If you live in a milder climate, you probably have a longer season. A friend in California recently told me she had something in bloom since October, and she still has buds coming on her latest daffodils. A friend in the panhandle area of Florida has a similar experience. And if you're lucky enough to live in Oregon or Ireland, you'll have the best season. Oregon and Ireland have the spring climate daffodils love--cool and wet. Most people love it when we have warm sunny weather in spring. Not me. I want it cool and wet! Or at least damp! This brings out the best color in the flowers.
No matter where you live, certain daffodils bloom earlier than others. My first blooms are always on miniature cultivars. You can get miniatures which begin the season, and other miniatures which end the season. The miniature trumpets 'Bagatelle', 'Wee Bee' and 'Little Gem' always begin the season. These are so similar, it's hard to tell them apart. 'Small Talk' opens a few days later, and is distinctive with its spritely, starry perianth. The multi-headed 'Têtê-a-Têtê' adds to the early spring show. The early species crocus and helleborus hybrids might also be in bloom.
As a group, the cyclamineus hybrids bloom early, while the poeticus hybrids bloom late. Cyclamineus hybrids usually have swept-back petals--like a cyclamen, what else?--and come in various color combinations. One of the earliest to bloom is the all yellow 'Cornet'. 'Jetfire', 'Emperor's Waltz', and 'Dik Dik', yellow and orange, are joined by the all white 'Cazique'. 'Rapture' and 'Peeping Tom', both yellow and both winners of the American Daffodil Society Wister Award for garden excellence, follow soon after, along with the yellow 'Little Witch' and 'Swift Arrow'.
Perhaps the first of the trumpet daffodils to bloom is 'Rijnveld's Early Sensation'. Some trade catalogs refer to this all yellow flower as JANUARY. This blooms very early, and a friend in Tennessee does have it in bloom in January. Another early trumpet daffodil is 'Prologue' (pictured), with a white perianth and yellow cup. In a sheltered spot under trees, white and yellow 'Las Vegas' joins the show, while the refined 'Arctic Gold' joins in.
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