Showtime daffodills are contagious

A happy 'yellow fever' daffodil show here

BY LUCIA ANDERSON

The lure of a blue ribbon can cause strange behavior.

Although daffodil fanciers claim their favorite flowers are among the easiest to grow, they still jump through hoops to snag those prizes.

Take Chris Rainey. A recent phone call found her on the road, many miles from her home in Reston.

She and a friend were chauffeuring a flat of daffodil blossoms to a show in Knoxville, Tenn.

The best way to transport the flowers without damage, she explained, is to put them in individual bottles and set the bottles in an old-fashioned wooden soda case.

"And if you're driving very far, you need to keep the air conditioner on, and every two or three hours you need to turn around and mist them with a spray bottle," Rainey said.

Clear hard liquor--gin, vodka, tequila--added to the water will extend the life of the flower, she said.

The American Daffodil Society's 2007 National Convention in Tacoma, Wash., later this month is too far to drive, so she's flying. The Transportation Security Administration folks are not about to allow dozens of water bottles--even with flowers sticking out of them--on the plane, so she'll have to carry them on in a box.

"You lay them flat in a box and tape them down," she explained. "That way they won't roll around and get damaged. You can keep them that way for up to 30 hours."

Rainey has been showing daffodils for 15 years. She went to see a daffodil show and was hooked.

"The flowers were fascinating, and the people growing them were very interesting. They were people that I wanted to spend more time with.

"There's an expression in the daffodil world--they say you catch 'yellow fever.' It's incurable," Rainey said.

She will be a judge at the Garden Club of Virginia's Daffodil Show here in Fredericksburg later this week. So will Suzanne Bresee of the town of Orange, who takes a more relaxed approach to the whole show scene.

"It's just crazy fun," Bresee said.

Taking a visitor through the myriad daffodils growing around her antebellum home, Bresee pointed out the things to look for when choosing a bloom to exhibit.

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The American Daffodil Society offers several tips.

Visit daffodil shows to see the different varieties available. Decide what colors and forms you like best.

Gather catalogs in late March or April, order by June. Growers ship bulbs in September, so they need to be stored in a cool, dry place until planting time in October.

Daffodils need a sunny, well-drained location. The bulbs rot if there's too much water. Dig the ground at least 12 inches deep and add compost.

Plant daffodils so that the top is at least twice as deep as the bulb is high.

Add 5-10-10 fertilizer when leaf tips emerge. When they start to flower, top dress with 1-10-10 or 0-0-50. Avoid high-nitrogen fertilizer.

Water bulbs immediately after planting and keep them moist until the rains come. Water for three weeks after blooming time, then stop.

Leave the foliage alone until it begins to yellow. Don't cut, fold, spindle or mutilate.

Dig up daffodils and divide the clumps every four to five years.

--daffodilusa.org/daffodils/growingtips.html

WHAT: The Rappahannock Valley Garden Club presents the Garden Club of Virginia's 73rd annual Daffodil Show, sanctioned by the American Daffodil Society WHEN: 2-8 p.m. April 4, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. April 5 WHERE: The Jepson Alumni Executive Center of the University of Mary Washington, 119 Hanover St., Fredericksburg COST: Free, donations accepted MORE INFORMATION: Jeanette Cadwallender, 540/373-7210

Date published: 4/1/2007

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