Double daffodil – one bulb, twice the joy!

Varieties of double daffodil

Let it be known to all: every single double-flowered daffodil variety is a fabulous early spring bloomer!

Plant in fall, you’ll get tantalizing sensations when it blooms in spring.

Double daffodils are daffodils with many more petals than the usual.

Due to rare natural changes, petals appear instead of other plant parts: pistils, sepals…

Daffodil in spring

Double daffodil flowerThis, a daffodil? Yes, it is! And it boasts double flowers, which means – logically! – twice as much pleasure! Double-flowered daffodils are true spring flowers and they’ll lead you to feel true happiness when they bloom in April. What makes this flower so special is that the corolla has several petals, to the point that the entire flower is pure petal goodness!

Double daffodils exist in all the possible shades of yellow, and also in ivory cream, white, orange and any combination of these you can imagine. And did you know they were perennials? They’ll come back all on their own next year!

Double daffodil varieties

  • Some varieties of double-flowered daffodil are much easier to find than others. This is due to how many bulbs are already in circulation.

Easy-to-find varieties:

Double-daffodils that are abundant and easy to find are the following:

  • Varieties of double daffodil‘Replete’,
  • ‘Abba’,
  • ‘Ice King’
  • ‘Tahiti’ (shown in the main picture at top)
  • ‘Golden Ducat’
  • and ‘Rip van Winkle’

The ‘Bridal Crown’ double-flowered daffodil is mostly used as a potted bulb flower? You can bring it indoors instead of having to plant it in the garden.

Harder-to-find double daffodils:

Some of these strange daffodils are truly difficult to get your hands on, but they’re beautiful!

  • Anne Frank, a white and orange daffodil
  • ‘Camellia’ daffodil, that has flowers similar to those of the camellia shrub
  • ‘Double Campernelle’, rich yellow blooms just like a small rose

Ah, Narcissus is in Love!

Where does the Narcissus name come from? It’s actually a dramatic episode in ancient Greek mythology:

Cream and yellow-flowered double daffodilWhen the handsome youth Narcissus saw his own reflection in a pond, he fell insanely in love with his own reflection. And since every time he tried to touch his mirror-self, it wavered and disappeared, and he slowly withered away as he longingly sighed after himself. His body disappeared, but what was left was a beautiful yellow flower, the daffodil.

To this day, the flower commemorates this event through its symbolic name: Narcissus. This year, double daffs are all the rage, since this prize bulb won several prizes in shows!


Images: CC BY 2.0: Ryan Somma, Indiana Ivy Nature Photographer, Pixabay: Etienne Gontier, Erika Varga