Daffodils in January? What do we do now?

Well, the holidays are over, the decorations put away for another year. But I have to tell you about the most unusual gift I received—coyote urine powder! This is supposed to deter deer, and if it works, it will be the best gift I’ve been given in years! The deer don’t eat the daffodils, but they do play havoc with my hostas and daylilies.

Here in Ohio, it’s been fairly mild so far, and lots of foliage is showing above ground. I have a few blooms—one bloom on a seedling of mine (pictured) from N. cantabricus x ‘Jessamy’, a miniature bulbocodium-type flower. Buds are coming on ‘Muslin’ which was bred by D. Blanchard some years ago in England and is similar in style to my seedling, though not as white. Other than that, it will be several months before I have bloom here.

But catalogs have begun arriving from specialist growers from “down under.” Of course, if you live in the Southern Hemisphere, you know it’s time to order bulbs for fall planting. We here in the Northern Hemisphere can also order bulbs which will arrive in March-April. It will take a bit of patience to “turn them around” to bloom in our season. The conventional advice is to plant them immediately upon arrival in a somewhat shady location. You may get blooms in June. Keep them growing as long as possible, and hopefully they will settle in to our seasons the following year.

The list from Brogden Bulbs, 41 Grey Street, Normanby 4852, Taranaki, New Zealand, arrived a week or so ago. Brogden’s are frequent winners of the New Zealand Daffodil Society Raisers Challenge Cup for 12 blooms raised by the exhibitor. Spud Brogden, the current proprietor, is a second generation grower of daffodils. Their bulbs have made their way to the U.S., where they also win top awards in shows.

While most Southern Hemisphere growers ignore miniature daffodils, Glenbrook Bulb Farm, 28 Russell Rd., Claremont, Tasmania, 7011, Australia, specializes in them. Proprietor Rod Barwick’s “Angels”—‘Angel’s Breath’, ‘Angel’s Whisper’ and ‘Angel o’ Music’--are top contenders on show benches around the world. There is also an impressive list of bulbocodium hybrid daffodils, some of which begin blooming in the autumn while others bloom in spring.

David Jackson and his wife, Robin, operate Jackson’s Daffodils, P.O. Box 77, Geeveston, Tasmania 7116, Australia. David is the third generation daffodil grower in his family, and his flowers are outstanding. David specializes in Divisions 1-4 and 11, and has been awarded the American Daffodil Society’s Gold Medal for his work with daffodils. (email: bushy@southcom.com.au)

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