Tip of the Week — 4/13/09

Posted in Gardening Tips on April 13 2009, by Sonia Uyterhoeven

Fragrant Daffodils

Sonia Uyterhoeven is Gardener for Public Education at The New York Botanical Garden.

Daffodils are a harbinger of spring. They brighten up the dreary days starting in March and run through to the end of May. While they are immortalized for their cheery colors—traditionally pure yellows, now increasingly in white with orange, pink, and even green trimmings—some of these spring glories are fragrant.

The fragrance can range from peppery to citrus. The large-cupped daffodil named ‘Fragrant Rose’ as suggested has a nice rose smell. ‘Sir Winston Churchill’, a nice double, has a citrus fragrance.

Jonquilla, Tazetta, and Poeticus daffodils—divisions 7, 8, and 9 (daffodil classification is based on shape and size of the flower; the American Daffodil Society identifies 13 divisions)—tend to be the most fragrant. Among their ranks are: ‘Intrigue’, ‘Fruit Cup’ ‘Pipit’, ‘Stratosphere’, ‘Geranium’, ‘Hoopoe’, ‘Falconet’ and ‘Actaea’.

The choice is much wider and there are daffodils in other divisions that are also known for their scent: the doubles such as ‘Cheerfulness’ and ‘Yellow Cheerfulness’ in division 4; the large-cupped daffodils in division 2, boasting ‘Charlton’, ‘Sweet Charity’, and ‘Louise de Coligny’; and the pure white ‘Thalia’ from the Triandrus daffodils in division 5.

Come visit the Garden and stroll down the Daylily/Daffodil walk by the Visitor Cafe to find your favorite. We also have a beautiful display on Daffodil Hill and another collection, the Murray Liasson Narcissus Collection, behind the Watson Education Building heading toward the Magnolia Collection.