Spring Is Finally Here And The Daffodils Are Back!

After a long bitterly cold winter here in East Alabama (Zone 7b)the daffodils are blooming again. Woo Hoo! Blooming is more sparse than usual but of course daffodils are tough plants that can withstand extreme weather conditions. We had temperatures so low in January and February that some bulbs were heaved from the ground. I've never seen that before in the Deep South.

Here are a few pictures that were taken from February through Easter Sunday:

February

Many of the normal February daffodils such as "February Gold" and the bulbocodium types were total no-shows this year.There are also usually some large cupped and trumpet types blooming by the end of the month but not this year. At least I got some great snow pictures.

March

 

The month of March featured large cupped and trumpet daffodils as usual although they were blooming about two weeks late. The yellow trumpet daffodils in picture 1 started blooming at the end of the month about 2-3 weeks later than normal.

The bud in the second pic matured into the beautiful double daffodil in picture number three. These are the same heirloom daffodils I featured here last year but I still haven't learned the name of this variety. They were blooming about two weeks earlier than usual. I guess the cold winter was good for them.

April

On the First of April this patch of Mount Hood daffodils that haven't bloomed at all for two years produced this perfect flower. It's normal bloom time is mid-March. The flower eventually will fade to a beautiful creamy white. 

On Easter Sunday the yellow trumpets were still making a wonderful display but were beginning to fade.

The double daffodil in picture number two is called "Cheerfulness". It was blooming right on time.

The "Thalia" triandrus daffodils are still in bloom all over the neighborhood.

All in all it hasn't been a great daffodil season here but the ones that have bloomed have performed outstandingly. It doesn't look as if the late blooming jonquils or any of the pink daffodils will bloom but there's still a little time. Maybe there will be some surprises before the month is over.

I have posted many more daffodil pictures and more on my Flickr photostream.


I will continue my series on the 13 Divisions of Daffodils. Narcissus poeticus is next on the list. Stay tuned.