Narcissus Jet Fire

The Daffodil or Narcissus 'Jet Fire' is a botanical mini daffodil, with an early and extended flowering season, as well as a subtle fragrance. It offers charming small bright yellow flowers adorned with a small orange trumpet, full of pep. It is multiflorous, with each stem carrying 2 to 3 flowers. The foliage is sparse; the flowering, very early, begins in February-March, and lasts for several weeks. It is an easy plant to grow in well-drained, neutral soil. Dwarf varieties are ideal for rockeries and containers.

The 'Jet Fire' Narcissus belongs to the Amaryllidaceae family. The Narcissus genus includes about 50 species mainly found in Western Mediterranean, but also in Africa and Asia. The cyclamineus species, from which it originates, is native to northwest Portugal and northwest Spain, and owes its name to its outer petals that form a fully reflexed corolla, like cyclamens. This characteristic is often greatly reduced in its hybrid descendants.

The 'Jet Fire' daffodil, closely related to this species, is an American horticultural creation dating back to 1966 and has won several awards, notably from the Royal Horticultural Society in England. It is a small, vigorous and reliable plant that reaches about 15 cm (6in) in height for foliage, 25 cm (10in) when in flower. Its flowers, slightly fragrant and beautifully bi-coloured, are composed of a corolla with slightly reflexed petals, a very bright yellow colour, on which a fairly short, slightly undulate corolla is inserted, of a bright orange sometimes tinged with red. It is a very early flowering plant that naturalises in the garden within 3 or 4 years through bulbil production.

The 'Jet Fire' Daffodil is undemanding and grows well in any well-drained and loosened soil, but results are worse in soils that are too moist, especially in summer, or excessively acidic. There is such a choice of varieties among daffodils that you can enjoy them for three months in spring without ever getting tired. They have in common the ability to naturalise easily, love for yellow and white, and often emit sweet fragrances. These are all reasons to grow them in large clumps (at least 20 bulbs) for a multiplied effect. Combine the 'Jet Fire' daffodil, in natural-looking flower beds and rockeries, with squills, crocuses, and hyacinths, accompany them with early-flowering botanical tulips as well as forget-me-nots, pansies, or liverworts. In pots, this daffodil is also perfect.

Jonquil or Daffodil? Botanically speaking, jonquils are part of the daffodil family. They have flowers grouped in twos or more, and their corolla forms a campanulate trumpet longer than it is wide. The botanical species have the charm of wild plants and thrive in rockeries: N.bulbocodium, N. canaliculatus, N.juncifolius, N.pseudonarcissus, the simple wood jonquil, are among the prettiest. For bouquets, we advise not to mix daffodils with other flowers such as tulips, as the stems of daffodils contain a substance that quickly wilts other flowers. This detrimental effect on other flower types can be reduced by dipping the ends of daffodil stems in warm water for 1 to 2 minutes.