jonquils and daffodils

[Martha Wells]

I have a very old established jonquil 'naturalized' yardscape. Right now,
mid Feb, the yard is a riot of yellow blossoms. Most are antique varieties
and come up on a set late winter schedule in this area (central Texas,
about 2 1/2 hours E of Austin) .
(1) the first are the little paperwhites, which are tough but sorta ugly
when they turn 'papery'.
(2) single yellow daffodils, the one most fragrant, and usually will start
blooming when the paperwhites are about to go.
(3) Butter n Eggs, at Antique Rose Emporium, they listed this one as having
been established in Tx in 1877. These are the newcomers to my hard, my own
personal patch has probably been here about that long, since my homestead
has been here since 1864. (Would make it about right).
They are a softer yellow with a creamy outer petal I used to call 'pale
doubles' until I realized they did have their own name.
Interesting note: Oldtimers here claim that moles, mice and other little
grounddwellers hate the taste and smell of jonquil and all narcissus bulbs
and everyone used to surround their vegetable gardens with these bulbs.
Probably why so many have escaped and 'naturalized' along with the wild
field roses, swamp iris, and some of the other things we're seeing in
pastures now.
Interesting note: A friend gave me 'King Alfred', a lovely showy larger
flower. It came up, bloomed last year, and I haven't seen it since!
I'd go for the ones that have been in Texas the longest. I've had
paperwhites blooming in the snow!
(New to this newsgroup, hope I haven't discussed something that's already
been talked out)
mew

[Amy]

I recently rec'd some bulbs that look sort of like jonquils, but I'm not
sure of the variety. I have since noticed similar ones growing wild in a
roadside ditches in several different areas around town (Bryan/College
Station) and on the highway to Austin. They have an off-white color,
smallish bloom with 6 or so to a stem. They don't have the usual
daffodil-like "nose" or trumpet, it's shorter. The foliage is long and
slender. And they smell really good. Would these be an old-fashioned
paperwhites variety? Any clues would be appreciated.
Amy

[bran...@wans.net]

In <34F322BF...@teexnet.tamu.edu>, Amy <elab...@teexnet.tamu.edu> writes:
>I recently rec'd some bulbs that look sort of like jonquils, but I'm not
>sure of the variety. I have since noticed similar ones growing wild in a
>roadside ditches in several different areas around town (Bryan/College
>Station) and on the highway to Austin. They have an off-white color,
>smallish bloom with 6 or so to a stem. They don't have the usual
>daffodil-like "nose" or trumpet, it's shorter. The foliage is long and
>slender. And they smell really good. Would these be an old-fashioned
>paperwhites variety? Any clues would be appreciated.
>Amy
>
>

From Shelley,
The Daffodil Mart's catalog describes jonquilla daffodils
as several small fragrant flowers per stem, with small, narrow
leaves. Likes hot, baking summer sun; adaptable to the Deep
South.
They offer varieties of white and pink, buff yellow,
dark yellow and orange/red cup, lemon yellow and white,
white, white and yellow,etc.
They also carry Tazetta daffodils. They're supposed to
have a musky sweet fragrance, good for the South, many
flowers per stem. They come in a wide variety of colors, too.
I think the only difference is the foliage. The tazettas
have broad foliage. I bet you have jonquillas.

[JFR]

Any address/url for the daffodil mart? They sound like they are
sensitive to heat factors, unlike 90% of mail order companies.

John R>

[Bill Terrier]

bran...@wans.net wrote in message <6d59lq$bab$1...@server2.wans.net>...

> The Daffodil Mart's catalog describes jonquilla daffodils
>as several small fragrant flowers per stem, with small, narrow
>leaves. Likes hot, baking summer sun; adaptable to the Deep
>South.
> They offer varieties of white and pink, buff yellow,
>dark yellow and orange/red cup, lemon yellow and white,
>white, white and yellow,etc.
> They also carry Tazetta daffodils. They're supposed to
>have a musky sweet fragrance, good for the South, many
>flowers per stem. They come in a wide variety of colors, too.
> I think the only difference is the foliage. The tazettas
>have broad foliage. I bet you have jonquillas.

I bought tazettas - class 7, I believe - mail order (I forget who) and
have had good luck with them naturalizing here.

Raincloud