The Trouble With Double Daffodil Flowers

Double daffodil flowers can be some of the most beautiful blooms in the narcissus family. If they are grown under the right conditions,that is. When the wrong double daffodil is planted in the wrong place,like the ones from my neighbor's garden,above,the results can be less than satisfying for the bulb and the gardener.

The double daffodil in the picture is an old very large flowered variety that would probably have fared better if it had been planted in an area that has cooler,drier weather in mid spring. When I snapped this picture it had rained the night before and the flowers were pushed down in the soil. They tried to recover but it was a futile effort.

Some daffodil purists don't care for double daffodils at all and never plant them. I admire them though. Sir Winston Churchill, Bridal Crown,Erlicheer and Cheerfulness double daffodils have performed very well for me. These are all smaller flowered poetaz(poeticus and tazetta crosses) types that are well suited for my southern climate.

If you live in the north you might have better results with large flowered beauties such as Poeticus Albus Plenus,also known as Rose of May,or a pink double like Replete. Be aware of their habit of falling over after a rain or light snow. If you want to try growing large double daffodil flowers you may want to stake them or set some of those metal plant ring type supports around them.

I believe those daffodil bulbs in the picture were planted around 25-30 years ago because they were growing in my yard too when I moved here in the mid 90's. They never bloomed well though and I haven't seen them for several years. The ones in the neighbor's yard seem to bloom well but they always end up face down in the dirt so I suspect they would do okay if they had some support.

These are the type of double daffodil that has a cup filled with many small twisted petals. I have seen this referred to as a "lion's head" type. I haven't seen anything like them available for sale so they must be a very old cultivar. The center petals start out golden yellow and fade to ivory as the flower ages. If anyone knows anything about them I would appreciate it if you would let me know.

Another problem with double daffodil flowers is their tendency toward blasting in warm weather.That's what I'll be posting about next time.