounded by thousands that my family and I have planted.
Those that have done well for us in pots and then naturalized (I usually
grow them the first year in pots and then plant them out) are Rjinfeld's
Early Sensation (bloomed at Xmas this year, still going in Feb.),
Tete-a-Tete, Barrett Browning, Ice Follies, Dutch Master or whatever King
Alf type is sold around here; Cragford, Avalanche & Geranium (both of these
coming on right now), Flower Record, Redhill, Bell Song, Salome, and
Sweetness.  For all around robustness, good looks and fragrance I would call
Geranium the winner.  Ice Follies is truly dazzling en masse and since it
blooms early it lasts a long time.
I buy from Costco if I can, but several times the variety pictured on the
bag has not turned out to be the variety in the bag.  Brent & Becky's
(formerly Daffodil Mart) I think is the best vendor for quality, selection,
and reasonable prices.  I also highly recommend their little book, Daffodils
for American Gardens.
Can you tell I love narcissus?
-----Original Message-----
From: michael larmer <mlarm@hotmail.com>
To: medit-plants@ucdavis.edu <medit-plants@ucdavis.edu>
Date: Wednesday, March 15, 2000 12:34 PM
Subject: A shameless plug for daffodils


>With all the recent talk of bulbs for mediterranen climates, I'd like to
>mention narcissus.  While generally regarded as those packages for
>fall planting that show up at the Home Depot, grown en masse by the
>Dutch, the various species Narcissus are most mediterranean in origin.
With
>a little research and experiment, it is possible to find varieties that do
>well in virtually any situation most of us might encounter, with the
>exception of year round deep shade.
>
>I live in Sacramento, California, so a great many of the larger, showier
>varieties so popular with true affecianados (members of the cult of the
>daffodil) don't do all that well for me.  It gets so damn hot here in the
>central valley that many of the flowers bred over the years since 1874
(when
>Peter Barr got the ball rolling) in England and Holland just kind of linger
>and fade away after a few years in
>the sun. Down here I stay away from the Trumpets and Poeticus sorts
>and try to stick with those that have Narcissus tazetta or
>N.jonquilla in their genetic makeup. I do grow a multitude of the
>other sorts up in the foothills, where the summers are about a month
>shorter, a little cooler, and a lot shadier (more trees).
>
>So if you're looking for bulbs that will thrive in hot, dry summers,
>you could do a lot worse than half a hundred Golden Dawn, Avalanche,
>Matador, or Geranium (all cheaply and easily obtained tazettas).
>Most daffodils have little or no chilling requirements, and many of
>the older varieties still available will naturalize in full sun to
>high or part shade, with no summer water.  An additional bonus with the
>tazettas is outstanding fragrance. I personally prefer the scent of Golden
>Dawn to anything I grow, with the possible exception of the Austin rose
>Evelyn.
>
>
>Those of us in northern California are particularly well served by the
>Northern California Daffodil Society with a web site at
>               http://www.daffodil.org/
>and their series of annual shows that are listed on the site.
>There's one at Murphys this weekend and one at Fortuna the weekend
>of the 25th and 26th. The shows are an oppotunity to painlessly
>survey the wealth of variety available in modern daffodils.  A word of
>caution though, beautiful show flowers do not always make the
>best garden plants, and most of the new ones are somewhat pricey.
>
>
>An outstanding source for bulbs of the tazetta type narcissus is
>William Welch, the self professed bulb baron of Carmel, who has the
>good sense not to have a website.  His address, last time I checked,
>was P.O. Box 1736, Carmel Valley, California 93924.  I've also had good
luck
>with Brent Heath at http://www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com/
>but generally speaking bulbs grown here in California will adapt
>more quickly to our conditions.
>
>
>
>
>Yours most respectfully,
>Michael Larmer
>
>______________________________________________________
>Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
>
>
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index