The Campernelle Daffodil and 3 Reason We Love Them!

 In this article, we’ll answer some basic questions about one of the most common heirloom daffodils seen in perennial gardens across Texas and the Southeastern United States, the campernelle daffodil. This sweet-smelling tough bulb offers bold and vivid colors, and we’ll offer 3 other reasons why love them for our gardens. 

• Introduction
• Scientific Name: Narcissus x odorus
• 3 reasons we LOVE campernelles?
• Where can I buy campernelle daffodils or narcissus?
• When can I buy campernelles?
• Where can I buy campernelles and Narcissus in bulk or wholesale?
• When do I plant campernelle daffodils?
• Where do I plant campernelles?
• Are camperenelles fragrant?
• What are some other uses of campernelles in the garden?
• 3 great uses of campernelle narcissus flowers:
• What are good planting instructions for campernelle flowers?
• Does soil moisture matter for campernelles?
• What kind of soil do campernelles need?
• Are there double campernelle daffodils?
• Does the Southern Bulb Company grow double campernelles?
• Are campernelles daffodils or Narcissus?
• Are campernelles heirloom daffodil bulbs?
• Where are campernelle narcissus originally from?
• Where do you find campernelle flowers?
• What Zone do these daffodils grow in? Will they do well in zone 9?
• Are campernelles poisonous?

Introduction

Often dubbed the "Giant Jonquil" or simply the "campernelle daffodil," gardeners treasure the campernelle for the wonderful fragrance and golden blooms. Clusters of small rich-colored dark yellow trumpets top the foliage, and look like a vein of gold going through the landscape. They bloom in late February, and add such flavor, fun, and beauty, that they truly are worth their weight in gold. As I travel the back country roads across the nation, one of my favorite scenes is the broken-down gate, barbed wire fence, falling over structure, and thousands of golden blooms of campernelles in the winter thriving despite the neglect.

Narcissus x odorus

'Campernelle' bulbs are hybrids and receive their fragrance from the Jonquil and the large blooms from its other parent, the Lent lily (Narcissus x pseudonarcissus). Sharing characteristics from both parents, the large foliage is not exactly cylindrical and not all the way flat, but a combination somewhere between the two. The dark green foliage is attractive along with the large golden blooms that show up around mid-February or the beginning of March.

3 reasons we LOVE campernelles? Campernelles provide vivid bold colors in late February and are a stark contrast against the grey colors of winter. They also are known for:

1)     Long bloom time: comparatively long bloom in time in February and March

2)     Low Maintenance: just give them sun and let the foliage die down naturally in the spring

3)     Pest Resistance: I’ve seen fields of deer, donkey, horses, and cows leaving them alone, and our pocket gophers that riddle our farm and are notorious for eating our tulips, hyacinths, and gladiolus leave them alone.

Where can I buy campernelle daffodils or narcissus? You can buy them at www.southernbulbs.com on this page here.

When can I buy campernelles? We grow these bulbs on our farm, and we begin selling them after they bloom and through the spring, summer, and fall. We do not sell them in late fall and early winter when their new roots are just beginning to emerge along with their seasonal foliage that proceeds their February and March bloom.

Where can I buy campernelles and Narcissus in bulk or wholesale? You can buy narcissus and daffodils in bulk from The Southern Bulb Company. If you need over 1,000 bulbs please let us know by calling 888-285-2486 or emailing info@southernbulbs.com and we can accommodate your wholesale and bulk daffodil buying needs.

When do I plant campernelle daffodils? You can plant campernelles from spring through fall. This rule is the same for planting daffodils in Zone 7, Zone 8, and Zone 9.

Where do I plant campernelles? Campernelles are great for the garden, borders, fence lines and meadows. They can also be used in pots but remember that pots exposed in the winter are normally a few degrees colder than the soil found in the earth, so be careful exposing pots to very cold freezes.

Are camperenelles fragrant? Yes, they have a sweet pleasing smell that most people enjoy.

What are some other uses of campernelles in the garden? Campernelles make GREAT winter cut flowers and are a staple in our late winter time bouquets and flower arranging. These sweet smelling flowers always end up on a table arrangement for a temporary outside dinner or party on one of our warmer winter Saturdays. After gracing our outdoor arrangements, the campernelle daffodil flowers come in and brighten up our kitchen, bathrooms, and other spots around the house.

3 great uses of campernelle narcissus flowers:

1)     Landscapes: any large landscape, public or private, would benefit from the use of campernelle flowers. They fill large spaces and naturalize with very little care, offering a Monet like splash of gold in February when almost nothing else is blooming. I sometimes joke and say I wish every publicly funded golf course in the Southeastern United States was required to line their fairways with them.

2)     Borders on country roads: when we think of borders of country roads, images of trees overhanging the roads or stately live oaks lining entrances comes to mind. Some of my favorite country road linings and entrances have campernelles blooming in the February. They really are sites to behold.

3)     With perennials: campernelles mix in well with other late spring, summer, and fall blooming perennials, like lantanas, asters, salvias and more. While those perennials are cut down and dormant in the winter, the campernelles come to live and shine to brighten up your winter garden.

What are good planting instructions for campernelle flowers?

Plant with a few inches of soil over the bulbs, or if transplanting the flowers with foliage still on them, plant with the bulbs and few inches below the soil and the leaves above the ground. Just make sure they receive plenty of winter sun each winter growing season.

Does soil moisture matter for campernelles?

Soils in the winter throughout many part of Texas and the Southeastern United States stay moist enough to supply campernelles all of the water they will need. If you have an area in your garden that receives winter sun but is protected from receiving any rain (like an overhang on a house that catches the rain), then you might need to give them some water about once a week during the winter months. Other than that, avoid planting them in standing water.

What kind of soil do campernelles need?

I have seen campernelles on just about any soil, as long as they are receiving plenty of winter sun and not in standing water. We grow them on our sandy loam soils, but I have seen them on the prairie black land soils that stretch from Dallas to Austin and on the more clay soils around house foundations. They do seem to prefer slightly acidic soil but perform just fine on alkaline soils as well.

Are there double campernelle daffodils?

Yes, what is most imported from Holland are Dutch grown double campernelle daffodils or Narcissus. This selection or hybridization dates to the 1600s and features a ruffled cup that is almost rose like in appearance. The single form campernelles have regularly formed cups that are shorter, and not the larger trumpet shaped cups we traditionally call daffodils.

Does the Southern Bulb Company grow double campernelles?

We grow some, but we primarily grow the old fashioned single campernelle daffodil on our farm in Texas. However, we sometimes do offer the double campernelle for sale when we bring in some bulbs from our friends in The Netherlands.

Are campernelles daffodils or Narcissus?

Campernelles are in the Narcissus genus and are sometimes called daffodils and other times called Narcissus. We refer to them as campernelles. For a good discussion on the difference between a narcissus and a daffodil, consult our daffodil product page here.

Are campernelles heirloom daffodil bulbs?

These would most likely be considered heirloom flower bulbs since they are so old, but really they are a naturally occurring hybrid.

Where are campernelle narcissus originally from?

Campernelles are originally from southern Spain and Portugal, where they are a naturally occurring hybrid between jonquils (Narcissus jonquilla) and Lent Lilies (Narcissus psuedonarcissus).

Where do you find campernelle flowers?

Often, we find campernelles growing in old house gardens, where the home is no longer evident except for some piles of wood and larger trees. You’ll find these flowers gracing this old home site where they have lived for over 100 years, blooming reliably each year with little to no care.  You can also see them gracing roadsides where an old home site was undoubtedly removed to make room for a new road.

What Zone do these daffodils grow in? Will they do well in zone 9?

Daffodil zone or hardiness zones refer to a map put out by the USDA which can be found here. The hardiness zone map is used to give general reference to the ability of plants, such as the campernelle, to successfully grow in that region. Often times it is used to see the cold tolerance of a plant, to have a general idea of what cold temperatures will freeze a plant to death. In warmer climates, it can be used to figure out what plants can survive in hot temperatures.

For example, someone might want to know, will daffodils grow in Florida? The answer is yes. Campernelles will actually do well in areas of North Florida, but will they do well in Miami? Probably not. So, you can use the zone map to help you figure this out.

I have seen campernelles bloom in zone 9A but I have not seem them thrive in Zone 9b or warmer. They will do well in Zone 7 and these daffodils will bloom in Zone 7 around the end of February and into March. Even in Zone 9, these are full sun daffodils, but that is full winter sun. Other summer perennials and trees can provide shade during hot Zone 9 summer months, and you might consider planting them about an inch deeper than normal if they will receive no shade in the summer dormancy months.

Are campernelles poisonous?

North Carolina Extension lists the toxicity as LOW SEVERITY. See their page here. All Narcissus (i.e. daffodils) should not be consumed.  This is us digging in an old homesite (with permission) and notice that the cows, bulls, dear, and other wildlife leave them alone.

Observe the picture of blooms below comparing the size of the jonquil verses the size of the campernelle. The campernelle bloom is on the left and a single large trumpet bloom. The petite jonquil blooms are on the right and two of them do not quite equal the size of the campernelle. 

What does “in the green” mean?

In the summer and fall, we ship dry bulbs that many consumers are familiar with. However, in the spring we ship some flower bulbs with their foliage still on them, having dug them right after their bloom. When the customer receives them, the foliage is in the process of drying down naturally. Plant the bulbs, with foliage and all in the ground and let the foliage turn brown and die back naturally.   Another option is to not plant the flower bulbs and store the bulbs with the foliage in a cool, dark, and well ventilated spot, and most importantly let the foliage die down naturally. In other words, DON'T cut the foliage of bulbs when you receive them in the green. The browning and dying back of the foliage is the natural process of the bulb sending food and energy from the leaves down into the bulbs for their summer dormancy.

I thought daffodil bulbs are normally shipped in the fall? We grow many of our own daffodils here on our farm, and while it is unconventional in the United States, it is common to have bulbs shipped in the green in other parts of the world. We grow many of our own heirloom daffodils that we originally collected from old gardens on former homesites. Shipping these in the green allows us to:

1)      Ship them during the bloom season when most gardeners are thinking of and remembering to plant daffodils

2)      Ensures correct identification of the flower bulb. These are heirlooms and buying and receiving the right genetic selections is important to having varieties that are perennials and will naturalize in your garden

3)      Allows us to offer more bulbs at lower prices to customers

Remember that bulbs shipped in the green are coming to an end of their growth cycle. You can expect:

1)      The foliage to yellow and die down naturally

2)      The bulb to be dormant in the summer and early fall

3)      Roots to start growing in mid fall

4)      Foliage appears next January

5)      Bulbs to bloom next February and March