Narcissus Arctic Bells - Daffodil

Daffodil or Narcissus bulbocodium 'Arctic Bells' is a small variety that produces creamy yellow to ivory conical flowers, adorned with an attractive crown of narrow sepals and bright yellow stamens. It blooms over a long period from March on very narrow, dark green foliage. It is a less hardy plant, adapted to heat and summer drought. To succeed in its cultivation, provide it with sun and well-drained soil, moist to dry in summer. It often self-seeds in light soil or in rockeries.

Narcissus bulbocodium, also known as hoop petticoat daffodil or medusa daffodil, belongs to the amaryllidaceae family. It is a common species in the western Mediterranean, from Morocco to Spain, to the south of France, often on limestone soil. The 'Arctic Bells' hoop petticoat daffodil is drought-resistant and prolific. It does not exceed 15 cm when in bloom. Its 2.8 to 4.5 cm diameter flowers are composed of a corolla of modest, very thin petals, on which a very wide and swollen corolla is inserted, which almost completely eclipses the small crown of petals. It is an early flowering plant, capable of blooming from the second half of February when well established, or even in autumn in favourable climates. The very fine foliage, which can be mistaken for tender grass, is deciduous in summer. In mild climates, it develops with the first rains of September and persists in winter. This variety multiplies easily through self-seeding and the production of bulblets, from an ovoid bulb the size of a hazelnut.

The 'Arctic Bells' hoop petticoat daffodil grows in any well-drained, loosened, humus-bearing soil, but the results are less good in soils that are too wet in summer or in acidic soils. Easy to naturalise, this miniature variety brings irresistible charm to herbaceous and alpine borders, meadows, rockeries, and light woodlands every year from March. There is such a choice of varieties among daffodils that you can enjoy them for three months in spring without getting tired for a single moment. They all have in common the ability to naturalise easily and a love for yellow and white. Associate the hoop petticoat daffodil, in natural-looking beds, with scillias and hyacinths, early botanical tulips, botanical crocuses, forget-me-nots, pansies, or liverworts. This daffodil is also perfect in a pot.