And now for something completely different….
A neighbor gave me a newsletter she subscribes to called The Avant Gardener, the Unique Horticultural News Service, by the Horticultural Data Processors, NYC; Oct 2009. Thomas Powell, Editor and Publisher, $24 per year, Vol. 41, No. 12, p.91:
“Defensive Daffodils
As many gardeners have noticed, certain plants grow poorly when planted to cover the foliage of daffodils after the bulbs flower. Daffodils are notorious for producing alleopathic compounds to inhibit the growth of other plants; an important on is narciclasine, found in the mucilage of Narcissus bulbs.
Now Missouri State Univ. has conducted field and greenhouse experiments to determine the defects of daffodils on the growth of numerous plants, including snapdragons, Chinese aster, coleus, cosmos, basil, parsley, zinnias and strawberries.
In some cases, impacts on growth were dramatic. Germination of snapdragon seeds was reduced 60% to 80% and delayed 14 to 25 days when planted with certain narcissi. Coleus was stunted up to 50%, basil plants suffered reduced growth and chlorosis, and cosmos and zinnias were slow to reach flowering stage.
The researchers report that “no negative effects were observed on Chinese aster, strawberry, and parsley,” but “the evidence indicates that coleus and basil would not be suitable as follow-up plantings after Narcissus ssp.”
I’ll probably get in trouble for the retyping, but found it too interesting not to do so.
Anyone care to comment -???
-s
And now for something completely different….
A neighbor gave me a newsletter she subscribes to called The Avant Gardener, the Unique Horticultural News Service, by the Horticultural Data Processors, NYC; Oct 2009. Thomas Powell, Editor and Publisher, $24 per year, Vol. 41, No. 12, p.91:
“Defensive Daffodils
As many gardeners have noticed, certain plants grow poorly when planted to cover the foliage of daffodils after the bulbs flower. Daffodils are notorious for producing alleopathic compounds to inhibit the growth of other plants; an important on is narciclasine, found in the mucilage of Narcissus bulbs.
Now Missouri State Univ. has conducted field and greenhouse experiments to determine the defects of daffodils on the growth of numerous plants, including snapdragons, Chinese aster, coleus, cosmos, basil, parsley, zinnias and strawberries.
In some cases, impacts on growth were dramatic. Germination of snapdragon seeds was reduced 60% to 80% and delayed 14 to 25 days when planted with certain narcissi. Coleus was stunted up to 50%, basil plants suffered reduced growth and chlorosis, and cosmos and zinnias were slow to reach flowering stage.
The researchers report that “no negative effects were observed on Chinese aster, strawberry, and parsley,” but “the evidence indicates that coleus and basil would not be suitable as follow-up plantings after Narcissus ssp.”
I’ll probably get in trouble for the retyping, but found it too interesting not to do so.
Anyone care to comment -???
-s
And now for something completely different….
A neighbor gave me a newsletter she subscribes to called The Avant Gardener, the Unique Horticultural News Service, by the Horticultural Data Processors, NYC; Oct 2009. Thomas Powell, Editor and Publisher, $24 per year, Vol. 41, No. 12, p.91:
“Defensive Daffodils
As many gardeners have noticed, certain plants grow poorly when planted to cover the foliage of daffodils after the bulbs flower. Daffodils are notorious for producing alleopathic compounds to inhibit the growth of other plants; an important on is narciclasine, found in the mucilage of Narcissus bulbs.
Now Missouri State Univ. has conducted field and greenhouse experiments to determine the defects of daffodils on the growth of numerous plants, including snapdragons, Chinese aster, coleus, cosmos, basil, parsley, zinnias and strawberries.
In some cases, impacts on growth were dramatic. Germination of snapdragon seeds was reduced 60% to 80% and delayed 14 to 25 days when planted with certain narcissi. Coleus was stunted up to 50%, basil plants suffered reduced growth and chlorosis, and cosmos and zinnias were slow to reach flowering stage.
The researchers report that “no negative effects were observed on Chinese aster, strawberry, and parsley,” but “the evidence indicates that coleus and basil would not be suitable as follow-up plantings after Narcissus ssp.”
I’ll probably get in trouble for the retyping, but found it too interesting not to do so.
Anyone care to comment -???
-s
A belated response… Can’t add anything to Sara’s email but as most of my daffs are at the front of my borders, I’ve been overseeding with white Alyssum the last several years. It’s been thriving and reseeds itself – very little shows while the daffs are in peak bloom but starts to fill in shortly thereafter. It does a great job of providing camoflouge as the daff foliage settles down the and fades away. If I’m slow and it snows before I get all the beds covered it’s proven to be an adequate cover and pulls up very easily in the spring when I see daff tips showing.
Fall foliage has been brilliantly beautiful-lots of oranges and reds. I was in Northern Wisconsin last weekend and they were at peak — and then it snowed and the temps dropped to 26*F. They say the rain (and snow) is going to stop for Saturday and Sunday. I’m armed with shovels and labels and hope to get the new daffs in the ground this weekend. None of my usual really late Oct, into Nov planting this year. Hope I’m wrong but I fear an early onset of real winter weather. Get everything into the ground first and then start cleaning up.
Kathy Julius
Golden Valley, Minnesota