History of Daffodils in Florida

Yes, there’s a history of daffodils growing in Florida!

It started with early settlers to the region; the Old Coffee Road in 1821 brought pioneers from the Ocmulgee River region in central Georgia to southwest Georgia, close to the Florida state line. From there other early pioneer roads were opened, such as one across the bottom of Georgia (now called the Wiregrass Parkway, U.S. 84), to the old Magnolia Road, running from the Old Coffee Road area near Thomasville down to the coast at St. Marks, Florida. As cotton became king by the 1840s, areas of north Florida with good soil were put to the till, and towns flourished.

 

By and by, folks managed to bring bulbs. The daffodils of choice were the sturdy, hardy species and very early historic hybrid daffodils (those dating before 1800). As time went on, other historic cultivars were added to the garden repertoire, passed along within a community. This phenomenon of resourceful gardening is reflected in the same few historic daffodils appearing in a small town, but those few types of daffodils changing from town to town.

From years of observation, founding FDS member John Van Beck noted ten commonly found grown species and early historic hybrid daffodils at old homestead sites. Some have common names while others do not. In respect to botanical conventions, they are listed here in botanical order (this is not in any order of frequency of occurrence).

N. italicus 13W-Y†
N. paypayceus (Paper Whites) 13W-W
N. tazetta var. lacticolor (common name “Chinese Sacred Lily”) 13W-Y
N. jonquilla (common name “sweeties”) 13Y-Y
N. pseudonarcissus subsp. pseudonarcissus (many common names, such as “Lent lily”) 13Y-Y
N. × incomparabilis 13W-Y
N. × intermedius 13Y-Y
N. × odorus (common name “Campernelli” or “Campernelli jonquil”) 13Y-Y
‘Romanus’ (common names “Double Roman” or “Double Chinese Sacred Lily”) 4W-O
‘Telamonius Plenus’ (common name “Van Sion”) 4Y-Y

 

 

 

 

 

 

John noted four other species and wild hybrids may be found, but not as frequently, namely N. bulbocodium subsp. bulbocodium var. conspicuus 13Y-Y (“hoopskirt daffodil”), N. obvallaris (common name “Tenby”) 13Y-Y and N. × gracilis 13Y-Y. Other golden oldies found in old town gardens include “Grand Primo” 8W-Y (bunch narcissus, sometimes called “Old Fashioned”), occasionally ‘Empress’ 1W-Y (white petals, yellow trumpet) and ‘Double Campernelle’ 4Y-Y. These are the most common historic daffodils; many others are still merrily growing out there. Unfortunately, many have lost their names in the mists of time.

In the early twentieth century, someone realized they could grow certain heat tolerant, cold tender daffodils in north and north-central Florida. Commercial enterprises flourished from the 1920s into the 1940s, when mechanization and global competition took their toll. At first, flowers were grown for the cut flower market, but later narcissus were raised for the bulbs.

The cultivars of choice were tazettas (small, fragrant flowers blooming as a bunch on the end of a stem), such as Paper Whites (all white, popular for funeral arrangements), Chinese Sacred Lily (white petals, orangey-yellow cup, popular for forcing), Soleil d’Or (yellow petals, orange cup, popular for forcing) and a smattering of others. These were grown from the metro Jacksonville area, through Gainesville down to Daytona Beach and Seminole County (north of Orlando). One farm had satellite fields in Gadsden County, west of Tallahassee. The Florida Agricultural Extension Service actually published a bulletin that instructed farmers on how to commercially grow narcissus in the late 1920s. The farms are now long gone, but rumor has it that one farm’s fields, now a subdivision, still lingers as Paper Whites appear in a few yards.

Want a little more history about Paperwhites? Download an article from The Daffodil Journal:

Paper White Farming In Florida
1928 - 1942
A Bit of History

 

 

 

† Code Key:

13 – Species daffodil
8 – Tazetta daffodil
4 – Double daffodil
1 – Trumpet daffodil
W – color “white”
Y – color “yellow”
O – color “orange”
First letter – petal color
Second letter – cup color

© 2006 Florida Daffodil Society

N.x odorus