Narcissus flowering

Jane McGary janemcgary@earthlink.net
Fri, 11 Mar 2005 09:22:34 PST
Dave Karnstedt's comments on the usage of "daffodil" and "narcissus" (not 
to mention "jonquil," the standard term in the US Southeast) reminded me of 
a question I wanted to ask.

Oregon is enjoying or suffering (depending on what you grow) the warmest, 
driest winter-spring in half a century or more. Temperatures have already 
risen into the low 70s F at my place in the Cascade foothills east of 
Portland. The bulb flowering is passing unusually quickly as legions of 
bees and other pollinators visit the flowers, and the flowers, having done 
their appointed task, wither away.

Many, though not all, Narcissus species seem to be blooming on shorter 
stems than usual. Is this caused by the warm, sunny conditions? Some 
Fritillaria species are also shorter than usual, particularly F. affinis, 
but some (particularly the Greek island species) are of normal height.

Jane McGary
Northwestern Oregon, USA



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