NARCISSUS 



THE BUI-B BOOK 



NARCISSUS 



winter montlis when the bulbs are 

 vegetating. 



So far as position is concerned the 

 the bulbs may be planted almost 

 anywhere, so long as the soiL is 

 reasonably good — either in the open 

 fully exposed, or beneath deciduous 

 trees through which sufficient sun- 

 light finds its way before the leaves 

 appear. In the market gardens a 

 few kinds are planted in narrow beds 

 between the rows of fruit-trees, and 

 are left for several years to their 

 own devices. From an ornamental 

 point of view, however. Daffodils and 

 Narcissi may be utilised effectually 

 as spring flowers in the borders, 

 shrubberies, grassland, and also on the 

 banks of lakes, streams, ponds, etc. ; 

 or, as the poet Wordsworth has 

 expressed it, Daffodils may be 

 planted 



"Beside the lake, beneath the trees, 

 Fluttering and dancing in the breeze." 



Time to plant. — This is best done 

 at any time between the end of 

 August and the end of November. 

 The bulbs differ greatly in size 

 according to the variety, some being 

 less than an inch in diameter and 

 not more than an inch or inch and 

 a half in length, while others are two 

 or three times larger. For open-air 

 planting the safest rule to follow 

 is to cover each bulb with twice its 

 own depth of soil. The depth of 

 planting will therefore vary from 

 3 to 6 ins. or more, according to the 

 size of the bulbs. 



When grown in pots or boxes for 

 the decoration of the greenhouse, or 

 for market purposes, the tops of the 

 bulbs are left about level with the 

 surface of the soil. When it is 

 intended to force certain varieties 

 into early blossom, they are left in 

 the open air for a few weeks covered 

 over with a few inches of soil, ashes, 

 or fibre, until root action has become 



362 



well established. They may then 

 be taken indoors as required. By 

 this means even a greenhouse without 

 any heat may be embellished in the 

 early spring. 



Lifting the Bulbs.— In the formal 

 garden this is generally necessary in 

 early summer, to make room for the 

 Zonal Pelargoniums, Marguerites, 

 Fuchsias, Calceolarias, Lobelias, 

 Echeverias, Cannas, Begonias, and 

 numerous other plants used for 

 " bedding out." This work is gener- 

 ally done about the end of May or 

 early in June. By that time most 

 of the Daffodils and Narcissi with 

 the exception perhaps of the double- 

 flowered N. poeticus, will be over, 

 although the foliage may still be 

 green. By lifting the plants and 

 placing out in semi-shady spots, the 

 leaves sOon shrivel and die without 

 injury to the bulbs. The latter 

 should then be cleaned and stored 

 away in single layers on shelves, in 

 a cool and well-ventilated shed or 

 cellar, until the planting season 

 again arrives. 



Propagation. — In most cases this 

 is simplicity itself, and in many parts 

 of England and Ireland a great 

 trade has developed in raising quanti- 

 ties of Daffodils. Offsets are pro- 

 duced freely, one old bulb often pro- 

 ducing two others. These offsets 

 should always be planted by them- 

 selves, as most of them require the. 

 growth of another season before they 

 blossom. 



Hybrid Narcissi. 



These of course can only be pro- 

 duced by fertilising the pistils in 

 one flower with the pollen from 

 another, and afterwards sowing the 

 seeds in rich gritty soil as soon 

 as perfectly ripe. As already 

 stated, many fine forms have been 

 raised in this way by specialists, and 



