A Notable Improvement in Narcissus-By Thomas McAdam, £ 



THE NEW "POETAZ" 

 WHILE BORROWING 



HYBRIDS, WHICH RETAIN THE HARDINESS AND SIZE OF THE POET'S NARCISSUS, 

 SEVERAL FLOWERS ON A STEM FROM THE ONLY MANY-FLOWERED SPECIES 



LAST fall the new poetaz varieties of 

 narcissus were cheap enough to be 

 extensively planted for the first time and 

 a set of nine varieties was sent to members 

 of the " Investigator's Club " for trial. They 

 were grown indoors and out in all parts of 

 the country, did well nearly everywhere and 

 were greeted by everyone with the heartiest 

 approval. 



These are the first hardy, 

 many-flowered plants in the 

 genus Narcissus. There are 

 several species that sometimes 

 bear two, or even three, flow- 

 ers on a stem, but the only 

 species that is normally many- 

 flowered is the polyanthus 

 narcissus (H. Tazelta), to 

 which belong the Paper- White 

 variety and the " Chinese 

 sacred lily," a variety adapted 

 to cultivation in pure water. 

 This species often has eight 

 flowers in a cluster and some- 

 times as many as twelve. It 

 is a favorite for forcing and 

 house culture, but it cannot 

 live outdoors through our 

 Northern winters. 



The other parent of these 

 hybrids is the poet's narcissus 

 (H. poeticus) and the name 

 poetaz is easily seen to be a 

 ■combination of the two speci- 

 fic names, poeticus and 

 Tazetta. (This habit of nam- 

 ing hybrids in such a way as to 

 remind us of their origin seems 

 to be growing in favor). The 

 poet's narcissus comes in May, 

 at the end of the narcissus 

 season, and is characterized by 

 a nearly flat, or saucer-shaped 

 crown which, in the original 

 form, is edged with a reddish 

 color. The name "pheas- 

 ant's eye " refers to the appear- 

 ance of this crown. It is a 

 white flower about two inches 

 across. It is poorly adapted 

 for forcing, being late and re- 

 quiring special treatment, but 

 it is a great favorite for natur- 

 alizing in meadows. The 

 bulbs cost only $5 a thousand 

 and once planted, in orchard 

 or meadow, need no further 

 care. 



The poetaz hybrids, though 

 thoroughly satisfactory, can 

 doubtless be improved upon, 

 for the highest number of 

 flowers I have ever seen 

 claimed for any of them is 

 nine, and most of them pro- 

 duce only three to five under 



ordinary conditions. However, they are 

 larger than those of the polyanthus narcissus 

 and their odor is not strong and mawkish. 

 All the varieties introduced as yet have yellow 

 cups like those of the many-flowered parent 

 and only one of them, so far as I know, has 

 any trace of that red color which is found in 

 the genus Narcissus only in the saucer rim 



Effect of the poetaz varieties in house culture three bulbs in a six 



123 



of N. poeticus. This speck of red is 

 enormously important to the plant breeder, 

 and by its aid many an English clergy- 

 man who makes daffodils a hobby secretly 

 hopes to attain the greatest prize of all 

 —a red narcissus. The new poetaz, va- 

 riety Alsace, is said to have a suggestion 

 of this red when the flower first opens. 



The pictures that accom- 

 pany this article are from 

 specimens flowered indoors 

 by Mr. John Dunbar at High- 

 land Park, Rochester, N. Y. 

 I saw these specimens and was 

 delighted with them, but 

 reserved judgment on their 

 garden merits until reports 

 came in from those who had 

 grown them outdoors. An 

 enthusiast who has made 

 large tests both indoors and 

 out assures me in the most 

 positive terms that they do 

 even better outdoors than in, 

 and that he has seen many 

 specimens larger than those 

 here depicted. 



The tentative analysis given 

 below is designed to show 

 how each variety differs from 

 ever}- other, but the descrip- 

 tions are not guaranteed. The 

 number of flowers on a stem 

 is the maximum claimed by 

 the tradesmen. Ordinarily 

 the flowers will be fewer by 

 two or three, unless one pays 

 the top price for the largest 

 bulbs and gives them the best 

 of care. The sizes given in 

 the key are the measurement 

 I made from a lot of flowers 

 sent by Mr. Thomas Murray, 

 gardener to Pierre Lorillard, 

 Esq., Tuxedo, N. Y. 



The greatest variation 

 noticed by me was in the case 

 of Ideal which bore only three 

 flowers outdoors although the 

 dealers claim six or seven. 

 The specimen shown on page 

 122 has five. On the other 

 hand, Mr. Murray got one 

 more flower from the variety 

 Louise than the descriptions 

 call for, viz. five. The largest 

 number of flowers on any of 

 the hybrids observed by me 

 is seven. 



Owing to the extremely 

 late season these varieties did 

 not bloom in the vicinity of 

 New York in 1907, until May 

 nth, Alsace being two days 

 ahead of the others. A few 



inch pot. Ideal were in bloom ° n Ma Y 2 9* h . 



