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Narcissus

Narcissus have had a tough spring. They came out early this year brought on by a mild winter and a warm January sun, only to find the dull skies of a cold February, strong gales in March and finally snow showers in April. Maybe you hardly noticed them this year as the outdoors has seemed so uninviting.

Despite all that there were fantastic shows of flowers everywhere; in gardens, parks and on road verges. They got a bit battered but the display was still glorious. This marks out Narcissus as an excellent plant to use in a time of increasingly variable weather and seasonal shift.

This year the robust miniature 'Tete a Tete' was amazing in my garden. It flowered alongside the paths from mid January untill early April. The most beautiful narcissus I grew was the delicate 'Segovia' which carries an RHS AGM (Award of Garden Merit). Like all narcissus it will grow well in most situations but I grew it in pots with violas to make a spring display near to the house.

Narcissus 'Segovia'

Once narcissus stop flowering it is so easy to forget them. They do benefit from a simple care program and the following plan will ensure that they remain healthy and flower well.

Dead head when flowering is over,
Feed the leaves with a good seaweed fertilizer, leave the green leaves untill they turn yellow (don't tie them up)
Mark the site where they grow so that you don't dig them up accidentally.
Choose and order new bulbs in summer from a good supplier,
Buy and plant in early autumn,
Plant two times its own depth whilst the soil is still workable.

Narcissus prefers moderately fertile, well-drained soil that is moist during the growing season, but will grow almost anywhere in any soil and any aspect including sun, partial shade, and under trees however dry providing there is light.

Plant in beds and borders, containers and lawns and choose from a vast selection the size, form and colour that suits the place where they are to flower.

You may encounter, particularily with the current warm winters, the Narcissus bulb fly which eats the flower buds. Control is difficult, but hoeing around the plants to expose the larvae in winter, and to close any soil cracks in summer will help.

If they stop flowering after some years the bulbs may have become overcrowded. Lift and divide the clumps in Autumn and follow the basic maintenance programe.

Working with these plants you are never far from Wordsworth's famous poem:

'...And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils'.

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