Narcissus

Narcissus, also known as daffodils, are found around the foundations of abandoned homesteads because they return year after year as long as the soil is well drained and the foliage is allowed to die back naturally every season. Deer and other critters are unlikely to eat them, as they are toxic to animals and people. Cheerful and reliable for beds, borders, cutflowers, forcing, and naturalizing.

Narcissus thrive in full sun and some (where noted in descriptions) do well in dappled shade. Pink, orange and red varieties hold their color best in dappled shade or during cool wet springs. In a dry season, water late varieties in midspring to ensure bloom.

Are they Daffodils, Jonquils or Narcissi? Yes!

A friend said he’d been confused by the different terms he’d heard to describe these familiar flowers. They are all in the genus Narcissus, so calling them that is perfectly fine, just as we say Crocus or Iris.

Narcissus, Narcissuses and Narcissi are all acceptable as the plural, so use the one you like. ‘Daffodil’ was first used in Wales and England to refer to certain wild forms. It is now used to refer either specifically to the Trumpets, or generally to mean any type of Narcissus. ‘Jonquil’ is also used to refer generally to any type of Narcissus, especially in the South where jonquils thrive. Horticulturists use it to refer to the wild Narcissus jonquilla and its progeny, the Jonquilla class of cultivars. So, really, all of these terms are fine.