Narcissus Falconet
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