Say Cheese
Good news this week! One of my personal favourite Daffodils, Say Cheese, has made its return to our web shop. She took a small sabbatical when the grower wanted to expand the variety for a few years, to make sure that there would be enough bulbs to sell in the future. And now, that time has come!
Say Cheese had a lot of growth this season, and we were first in line to get a few of those bulbs for our assortment. I already know she is going to bring a smile to a lot of people’s faces.
Say Cheese is a short, stocky Daffodil. She blooms early and can come back for many years when she likes her spot. Another great quality is the ‘shelf life,’ let’s call it, of her flowers: they look great for a long time. Over the years, I have only grown more fond of this happy Daffodil, and I tend to make a couple of small pots of Say Cheese every year to gift to friends and acquaintances when I want to bring them something. And of course she also does well in the garden, which is why I know from personal experience that this Daffodil scores well above average when it comes to coming back for multiple years. If you are still looking for recommendations, I would definitely consider Say Cheese for this year.
Like I said, Say Cheese is also very well suited to plant in pots. I would like to tell you a little bit more about planting flower bulbs in pots in general, as we get a lot of questions about that every year.
For us flower bulb people, a flower bulb that is suitable for planting in pots are flower bulbs that naturally have shorter, sturdier stems, and that are not too delicate when it comes to their environment. When placed a little too cold or too dark, a good pot-flower bulb should still be able to perform to her usual standards.
There are obviously always those green-thumbed people who tell you about more difficult varieties that they have gotten to thrive in flower pots, and we are happy for them, their photos always look amazing, but when I talk about flower bulbs suited for pots, I want to only name the varieties that beginners will also have success with. I want the people who only have a small balcony—maybe on the wrong side of the building—to work with to be able to get good results, too.
Blushing Lady is an example of a more difficult variety. You can see the long stems that grow in every direction, with their large flowers at the end of them. In theory, she can look absolutely wonderful when planted in the right pot, and truly give the feeling of an old painting with Tulips on it, but to say that she is the ideal Tulip for flowerpots? No. She has her good qualities, and if you know what to do it works, but most people want something else when looking for a flowerpot bulb.
On our web site, we have varieties where we have explicitly added that they do well in flower pots. Obviously, it’s not just those varieties that can be planted that way. You can see that statement as a way of us telling you that it would be very difficult to fail with these varieties. Flower bulbs that get our ‘great for flowerpots’ sticker do not need any additional care when you plant them like that. Other varieties may work if you help them out a little bit more.
Why do they need more help when you plant them in a flower pot, then? Well, in the soil, Mother Nature is constantly caring for flower bulbs. There are lots of nutrients, there is lots of hydration, and the roots of the flower bulbs can go anywhere they want when planted in soil. In flower pots, the roots are usually pressed up against the bottom of the pot, and the limited amount of soil can be drained of water when there is a lot of drought. On top of that, cold air and wind blow around the pot constantly, which makes the bulbs much more sensitive to frost. During the winter months, you should make sure that the soil in your flower pots always gets enough water, and that the pots don’t freeze. Naturally, larger flower pots have less risk than smaller ones, so it is also smart to choose the largest possible flower pot.
What else? It might be fun to know that I am writing this newsletter in England. With pen and paper. I am going to send Pien pictures of my notebook, and she will have to decode it all and type the newsletter for you all.
Somewhere in the near future, I will tell you all about the England trip and what I do when I visit all my Daffodil friends.
See you next week.
Kind regards,
Carlos
Carlos
