No, they are not a summer daffodil. Actually, according to Daffseek, Grand Soleil d'Or is a very early blooming daffodil. According to Brent and Becky's Bulbs, it is only hardy to zone 8.

I wouldn't purchase anything from a company that gave such bad and misleading product information. I'd suggest ordering from a more reputable source.

Sue

It is actually a cultivar of paperwhite narcissus, Narcissus tazetta ssp. aureus. Doesn't require a chill period to bloom, easy to force in the same manner other paperwhites are and not reliably hardy in the ground in PNW zone 7 or 8. And it doesn't bloom in summer :-)

Bizarre. A quick Google found this:

Here is a link that might be useful: Summer daffodils

It seems that the DirectGardening,com site is a site touting it to be a summer daffodil. That site also sells a daffodil they call Summer Cheer and claim that it is an early summer blooming daffodil. Actually, there is no daffodil by the name of Summer Cheer, but it is a synonym for Erlicheer which is a very early blooming Spring daffodil. I wrote them and told them their product information was incorrect, thus making a bad reputation for themselves and disappointing any customers who are expecting their daffodils to bloom in the summer.

I'll report back if I get a reply from them. I am so disgusted by companies that don't know their products, or else are just lying with some of the outrageous information they give about their products. It makes you wonder if they are even gardeners, or no better than big box store stuff.

Sue

I have grown Grand Soleil D'Or here in my 8a garden outdoors. There is no prettier early bloomer, in my opinion. However, there is a virus that seems to affect this strain and after the first year, they return, but rarely bloom, and those will be stunted. The foliage will have brown streaks in it after the first year. I wish I could remember where I read the virus info so you could get more specifics, but do not. However, my plants have done exactly as stated. I pulled them up this past week. I was so sad because they had multiplied, and I loved them the first year.

Because grand s.d.o. and erlicheer don't require much chilling (if any?), they can be planted in the spring and will bloom in the summer. That's the marketing idea behind this, they are a daffodil for people who forgot to plant them in the fall.....

Of course when they bloom in the summer, it's usually hot and the blooms don't last more than a couple days, and then they go onto their early spring schedule for the next year (if they can handle the zone).

I remember a couple years ago when earlicheer was marketed heavily by van bourgendien for spring planting and summer bloom. It grew well for a couple years in my zone, but because it's so early the shoots would always get damaged. One winter a warm spell brought it up, then the return of winter killed it.

Donna - sorry to hear they don't return.... sometimes the nicest stuff gives you the most trouble....but if it makes you feel any better I keep trying crape myrtles and they keep dying out on me (but I know it's the winter that kills them, not some unseen virus).

Re: people who forgot to plant their bulbs in the Fall.
The low chill req. bulbs are great for those of us living in warm winter areas. We often don't have enough of the cold winter temps. required by many bulbs so these can work quite well.The big challenge in my area is keeping them watered just enough through the winter.

Because grand s.d.o. and erlicheer don't require much chilling (if any?), they can be planted in the spring and will bloom in the summer.
That makes sense, except Erlicheer shown at the link below, says it is hardy from zones 3-8 meaning it would require chilling. Right?

I think that just goes to show that some of the General Bulb Merchants are not nearly as good or reliable as some of the others.

. The foliage will have brown streaks in it after the first year. I wish I could remember where I read the virus info so you could get more specifics, but do not.
Donna, might it be Yellow Stripe Virus? Are you planting daffs back in the same areas where the virused ones grew?

Here is a link that might be useful: Summer Daffodil Erlicheer at van bourgendien

I'm going to withhold my van bourgendien comments.... and just say their z3-8 rating might be off and that Brent and Becky has Erlicheer listed as z6-9.

Just to clarify, I didn't mean to imply that these low chill bulbs are only for "people who forgot to plant in fall"... obviously they've been grown for years as perennials in the warmer zones with fall planting and spring blooms.... I wanted to get across that selling them in the spring as 'summer daffodils' is a marketing gimmick aimed at people who see and want blooming daffodils asap and not in another year's time.

I planted Summer Daffodils from Spring Hill Nursery catalog two springs ago. They came up in July, as promised, show-stopping gorgeous, but it was a one-shot deal....they never came back again. I read online it might have been a virus??

in the EU they are given as indoor flowers for cold hardiness to USDA zone 8 only!!! I am wondering if they are to survive in zone 7b???