Daffodil Flower Information and Facts
Posted by admin in Daffodil Articles on May 31, 2011
The daffodil is also known as Jonquil, Narcissus, Paperwhite and the 'Poet's Hower'. The name of the species is Narcissus, every daffodil is a narcissus but not all narcissi (plural of narcissus) are daffodils. Narcissus is the botanical name for the genus. The name 'daffodil' is generally used for single, trumpet-shaped flowers.
The name 'Narcissus' comes from the Greek mythology. A nymph, fell in love with the Greek youth Narcissus who loved only himself and therefore rejected her. She died of a broken heart. Narcissus liked to see his reflection in a pool of water, stood there and admiring his beauty. The gods were then angry with him and changed Narcissus into a flower and named after him - the Narcissus flower.
The flower has six petals arranged in a star shape with a central trumpet facing out. Stems of single flowers are 30 - 50 cm (12 - 20 inches) long, multi-flowered stems are normally shorter. They vary in size and color depending on the variety. There are over 25,000 varieties of narcissus in shades of yellow, white, peachy pink, orange, and bicolor. Many daffodil flowers are fragrant.
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Plant Daffodils in Drifts For a Natural Landscape Look
Posted by admin in Daffodil Articles on May 30, 2011
Daffodils
So that they will make a strong root system plant them outdoors early. Before planting dig fine peat into the soil and apply at the same time bone meal or any good complete fertilizer. If you use manure be sure that it is old, and be sure that you dig it in deep enough that only the roots will reach it. Set the bulbs 5 to 6 inches deep, 4 to 6 inches apart.
Grow Daffodils in "drifts" which simply means in irregular masses, either large or small. This can be done by scattering the bulbs broadcast and planting where they fall. Let them fall thickly in some places, lightly elsewhere. The result will be more natural-appearing.
Daffodils shine when planted in clumps in the mixed border, along walks and in combination with single early Tulips they are especially showy. Plant some Daffodils with tulips for an effect that is startlingly bright.
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Daffodils in Spring
Posted by admin in Daffodil Articles on May 29, 2011
As I look out the window of our home office I see a mild blizzard. Hey, it's two weeks into spring. Where are those beautiful warm days we've been waiting for? The crocus and daffodils are making their first appearance. Soon the leaves will be popping open but the days are still cold and the nights are freezing.
This morning, as we came out of the gym, we had to brush snow off of the car windows. We admired the beauty of the daffodils as we drove in the yard. They looked fine. I recalled a disappointing experience while living in Denver, Colorado, when we had a heavy late snow fall. My heart sank when I looked at the daffodils. Surely they would be dead by morning, so I decided to try and save them by brushing the snow off of the petals and to my disappointment in the morning all my beautiful spring flowers were stiff and frozen. It wasn't until I read in my gardening book that I realized my mistake. The snow is a protection and insulates the delicate petals. Yes, they bend over with the heavy wet snow, but daffodils are a remarkable spring flower. They are very hardy and can tolerate freezing temperatures.
I learned a valuable lesson that year. So now when a spring snow covers my full blooming daffodils I leave them alone and let nature take its course. This morning our daffodils were bent over a bit but they had survived the storm and will continue to bring their wonderful brightness to our front yard.