Daffodils in July?

July is downtime for daffodils in the Northern Hemisphere. Some may still be digging those bulbs they want to move, but for me, it’s over until fall, when planting begins. My bulbs are on my garage floor, drying out. There are also lots of pots of bulbs that don’t like to be wet in summer. These include bulbocodium and its hybrids and triandrus and some of its miniature hybrids which I’ve found do better for me if they are dry over the summer. Come fall, these pots will go back in the coldframes for the winter.

Bulbs have been ordered for delivery in September. After all, you have to have a few new things to look at next spring! Mitsch Daffodils, in Oregon, is one of the very best places to order bulbs. The flowers are beautiful, the bulbs are healthy, and Elise and Dick Havens do everything to insure the customer is happy.

If you haven’t ordered bulbs yet, consider adding ‘Tahiti’ a double yellow and orange flower to your list. It’s the newest recipient of the Wister Award from The American Daffodil Society. One of the criteria for the Wister award is that the winner must grow well in all parts of the United States. ‘Tahiti’ is a lovely flower, held on a strong, sturdy stem.

You might also consider ordering the newest Pannill award winner, ‘River Queen’. The Pannill Award is given to an outstanding exhibition flower which must have won at least one best bloom award in the last five years. ‘River Queen’ is a beautifully formed all white flower. Fittingly, it was bred by William Pannill for whom the award is named.

Daffodils may not be blooming in the Northern Hemisphere, but there are some blooming “down under.” (Well, you might have daffodils blooming on newly acquired bulbs from the Southern Hemisphere. If you planted them in March when they arrived, they’re probably blooming now. They’ll acclimate to our seasons by next year.) Several photos have been posted on “Daffnet,” the listserver sponsored by The American Daffodil Society, of the earliest blooms of the Southern Hemisphere season. These would be the equivalent of blooming in December here. Their main daffodil season is in September (March to us). This sharing of photos keeps us all from suffering from “daffodil withdrawal.” If you’d like to join the listserver, go to http://www.daffodilusa.org/ and click on “Daffnet” and follow the directions to subscribe. It’s open to everyone, not just ADS members.

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