Daffodils for cut flowers
Daffodils (Narcisuss) are an essential flower to grow as a flower farmer. They will help kick off your flower season, as one of the earliest flowers in Spring. You will be able to create beautiful arrangements as early as February (undercover) and March outdoors. They are a key flower when you are scratching around for flowers to create floral arrangements at the beginning of each year.
Daffodil or Narcissus?
Which are Daffodils and which are Narcissus? They are one and the same, Narcissus is the Botanical name and Daffodil the common name.
Which types of Daffodil to grow for cut flowers?
The most important part for me is the type of Narcissus. The acid yellow large trumpet daffodils are everywhere, at each and every supermarket checkout, for a ridiculously low price, that cannot in anyway, provide the farmer and his worker that produced this crop a living wage, in my opinion!
To be able to compete with the freely available rock bottom price of the daffodils available in the supermarket, you will need to offer Narcissus that are a little different as a cut flower and its not so difficult as you may think. There are so many varieties of Daffodils that they have created classifications to break then down into types.
Types of Narcissus?
There are 13 divisions/classifications (cultivars) recognised by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). These divisions are created to categorise Narcissus by their traits.
Trumpet Daffodils - Those with a solitary flower per stem, whose trumpet (corona) is at least as long as the petals, like the ones sold commonly at supermarket checkouts
Large cupped Daffodils - as Div 1, but the corona is shorter than the petals, but at least one third.
Small trumpet Daffodils - As Div 1, but the corona is less than one third, compared to the length of the petals, but at least one third.
Double Narcissus - Daffodils with more than a single layer of petals (Corona / Perianth)
Triandrus Narcissus - These have more than one flower per stem and are usually pendant and the petals are reflexed.
Cyclamineus Daffodils - Single flowers per stem, with their flowers distinctly angled downwards and petals reflexed. They also have a very short neck.
Jonquilla and Apodanthus Narcissus - Multiple flowers per stem (up to 8), with flowers at a downward angle to stem and a shaped (cupped or flared) corona, often wider than long. Usually scented.
Tazetta Daffodils - Multiple flowers per stem ( 3-20). Flared short Coronas and wide petals. Short stemmed and often scented.
Poeticus Narcissus - Single flowers with short flared trumpet. Petals are white and they are often scented.
Bulbocodium Narcissus - One flower per stem, with very small tepals ( petals) in comparison to the trumpet.
Split Corona daffodils - This cultivar includes Papillon and Collar Narcissus. The Corona is split, for at least half its length and is usually splayed back against the petals to give a flat faced Daffodil.
All others - Any Daffodil that does not fit into any of the listed cultivar descriptions.
Daffodils that are identified solely by their name.
Note - They also have colour codes, but that’s more for breeders, we are all able to determine which colours they are, if you want to find out more about the colour classifications, you can find that information on the RHS website
What are the key traits for cut flower Daffodils?
Fragrance
Choose Narcissus that are fragrant, but be beware, the variations in scent are huge. From the really heavily scented like Paperwhites and Yellow Cheerfulness, which I am not so keen on, they can be a tad overpowering and some people really cannot stand them, others love them. To the more delicately scented, like Inbal, Grand Soleil d’Or, Narcissus Poeticus (Actea and Pheasants Eye) and Thalia.
Colour
Everyone always associates daffodils with bright yellow. I am a fan of yellow, but some people just hate it. But that’s okay, there are many different options in the colour department. From white, to green, to peach and a soft butter cream colour.
Yellow can be cheerful after a long, drab grey winter. But if you need Daffodils to blend in with wedding flowers or gift bouquets, you may want to select some of the more muted shades. I like yellow, but it needs to be used wisely. If you put yellow and red together, they will fight to dominate each other and you will find that your eye cannot rest when viewing these clashing colours. I use whites and creams with yellow and the odd orange.
Variety of shapes
Using daffodils in floristry will mean that you will want a variation of shapes and there are many. See the classifications for a description of the shapes of each cultivar. You can choose from the traditional large trumpet daffodils , dainty small nodding daffodils or the flat split corona Narcissus.
Successional
There are Daffodils that flower from February to May. If you choose some from the earliest all the way through to the latest, you will get a longer flowing season and they will come into bloom in a succession avoiding annoying gluts! My earliest for cutting is Ice King and my latest is Pheasants Eye.
Stem length
Although as a flower growers you will want maximum stem length on most flowers. For daffodils, if you are growing outside without support, you may want to think of the weather in March and April when they flower…strong winds and heavy rain. I choose to go in the middle nd look for a stem length of about a foot (30cm). Bear in mind that the double daffodils will have heavier heads even before they open.
How to have Daffodils as cut flowers every month of Spring?
Plant in different growing areas:
Some in the tunnel, if you don’t have a tunnel, grow some in pots to bring in doors to get early flowers.
Some outdoors in the sunshine
Some outdoors in the shade
Plant deep
The deeper they are planted (4-7 inches is recommended), the more perennial they will become.
Plant in a free draining area in correct soil
Daffodils, like most bulbs, prefer free draining soil. If you don’t have free draining soil, add some grit when you are planting to prevent them getting waterlogged. Bulbs require a well-drained soil with a pH 6.0–7.0. Amend the soil as necessary to adjust the pH.
Stagger the planting of new bulbs
If you plant the same cultivar at different times, between September and December. You will get a succession of flowers the next year. After that the flowers will come at the time that is dictated by the weather and the cultivar.
Choose Daffodils from different cultivars
Having a wide range of Narcissus will allow you to extend the availability of Daffodils as a cut flower.
Allow the foliage to die down naturally
I grow daffodils in the grass, my growing area is in my 1/2 acre garden, so bed space is restricted. I don’t have the luxury of growing daffodils in their own allowed space, so I use the grass and this allows the foliage to die down naturally and feed them again for next year.
The risk when they are grown in beds is that you will want to use those beds for another crop before the foliage dies down, resulting in less flowers next year. Whereas, Daffodils that are left to happily feed after flowering should multiply and produce more year on year until they need dividing.
Also don’t tie the foliage in a know, it may look neater but it stops the bulb from feeding.
Feed your Daffodil bulbs
Other than allowing the foliage to die back naturally, you can feed your Narcissus bulbs with a fertiliser rich in potash, but low in nitrogen in the autumn or late spring. Think tomato feed or Comfrey tea.
Why don’t my daffodils flower?
When daffodils don’t flower this is termed as being “blind”. If they flowered for a few years and then stopped, it’s probably because you planted them close together and they now need dividing or you cut the foliage back too soon and they need feeding. If they have never flowered very well, it’s likely that you planted them too shallow.
How to extend the vase life of Daffodils
Once you have a lovely succession of Daffodils coming across the Spring months, you will want to make sure you harvest and condition the daffodils in a way that will give you the very best vase life. there are a few things that will impact the vase life of Narcissus:
Dont cut Daffodils when you harvest, slide your fingers to the base of the stem and twist and pull at the same time. This will give you the best possible stem length and minimise the amount of sap exuded.
Condition Narcissus in a separate container, this allows the sap to dissipate before being mixed with other flowers. The sap can impact the vase life of other flowers. If you add Daffodils into an arrangement, do not recut the stems after initial conditioning.
Harvest when the colour is just showing and the neck is slightly bent ( this is called goose neck stage). You can allow doubles to open slightly to ensure that they do open in the vase.
What are my favourite Daffodils for cut flowers?
I love all Daffodils, probably due to the desperate need to have flowers back in my life by the time they appear, but I do have favourites.
Ice King, because it is so early to flower and such a gorgeous buttercream colour.
Thalia, she is so dainty, just white and is also fragrant
Grand Soleil D’Or, a Tazetta Narcissus that is fragrant but not in your face stinky! It’s a cheerful yellow and orange but is dainty too. This one can be forced.
Replete, a fragrant double Narcissus that is picture of peaches and cream.
White Lion is another ruffled double, but is a more subtle mix of ivory and pale yellow. It is also fragrant.
Pheasants Eye is a delicate white with a tiny yellow Corona that has red rim. It is fragrant and although I also like Actea ( earlier but similar type), I prefer the shape of Pheasants Eye, it seems more elegant with the slimmer petals.