The Earliest Daffodils

One of the most heart-warming plant sightings in Spring is the first yellow daffodils. With its history in poetry and romance, the daffodil (with most of the pollinator lures bred out of it) seems nature's strongest plant messenger  to announce the end of a winter.

What are the best early daffodils? Two standouts rise from the sparse crowd:

               Narcissus cyclamineus 'February Gold'   8--12"
               Narcissus 'Rijnveld's Early Sensation'    12-14"

These are the finest of the all-yellow daffodils hardy on the North Shore. Does 'February Gold' bloom in February?--Yes, but try Zone 6 or 7, not here. You have to move quite a bit south to see it before March. 'Feb. Gold' is not an ordinary looking daffodil--it's got a very long looking trumpet and wide spread petals which are curved backwards. It is reliable and a pretty good multiplier.

'Rijnveld's Early Sensation' must be good, one might think,  because it's got a wonderful Dutch name. Trouble is, it's not Dutch at all. It was bred in England by a plant hybridizer named F. Herbert Chapman, then taken over and marketed in the 1950's by a Dutch company named Rijnveld. 'Early Sensation' is a Div. 1 daffodil just like 'King Alfred' (whose original has been lost) and 'Dutch Master."
Only it's smaller--perfect for the small yards most of us have, and better for us in that respect than the daffodils pictured on those  rolling hillsides we don't have.

The great merit of these early daffodils is that we don't have to wait until the next millennium for their foliage to turn brown when the hidden bulb has theoretically been replenished. Incidentally, knowledgeable gardeners have
violated this 'rule' with quite a bit of success. It's rather like never ending a sentence a preposition with. About mid to late May you might remove that foliage (tying it up seems rather pointless because that ends photosynthesis) and put in your annuals.

Another point of value is the early daffs last longer because it's colder. A spring heat wave finishes off other daffodils in a hurry. 

Other daffodils that emerge very early tend to be tiny, but they certainly are delightful in the right place--a rock garden or a lifted area. Among these are:

                Narcissus 'Mite'        5-6"
                Narcissus 'Midget'     3-4" (classic yellow daffodil form)
                Narcissus 'Gipsy Queen'  3-6"

Brent Heath, a well known authority on bulbs and especially daffodils, recommends N. 'Little Gem' (4-5") very highly and says it is earlier than 'February Gold.'

Also early are the Campernellis and an English daffodil (N. minor 'Cedric Morris')
which doesn't seem to be available in the U.S.

"April is a promise May is bound to keep." (H. Borland).
Carpe diem. Carpe rutila.