The 13 Types Of Daffodils

Today I'm going to do a quick run through of the 13 types of daffodils that you can grow in your garden. It's time for most gardeners in the Northern Hemisphere to begin planting flowering bulbs or at to begin choosing and buying them. I'll go into more detail on the different daffodil divisions in my next few posts but for today I'll name the different types so you'll know what to look for when choosing narcissus bulbs for your garden.

The Daffodil Society recognizes 13 divisions of daffodils including 12 types of hybrid daffodils and one division for specie or wild daffodils.

Also it's worth noting that miniature narcissus types do not have their own division. Each of the 13 divisions has miniature cultivars except for the Poeticus division.

Division 1
Trumpet Daffodils
One flower to a stem; corona (trumpet) as
long as, or longer than, the perianth
segments (petals).

Division 2
Large-Cupped Daffodils
One flower to a stem; corona (cup) more
than one-third but less than equal to the
length of the perianth segments (petals).

Division 3
Small-Cupped daffodils
One flower to a stem; corona (cup) not more
Than one –third the length of the perianth
segments (petals)
These daffodils usually have some poeticus parentage

Division 4
Double Daffodils of Garden Origin
One or more flowers to a stem, with doubling
of the perianth segments or the corona or both.

Division 5
Triandrus Daffodils
Characteristics of N. triandrus predominant:
two or more pendent flowers to a
stem; perianth segments reflexed.

Division 6
Cyclamineus Daffodils
Characteristics of N. cyclamineus clearly evident:
one flower to a stem; perianth segments significantly reflexed;
flower at an acute angle to the stem, with very short pedicel (“neck”)

Division 7
Jonquilla Daffodils
of Garden Origin
Characteristics of Jonquilla or Apodanthus clearly evident:
one to five flowers to a stem; perianth segments spreading or reflexed
flowers usually fragrant.
Apodanthus is not a term that is used frequently these days.They used to be considered a different type of narcissus from the jonquils but they are now classified in the same division. These daffodils are usually highly hybridized and tend to also have some tazetta parentage.

Division 8
Tazetta Daffodils of Garden Origin
Characteristics of the N. tazetta group predominant:
three to twenty flowers to a stout stem; leaves broad;
Perianth segments spreading, not reflexed; flowers fragrant.


Division 9
Poeticus Daffodils
Characteristics of the N. poeticus group predominant:
disc-shaped, with a green or yellow center and one flower to a
stem; perianth segments pure white corona usually a red rim; flower fragrant.
These daffodils are also known as Poet's Daffodils or Pheasant's Eye

Division 10
Bulbocodium Daffodils of Garden Origin
Characteristics of Bulbocodium clearly evident;
usually one flower to a stem; perianth segments insignificant
compared with corona; filament and style are usually curved.
Bulbocodium daffodils are also known as "hoop petticoat"or "hoop skirt" daffodils

Division 11
Split Corona Daffodils of Garden Origin
Corona split-usually for more than half its length; Division split into
a & b types, Collar & Papillon
a. Collar Daffodils
Daffodils with the corona segments opposite the perianth segments;segments usually in two whorls of three.
these are also referred to as Butterfly daffodils
b.Pappillon Daffodils
Split-corona daffodils with the corona segments alternate to the
perianth segments; the corona segments usually in a single whorl
of six

Division 12
Other DaffodilCultivars
Daffodil cultivars which do not fit the definition of any other division.
These are daffodils whose parentage cannot be easily traced. Some may be naturally occurring hybrids

Division 13
Species DaffodilsDistinguished Solely by Botanical Name
All species and wild or reputedly wild variants and hybrids.

Whew! That's a long list! Sorry I didn't post any pictures. The new Blogger editor is not linking to images for me right now. Hopefully they'll fix this soon.(Or I'll figure out what I'm doing wrong LOL!)

Also I did not post a link to the bulbocodium daffodils because it appears that there is a shortage of those this season. I couldn't find any for sale. I'll keep searching. Edit:Found Bulbocodium "Golden Bells" at Nature Hills.Inserted link.:)

In the next few days,I'm going to go more into depth about the different daffodil types and some of the terminology you might encounter when you're shopping for bulbs. And I'll try to get some pictures to upload,too.