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Spring Has Arrived!

© Mary Lou Gripshover

Well, the calendar says spring has arrived, and on this last day of March I finally have daffodils in bloom. It was an unusual March, cool-cold even-and rainy. The sun finally arrived to warm things up and the daffodils responded.

'Prologue', an older white and yellow trumpet daffodil, is always the first standard-sized daffodil to bloom here, and it leads the parade again this year. This flower was bred by Grant Mitsch in Oregon, and registered in 1962. It's still worth growing, if you can find a source for it.

Flowers in Division 6, the cyclamineus hybrids will be following right behind 'Prologue'. These flowers must show the characteristics of the species N. cyclamineus, which means they should have significantly reflexed petals. 'Jetfire' in yellow and orange is readily available and will be open in the next day or two. All yellow 'Rapture', which is an American Daffodil Society Wister Award winner, will follow right along. The Wister Award is given to a flower which will grow well in all areas of the United States. You can find a list of all the Wister Award winners, with some sources, at The American Daffodil Society home page, www.daffodilusa.org/

Another older daffodil which blooms early is 'Honeymoon'. This is a very pale lemon yellow trumpet daffodil raised by Murray Evans in Oregon. It was registered in 1969, and still lights up a corner of the garden. And you thought all daffodils came from Holland, didn't you? We have one of the prime daffodil-growing areas in the world in Oregon, where the springs are long and cool. The Dutch growers come to Oregon, looking for cultivars which they believe have a broad commercial appeal. I've seen 'Bell Song', 'Daydream', 'Accent', and 'Intrigue' at nurseries in the fall with displays of "Dutch bulbs." These all originated in Oregon, and were selected by a Dutch grower for their garden worthiness.

A good Dutch-bred daffodil is 'Ice Follies'. Bred by Konynenburg and Mark, it was registered in 1953. This large-cupped daffodil opens white and yellow and fades to all white as it ages. This is another Wister Award winner. This is not a flower that meets exhibitors' tastes, but a stronger, sturdier, showy daffodil is hard to come by. It's sometimes called a "weatherproof" daffodil by some growers, and it certainly stands up to nasty weather.

So now if we can just have a month or more of cool, moist weather, we might have a perfect daffodil season. But then I've been at this for forty years, and I'm still waiting for that "perfect" season.