Narcissus Shrike - Daffodil

The 'Shrike' Narcissus is a fantastic variety of butterfly narcissus, with 10 cm flowers that have an amazing orange ruff, intensely pleated and frilled. They bloom on top of a sturdy 35 cm stem in the middle of the narcissus season. This eye-catching spring flowering becomes exceptional in a vase. Easy to grow in the sun, in any rich and well-drained soil.

Like all narcissus, the 'Shrike' Butterfly Narcissus belongs to the Amaryllidaceae family. It is more precisely classified in division 11 of the large narcissus family, which has 12 divisions. The 'Shrike' narcissus reaches about 35 cm in height when in bloom and 15 cm wide for its vegetation. Its solitary flowers, reaching 10 cm, are bicoloured and facie outward. Each one is composed of a corolla of pure white petals, called perianth, on which is inserted a split and coloured crown, which almost entirely covers it. Each lobe of this crown is closely ribbed, spreading or slightly inflexed, bilobed, with the lobes superimposed and strongly frilled. Its colour gradually changes from coral orange to melon orange and then salmon orange. It is a mid-season flowering variety, in March-April depending on the climate. Split-crown narcissus have a crown of petals split for at least one-third of their length, with the edge turned back towards the petals, slightly wavy. The flowers have six petaloid tepals. The six stamens are inserted into a cup-shaped crown or paracorolla. The linear foliage is deciduous and disappears in summer. This variety multiplies by producing bulblets.

The undemanding 'Shrike' Butterfly Narcissus grows in any well-drained and loosened soil, but the results are not as good in soils that are too wet, too dry or excessively acidic. There is such a choice of varieties among narcissus that you can enjoy them for three months in spring without getting bored for a single moment. They all naturalise easily, love yellow and white, and often emit sweet fragrances. So many reasons to grow them in large clumps (at least 20 bulbs) for an increased effect. Combine the 'Shrike' narcissus with scillas and hyacinths and accompany them with forget-me-nots to lighten their flowering. A bunch of 'Shrike' narcissus in a vase will be magnificent.

For bouquets: we advise you not to mix narcissus with other flowers such as tulips, as the stems of narcissus contain a substance that quickly wilts other flowers. This detrimental effect on other flower types can be attenuated by dipping the ends of the narcissus stems in hot water for 1 to 2 minutes.

The Narcissus genus includes about 50 species found mainly in Western Mediterranean, but also in Africa and Asia. Daffodils are narcissus, they belong to division 7 of the group. Native to Southern Europe and North Africa, they have flowers grouped in pairs or more. Don't forget the botanical species that have preserved the charms of wild plants and thrive in rockeries: N.bulbocodium, N. canaliculatus, N.juncifolius, N.pseudonarcissus, the simple wood jonquil, are among the prettiest.