On 6/30/2009 10:00 PM, David Hare-Scott wrote:
My daffodils are in full bloom at present having started about 6 weeks ago.
They are filling the air with amazing perfume and are growing strongly
looking really good. To the best of my knowledge my climate zone would be
9a based on minimum winter temperature, it is winter here now but so far it
has been quite mild. Many references say they are suitable for zone 3-8,
although some say up to 10. Summer here can be very hot with 35C (95F)
maximum common and 45C (113F) possible at the extreme.

When do they bloom in colder areas?

What effect might the temperature have on them?

David


I have several varieties of daffodils and other narcissus in my garden.
They bloom quite reliably every year, late winter or early spring.
These include 'Mt. Hood' (classic daffodil flower but white), 'Spencer
Tracy', 'February Gold' (but sometimes blooming in January),
'Tete-a-Tete', 'Soleil d'Or' (very fragrant), and 'Peeping Tom'.

However, I have not been successful with 'King Alfred', the classic
yellow daffodil. They never seem to come up a second year.

Once, I forced 'Paper White' indoors in a bowl of coarse sand (almost
pea gravel). They were quite nice. While the foliage was still green
but the flowers had faded, I planted them in the garden. Some 30 years
later, they still produce abundant foliage; but the flowers are always
stunted and misshapen. I've tried removing them, but there always seem
to be some small bulbs remaining in the ground. My 'Soleil d'Or' had
the same history but bloom very well.

Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
It's now summer, with temperatures in the 90s (Fahrenheit). We can
expect some days over 100 in the next 2-3 months. While we get some
night-time frosts in the winter, I've seen killing frosts only twice in
36 years.

--
David E. Ross
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary