Narcissus Falconet

DaveKarn@aol.com DaveKarn@aol.com
Fri, 01 Apr 2005 10:39:07 PST
Joe ~

If you like 'Falconet,' you'll like several of the others in this class!  Its 
siblings 'Hoopoe' (best grower), 'Radiant Gem' (deepest color), 'Mot Mot,' 
and 'Sparkling Tarts.' (good color).  'Bright Spangles' and 'Bright Spot' (a bit 
larger than the others), 'Castanets' (a x w/'Grand Soleil d'Or' that does 
better in milder climates), 'Explosion,' 'Martinette,' and 'Matador' (itself, the 
seed parent of these).  In each of these hybrids, the delicious light 
fragrance of N. jonquilla carries through to them.  In some cases, it is combined 
with the equally delightful perfume of N. tazetta from the other parent.  

I've found no one who objects to this fragrance, unlike that of N. 
papyraceous (Paperwhites), for example, which can be overpoweringly musky to many, 
particularly in a closed room where they may have been grown for Winter bloom.  
It's interesting to note that fragrance or, rather, the ability to detect same or 
be overpowered by it, is an odd genetic anomaly that may be peculiar to 
humans.  The ability to enjoy or be repelled by fragrance is an individual 
difference.  I never seem able to get enough of the tea rose fragrance of 'Fragrant 
Rose,' one of my very favorite daffodils.  Yet, there are some who are unable to 
detect any fragrance at all!

These tazetta x jonquil hybrids really do better in somewhat milder climates, 
although I did grow them in Minnesota (not normally thought of as having mild 
winters!!).  Here, in Oregon, after two years down, these hybrids will be an 
aboslute bush of flowering stems.  Any, or all of them will do very well for 
you in your climate and would be rewarding additions to your Springtime garden. 
 'Falconet,' while a fine example of these hybrids, has the somewhat annoying 
habit of being an overly rapid multiplier, necessitating frequent digging and 
dividing. 

Grant Mitsch, in addition to being a daffodil hybridizer and creator of most 
of these hybrids, was an amateur ornithologist who named many of his 
introductions after birds.  That accounts for the odd names of several of these 
daffodils:  Hoopoe is an old world bird, particularly African and Mot Mot is a South 
American bird related to the kingfishers.

Dave Karnstedt
Cascade Daffodils
P. O. Box 237
Silverton, OR  97381-0237
email:  davekarn@aol.com


More information about the pbs mailing list