Late flowering daffodils are usually white. Those interested in yellows will probably find none later than the little Narcissus gracilis, present in many gardens where its name is unknown and it is referred to as “the latest yellow daffodil there is.”
Flowers are a delicate yellow with a somewhat darker yellow cup, each flower about the size and general shape of the old poet’s narcissus. The color does not fade with age.
The stem rarely exceeds a foot in height; leaves are a sixth of an inch or less in width, and flowers vary from one to three to a stem and are fragrant.
The Latin name is translated as “graceful narcissus.” The two outstanding characteristics of the species are its gracefulness and its lateness. It has been given an undeserved bad name for the weakness of the flower stem.
Its stem lacks the stiff strength of that of the campernelle jonquil but is fully adequate in most gardens to hold the flower erect during heavy rains.
Grow Narcissus Gracilis
It has reportedly been grown from Michigan to the Gulf. The chances are, though, that like so many other bulbs of old-time gardens it is most common in old Southern gardens.
My start came from a Kentucky neighbor who grasped a handful of dried tops and pulled up the little bulbs as she would have pulled onions.
She had her start from a cousin across the state who had her start from someone else, in a gardener-to-gardener exchange that doubtless went back for decades. The species has rarely been offered in American catalogs.
Those who delight in hunting forgotten plants in out-of-the-way gardens, much as antique hunters delight in searching out-of-the-way attics, will probably prefer hunting this daffodil rather than ordering it from an English firm that does offer it.
44659 by Maud R. Jacobs