Comments on: Heirloom Narcissus

By: Nelson

Nelson — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:22:13 +0000

Hi Kathy,
I think your “Kathy Sweethearts” are actually “Mrs. Langtry” (1869) and not “White Lady” although both are very similar. My grandmother had lots of the “Kathy Sweethearts” in her garden….

By: Chris Geary-Durrill

Chris Geary-Durrill — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 20:36:36 +0000

I have a lot of the cultivars you display here – which either came with my 1930s house, from elderly relations’ yards, and abandoned house and construction sites – sometimes in front of a bulldozer! The narcissus are a particular favorite of mine as they were all over the farm I grew up on in Central Missouri. Unable to locate a commercial source after the farm was sold, I looked for years for them until one day I found a clump of them blooming merrily in a water-logged ditch along the highway. I took a chance and grabbed them before the mowers got them. Three years later and they are blooming beautifully among the more modern cultivars I’ve planted since moving in (no particular breeds there – I go to the sale rack every November and grab a bushel of whatever catches my heart at knockdown prices. Otherwise, I’d have none as bulbs are expensive!!!).
I have to date: Golden Spur, Colleen Bawn (a very old swan necked white that starts out white/cream with a yellow trumpet), Van Sion, Carlton (?), Poeticus, Irene Copeland, and what may be a Pimpernel (red trumpet yellow outer petals, another old house find).
Should you ever want to swap, I’m looking for Thalias or any of the oldies but goodies.
If you’d like to see my collection of online daffodil portraits, feel free to drop in any time at: http://www.ringo.com/photos/album.html?albumId=41834671

By: Mari Marstein

Mari Marstein — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 12:35:11 +0000

It’s the same here, they make buds, but the buds get dry like grey silky paper and wither away. This concerns the white doubles. I found the advice in an old gardening book from 1902. The soil here is heavy clay. I haven’t had any problems of this sort with the yellow doubles yet.
I collect old garden plants for the museum where I work, Gamle Hvam museum, 50 km northeast of Oslo in Norway. Your comments on your heirloom plants are universal. Old garden plants are extremely important to those who have them, and they love them!

By: Kathy Purdy

Kathy Purdy — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 10:37:40 +0000

Wes, those sound similar to the double yellows I have.

Mari, they do make flower buds, it’s just that some years the flower buds never open. They wither on the stalk. This might be related to air temperature. At the end of the season it sometimes turns hot and summery rather suddenly.

By: Mari Marstein

Mari Marstein — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 10:25:41 +0000

If your N. odoratus fl. pl. are growing blind, or “just go up into grass” as you might say here in Norway, it might be because the soil is too heavy, or because the spring is too dry.
Wonderful web-site! Thank you!

By: Wes Black

Wes Black — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 20:27:55 +0000

Hi Kathy, I wanted to tell you and your readers about something I just received from my 98 yr old Grandmother. Yellow, double Narcissus that were in her Grandmothers yard. I am real excited and can’t wait for my 17 yr old Daughter to put some in her garden some years from now.

Your flowers are gorgeous, you should be very proud. I’m curious, how old do you think you oldest are? Thanks for the great info!

By: ghazal

ghazal — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 14:13:31 +0000

hi
your website is very useful
I will be glad if you see my weblog & leave a comment

By: Pat Kinlan

Pat Kinlan — Sat, 03 Jun 2006 21:53:48 +0000

Hi Kathy,
I love your site, very nice. I am very intreagued that you have a trumpet daffodil that blooms earlier than Rijnveldt’s. I am always looking for a way to get my spring started earlier. I am wondering if you would be interested in trading some of them to me. I am currently dividing a large clump of daffs that I’m affraid I haven’t been able to identify. They are a tall late bloomer and have white petals and a small yellow cup. I think they must have some poeticus blood in them. Please let me know if you are interested

By: Kathy Purdy

Kathy Purdy — Tue, 30 May 2006 00:17:01 +0000

When people say growing blind, I think they only use it in regard to bulbs, maybe just daffodils. I don’t think they refer to all blooming plants. It seems to mostly be a British term.

By: Zoey

Zoey — Mon, 29 May 2006 13:17:39 +0000

Wow, Kathy, you do have a lot of daffs. They are beautiful.
I always learn so much from you. I did not know that “Growing blind ” was the term for the flowerless plants (of which I have many).