Mighty Daffodils
 
As I look at the mass of narcissus (daffodils) beginning to show in my courtyard, I'm reminded of a curious fact. Daffodils as cut flowers, it seems, are lethal to other cut flowers. Its true!

There is recent Dutch research (and they know their bulbs) that shows the vase life of cut flowers is dramatically reduced when even one daffodil is included. It seems a cut daffodil oozes a thick sap from the stem that apparently increases bacterial growth in the water. The growth then clogs the stems of other flowers. For example, cut roses in a vase alone will typically last about ten days, add one daffodil to the vase and the roses will only last 3 days.

Researchers applied the sap to tulip leaves causing "rapid and extensive leaf yellowing."

It is so powerful, they recommend not even mixing daffodils with other flowers when you bring them in from outside or even from the florist. Package and carry them separately.

There is no question narcissus like 'Tet-a-Tet', 'Jenny' and even the old standby, 'King Alfred' are all beautiful additions to your garden so do grow lots of showy, low-maintenance daffodils. Just exercise a little caution when you put them in vases and leave them in an arrangement by themselves. This is the kind of information you can find in the Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science [vol.123, no.1 (1998) 146-49].

-----

David Soper, The Garden Guy, writes and lectures on gardening topics. Read more on his website, Adventures in Gardening, www.gardenguy.com