Heirloom Narcissus-A Glorious Spring Jewel

While I'm sure you are familar with Daffodil or maybe "March lily", I wonder if you have ever met some of the most beautiful and vibrant spring jewels-Heirloom Fragrant Narcissus.

Now don't get we wrong, I love to see these yellow pops of color all over the countryside in the spring but the all too familiar daffodil we have become accustomed to is different than what I am talking about.

There are an amazing sea of these beautiful and fragrant Narrcissus. Narcissus is the botanical name in which daffodils are classified and daffodil is just the generic term everyone seems to use for this classy bloomer. And while Daffodil is just easier to say than Narcissus, it seems that they take on somewhat of a generic tone for most people when you talk about these spring flowers. There is nothing generic about a beautiful and fragrant narcissus. They come in so many joyful and bright colors-all white, white with yellow cup, white with peach cup, white with orange up, all yellow, yellow with orange cup, double flowering, stems with multiple fragrant stems, butterfly narcissus with large center cups. These gorgeous spring bloomers really need to be known as much different than what we've seen growing on the countryside.

There are so many different varieties-it's hard to know where to begin. There are double varieties like Tahiti that are a vibrant yellow with little snipets of orange tucked in the center or the double White Lion with cream outer petals and little flakes of yellow on the inside.

Then you have Butterfly Narcissus-there is a small yellow one in the pic above. Butterfly Narcissus have a large central cup that resembers the open wings of a butterfly in flight. These daffodils have such a whimsical take on blooming that it truly makes me wonder where the flower fairies may be hanging out.

Let's not leave out the narcissus with multiple flowers on each stem. Many of them carry with them a beautiful fragrance as well-varieties like Bridal Crown, Yellow Cheerfulness, Winston Churchhill are just to name a few that we have growing in our garden but there are a plethora of others that are just as gorgeous and fragrant.

Caring for these beauties does not have to be difficult. Tuck them in the ground in the fall and just wait for them to pop through the soil come spring. I don't usually fertilize them or water them during the year-I just let good ole mother nature take care of them. You typically don't have to worry about critters eating them.

If you leave your bulb alone after just a few years they will multiple and you can dig up your bulbs and redistribate them all around your yard- that makes them a budget savy plant. But you need to wait until the green blades have turned yellow/brown before you bring the bulb out of the ground. Those glorious green blades are what the plant uses to photosynthesize and create the needed energy for next years blooms. So if you pull too early you will most likely affect next years blooming.

And as far as picking them to bring inside- I reach down to the bottom of the stem of the bloom where it meets the soil line and pull from the bottom so I can get the longest stem possible. Pick in the early morning or late evening before it gets warm so as not to stress the bloom. And in case you didn't know narcissus have sap that flows out for a bit-be careful if you are allergic to it (it's never bothered me but I know it has others). So because of the sap you will want to place them in water by themselves for 3-4 hours to give time for the flow of the sap to stop if you plan to mix them with other flowers. The sap will shorten the vase life of other flowers if placed in the same vessel before the sap flow stops. If you recut the stem expect the sap to reflow so cut the stem at the length you want it while you wait for sap to stop flowing.

Daffodils are another lovely spring beauty that are worth your time. So when you notice the green blades coming up but not as many blooms-don't be dismayed-this is probably your sign that it's time to dig up your bulbs and seperate them and replant. It's doesn't get any better than free plants- does it? So put daffodils on your TO DO list!. You will be happy that you did!