Daffodil Shrike

This exceptional narcissus will enchant you with its unusual flowers. It offers a beautiful transition from deep orange to a soft apricot color, with the apricot shade becoming lighter as the flower ages. Its central petals are wavy and ruffled. They often reach the very edge of the flower or alternate in a very interesting way with pure white petals. The leaves have a classic deep green color.

This combination makes it a true gem of the spring garden.

This cultivar will brighten your garden during the most beautiful time of spring; it blooms mainly during April and May. At this time, the plant reaches a total height of 35 to 45 cm, making it a beautiful and unmissable focal point of all spring flower beds.

Yes, this cultivar will certainly delight you not only with its enchanting appearance, but it is also very pleasantly aromatic. Its characteristic delicate scent is very captivating and acts like a magnet, attracting the first spring pollinators to your waking garden, especially bees and bumblebees. By planting it, you are wonderfully helping to keep the local ecosystem in full bloom.

The 'Shrike' narcissus variety thrives best in full sun or partial shade. They will bloom reliably and without any issues in both conditions.

The absolute key to success is well-drained soil. The bulbs do not tolerate constant waterlogging, which can cause them to rot quickly. If you have very heavy, clay-based soil in your garden, we highly recommend adding a little coarse sand or fine gravel to the bottom of the planting hole as natural drainage.

We have great news for you! Among gardeners, the 'Shrike' narcissus is considered an entirely trouble-free plant that suffers from virtually no diseases and is exceptionally reliable in resisting common garden pests.

The only real risk to this plant is bulb rot, which occurs exclusively in unsuitable, heavy, and constantly waterlogged soil where the bulbs cannot breathe.

Yes, they are absolutely ideal for cutting! Thanks to their height of 35–45 cm and very sturdy stems, they look fantastic in a vase and stay fresh for a long time. However, remember one important thing: a freshly cut narcissus releases a slime into the water that shortens the life of other flowers in a bouquet. Therefore, let them sit in a separate container of water for one day before combining them with other species.

These flowers are not suitable for drying, as they would lose their unique shape, volume, and color.

Absolutely no need to worry! The narcissus is a long-lived and highly resilient perennial, and its cultivation difficulty is rated as the lowest possible. Even someone gardening for the very first time can handle it with ease.

It is more than enough to follow the correct autumn planting depth and ensure sufficiently permeable soil, and the plant will reward you in the spring with beautiful, fragrant flowers without any need for complicated maintenance or staking the stems.

Definitely not. All parts of the narcissus, especially its underground bulb, are highly toxic and poisonous to both humans and pets. The flower is not edible and is under no circumstances suitable for decorating desserts or dishes in the kitchen.

When handling the bulbs, we recommend using regular gardening gloves, as the sap leaking from the bulbs can cause unpleasant skin irritation for sensitive individuals.

If your previously abundantly flowering narcissus plants have started producing mostly empty leaves without flowers, there are several main causes:

1. Overcrowding and nutrient loss: After several seasons, a huge number of daughter bulbs may have formed underground. They crowd each other out and compete for nutrients. The solution is to carefully dig up the dense clump in the summer and divide the bulbs.
2. Premature destruction of leaves: If you cut or mowed the green leaves last year before they had a chance to yellow naturally, the bulb simply did not gather enough energy to produce a new flower.
3. Incorrect depth: The bulbs may be planted too shallowly or may have shifted deeper over time due to soil settling.

Yes, it is relatively easy and very natural. As a perennial, the narcissus naturally spreads in its location over time by producing smaller daughter bulbs that grow at the base of the mother bulb.

If you want to successfully propagate the plants in your garden, wait until the summer months when all the above-ground leaves have completely dried out and the plant has gone dormant. Then, carefully dig up the old clump with a spade, gently separate the smaller daughter bulbs from the mother bulb with your fingers, and replant them in the autumn at the correct depth in a brand-new, prepared spot.

You don't need to worry at all; daffodil bulbs stay in the ground year-round. This species is a long-lived perennial and is characterized by extreme frost resistance (hardiness zone 4a). It can handle even very heavy frosts down to -34 °C without any problems.

Therefore, the bulbs do not need any special care, digging up, or extra thick winter mulch over the winter. They are perfectly adapted to our climatic conditions.