Makes you glad AND sad all at the same time, doesn't it?

I'm glad a few were saved. I wonder if some bulbs are still in the area.... maybe they've been bulldozed around and will pop up in new spots and have a chance to spread! (I can hope right?)

I firmly believe in that rescue. Near me, next to the road, I found a small stand of Houstonia, beautiful! The next year it was almost all gone, smothered by japanese honeysuckle. I found a tiny tuft, and brought it home. It's still alive out there, and I hope it spreads. Then in time I can share. There's nothing wrong with this.

I just rescued some daffodils on Saturday. Heavy equipment moved into the area on Monday. They bloom so much ealier than any of the daffodils in my zone 6b yard. I always have a shovel and a bucket in my vehicle for emergencies like this. I have dug up many clumps of daffodils just before they would have met their demise to a bulldozer.

Nothing special about the flower other than it blooms in February.

{{gwi:6145}}

Kathy

Good save, Scott! I'm all for the rescue!

I have quite a few that need to be rescued from the woods that will soon be a subdivision. Luckily, the owner said it was fine. They have been there a very, very long time!

This is just one spot of them: {{gwi:6146}}From Daffodils - Winter 2009

-Frank

Hi Frank, Wish I was there to help you dig and rescue.....I would enjoy having a bunch of those in the back woods behind my house.......good luck getting them out before the bulldozers arrive :o) Dan

Hi Frank, funny meeting you in this forum - but bulbs are bulbs I guess :-) Let me know if you need help with those daffs. They are way too good and dense to abandon. Alana

Hey Dan and Alana! I am all over these forums since I love all the bulbs (and plants), not just the Amaryllis! I usually read more than posting though...

The good/bad part (depending on how you look at it), is this is only one area of them...there are tons more! I'll be happy to send you guys some if you want and will try to get some photos when they bloom too. I am thinking they are a really old variety.

-Frank

I'm always happy to take more daffs. I've got my natural area full of them but there's always more room elsewhere. I've even taken to planting bulbs at my son's new house. He is tickled by them when they come up in the spring, as much as I am with mine. (or so he says :-) I wonder who had originally planted the ones in the picture you took in the middle of the woods like that? I'd love to see a picture of them in bloom. Alana

Hi Frank, I would love to get any you are willing to send!! Please send me an e-mail to plantgy at zoominternet dot net

These old varieties like this are so much nicer than many of the modern hybrids in the sense they multiply so well and will come back for several generations of families :o) Dan

I am ALWAYS up for swapping daffodils. Here are a few other rescued daffodils I have.

{{gwi:6147}}

{{gwi:6148}}

{{gwi:6149}}

Kathy - have shovel and bucket, will travel

Paddle, do you have any idea what the name of the top photo is? A friend gave me a bucket of them several years ago and they are beautiful (and prolific). You probably know, but the second one is the old Butter and Eggs, which were also in that bucket. Do you kow the name of the white one? Has it persisted for a number of years? I am always looking for good whites that grow this far south.

Kathy- Your Daffs are beautiful!!! I would love to swap Daffs with you and anyone else who is interested! I'm hoping the snow won't kill over the blooms on these guys, so I can get some good photos. I have some, but wanted to get some better ones.

Have shovel and bucket, will travel. I love that!

-Frank

Frank, I'd love to see what your daffodil is and trade if you're interested. I'm close by, in Durham, so it should be easy to arrange, and I'd be more than happy to drive over with a shovel and help dig. I've got N. pseudonarcissus from an old homesite in the woods near me that I can offer in exchange, or let me know what other plants you're looking for. Karen

How fortunate I found this thread. Just yesterday I rescued a bunch of narcissus bulbs from my mom's yard. They were around a tree that is going down :( today. A few are in bloom. What should I do with them? Plant? Store?

Haven't visited the forums in a while. Guess I need to change my ID name as I'm now in Columbia, SC, not FL.

Thanks for any help! Beth

Hi Karen! I'm glad to hear you're close by. There are a couple of us here in the Raleigh/Durham area. Yay! No shipping fees!!! We should have a bulb gathering...LOL!

I would love to trade for some of your N. pseudonarcissus! I'm drawn to tough plants and bulbs like Iris or Daylilies too! I'm really hoping to get more photos when the bulbs bloom to be sure they are all the same variety. I will keep you all posted.

Hi Beth- I'm happy to hear you were able to get the bulbs up before the tree was removed. Good save! If I were you, I would put the flowers in water if they aren't too wilted already. You can either plant the bulbs back in a new location or put them in a cool place to dry up. The energy from the leaves will drain back into the bulb and they will go dormant. Then you can plant them in the fall when you see the daffs in stores. They may need to adjust in their new home and may not bloom next season, however.

This is just my opinion from my experience. Anyone else have ideas?

-Frank

Yup, I agree with Frank, Beth. Plant them soon. I've had to move daffs for various reasons while blooming and getting them situated quickly is key. They still have growing to do this year. Alana

Thanks Karen and Frank! Will get busy.

Small world. Lived in Raleigh for eight years and loved it!

Beth

Beth again. I won't be able to plant the bulbs until Saturday, so should I put the entire group in a few inches of water, even the unbloomed ones? I don't mean to sound ignorant, just haven't dealt with bulbs in over twenty years plus!

Going to try to get permission to dig up a few iris in the yard I grew up in.

Thanks!

Don't put them in water. Just set them in a place that will stay above freezing (garage, shed, etc) with a damp towel or newspaper over any exposed roots so they don't dry out. They'll be fine until Saturday.

Will do! Again, thanks!
Beth

Donnabaskets, I have never gotten a positive ID on any of my found daffodils. But I was on my way to the National Daffodil Society show after I dug that daffodil. I took one of the blooms into the show and it appeared to be an exact match to 'White Lady'. I dug a bunch of daffodils that morning at my Aunt's house. She had died a few weeks before and we had a family gathering in her garden where she had huge drifts of daffodils blooming. The new owners of the house plan to expand the house so a lot of the bulbs will be destroyed. I am hoping that I got about a dozen different varieties from her yard. There is another white daffodil I rescued by the side of the road a few years ago which blooms very late and is extremely fragrant. Unfortunately I do not think it is a reliable bloomer. I have driven by the spot for years and had never seen them bloom but that one year. It also did not bloom in my yard (I cannot remember where I planted it).
I do have a wonderful white daffodil which I plan to dig this year for the bulb swap of the daffodil society which I belong.

{{gwi:6150}}

Perhaps we can arrange a trade if you are interested.

Frank, I would be interested in trading, please post a picture when they bloom.

Kathy

Frank, let us know what they are when they bloom, and I'm serious about being willing to drive over and help dig.
-- Karen

Hey, you guys! Look at you, going all Daffy on me, now! LOL! I sneak in here every once in a while, too... bulbs are bulbs, after all!

I'm not a huge fan of Daffodils, but I do enjoy the tiny little miniature varieties... and I love the whites and some of the more unusual kinds! Frank, wait until you see my bulb beds come to life this spring... I'm hoping they're even prettier this year than they were last... this is their second year. I put in tons of everything, from Alliums to Lilies and everything in between!

Anyhoo... nice save! I think we talked about those rain lilies in the other forum, didn't we? Saving a lot of Daffodils will be quite a job, but totally worth it if they're heirlooms... I've often wondered how many species of plants die under the bulldozers, never to be seen again? It's such a shame...

Beth,

Welcome to Columbia. As you can see, I am here too. Let me know if you want to cooperate on trading or rescueing.

~Scott~
PS, I am a Florida native. Looks like we have danced around each other once or twice.

I am shocked and delighted that the folks laying the fiber-optic cable where I rescued the daffodils in my first posting actually tunneled underneath them rather than digging through them. They destroyed all the overgrown vegetation before and after where they were growing, but preserved the daffodils. I just went to check to see if any were lying on the ground and they are blooming beautifully. Amazing.

Kathy

BTW I grew up in Florida too.