{"id":2693,"date":"2019-04-08T08:01:35","date_gmt":"2019-04-08T16:01:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/?p=2693"},"modified":"2019-04-08T08:01:35","modified_gmt":"2019-04-08T16:01:35","slug":"long-nosed-daffodils","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/long-nosed-daffodils\/","title":{"rendered":"Long-Nosed Daffodils"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Daffodil<\/a>Every year one or more forms or varieties of the many spring flowering plants\u2014crocus, snowdrops, daffodils, tulips, hyacinths\u2014capture my imagination.\u00a0 One year it was lily-form tulips, another year it was the splendid pink-cupped daffodil, \u2018Mrs. R.O. Backhouse\u2019, still another season found me enthusing endlessly about a particularly vivid blue chionodoxa or \u201cglory of the snow\u201d.<\/p>\n

This year is no different.\u00a0 Right now I am absolutely besotted with long-necked daffodils.\u00a0 These narcissus varieties, which are also sometimes described as \u201clong-nosed\u201d, feature \u00a0cups that are longer than the petals\u2014collectively known as the perianth\u2014that surround them.\u00a0 This elongation gives the flowers a distinctive profile that I think is elegant and refined.<\/p>\n

My favorite is \u2018Beersheba\u2019, one of the earliest to bloom in my front garden. \u00a0Introduced in 1923 by an English cleric and amateur daffodil breeder named Engleheart, \u2018Beersheba\u2019 is a particularly lovely plant, with ivory blooms and an elongated trumpet that flares slightly at the end.\u00a0 \u00a0Though it is technically a large-flowered variety, it is not as big and flashy as some of the more recent \u201cwhite\u201d daffodils.\u00a0 Its singular beauty is captivating.\u00a0 \u00a0I wish I had at least one hundred more \u2018Beersheba\u2019 plants.\u00a0 After bloom time this year, I will divide my existing clumps and probably order more for fall delivery.<\/p>\n

\u2018Broughshane\u2019 is another large-flowered, \u201cwhite\u201d daffodil with a distinctive long nose.\u00a0 It was introduced in 1938 by celebrated Irish daffodil breeder, Guy Wilson.\u00a0 It blooms relatively late in the daffodil season, with a stunning, ruffled ivory cup and white perianth.\u00a0 Wilson, who bred many good white-flowered plants, was so fond of \u2018Broughshane\u2019 that he named it after his hometown.\u00a0 \u2018Broughshane has the added advantage of blue-green leaves that heirloom bulb specialist Scott Kunst likens to those of leeks.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the earliest blooming long-nosed daffodil is \u2018February Silver\u2019, another variety with a pale yellow to ivory cup that whitens further as it ages.\u00a0 Introduced in 1949, this large-flowered variety boasts perianth petals that are ever so slightly reflexed or backward curved, providing a perfect frame for the showy cups.<\/p>\n

\u2018Colleen Bawn\u2019, introduced in the 1880\u2019s and the species daffodil, Narcissus moschatus, first described in 1604, both feature elongated cups.\u00a0 The moschatus species, in fact, is sometimes nicknamed \u201cswan\u2019s neck\u201d or \u201cgoose neck\u201d.\u00a0 I think its grace makes it more swan than goose.\u00a0 Both varieties feature white flowers that nod demurely rather than facing boldly upward.\u00a0 \u2018Colleen Bawn\u2019 is also distinctive because the perianth petals are slightly twisted.<\/p>\n

Not all long-nosed daffodils are white and not all have large flowers.\u00a0 The aptly named \u2018Little Witch\u2019 is a sweet-smelling cyclamineus daffodil, with a bright yellow cup and perianth.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Growing only about eight inches tall, the flowers feature back-swept perianth petals, which make the slender cups look even longer.\u00a0 I have a special fondness for \u2018Little Witch\u2019 because it was bred prior to 1921 by one of my horticultural heroines, Sarah Elizabeth Backhouse, a pioneering female plant breeder and the namesake of the aforementioned pink-cupped daffodil, \u2018Mrs. R.O. Backhouse\u2019.<\/p>\n

Early to mid-season bloomer, \u2018Tweety Bird\u2019, is a modern daffodil, with attributes similar to \u2018Little Witch\u2019.\u00a0 Growing seven to 12 inches tall, its long yellow cups flare at the ends into tweet-worthy ruffles.\u00a0 \u2018Tweedy Bird\u2019 also features reflexed perianth petals.<\/p>\n

Right now is a great time to think about adding some of these elegant specimens to your garden, as bulb vendors have begun advertising their fall-planted selections.\u00a0 Prices also tend to be better if you order early.\u00a0 Good sources for the long-nosed daffodils include John Schemers, 23 Tulip Drive, P.O. Box 638, \u00a0Bantam, CT 06750, (860) 567-0838, www.johnscheepers.com<\/a>; Old House Gardens, 4175 Whitmore Lake Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48105. (734) 995-1486<\/a>; and Brent and Becky\u2019s Bulbs, 7900 Daffodil Lane Gloucester, VA 23061, (804) 693-3966, Toll-free: (877) 661-2852, www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every year one or more forms or varieties of the many spring flowering plants\u2014crocus, snowdrops, daffodils, tulips, hyacinths\u2014capture my imagination.\u00a0 One year it was lily-form tulips, another year it was the splendid pink-cupped daffodil, \u2018Mrs. R.O. Backhouse\u2019, still another season found me enthusing endlessly about a particularly vivid blue chionodoxa or \u201cglory of the snow\u201d. … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,2,5],"tags":[2076,2078,2077,276,2074,2075,2072,2073,369,2071],"class_list":["post-2693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fall","category-general-interest","category-spring","category-winter","tag-broughshane","tag-february-silver","tag-tweety-bird-daffodil","tag-daffodils","tag-long-necked-daffodils","tag-long-necked-narcissus","tag-long-nosed-daffodils","tag-long-nosed-narcissus","tag-narcissus","tag-narcissus-beersheba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2693"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2693\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2695,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2693\/revisions\/2695"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}