by Gail Seymour

Created on: July 06, 2010

Replete is a pink double that is pretty consistent in form. Both the petals and cup are usually doubled, with the standard white perianth being complemented by a second circle of petals leaning forward into the flower, and the pink cup ruffling and splitting between them to create the image of a white rosette with a pink heart.

Where they are less reliable is in color. Some come true to the dusky pink you see in the pictures advertising them, generally those grown in the colder climates of zone 3. Others, particularly if they are grown in full sun in a warmer climate, up to zone 8, revert to a salmon or even apricot cup, which is still pretty, but not the pink they are prized for.

They can also be quite late to show for daffodils, particularly in their first year, when they may not show their leaves until well into April, and flower in May. Once they are acclimatized, though, they generally bloom in late March through April. The flowers are a healthy four inches across and the stems usually reach over a foot and a half, settling in around twenty inches.

Planting

Although they like a sandy, chalky or loamy moist but well-drained soil, like most daffodils, they will cope with almost any soil provided it is not boggy or waterlogged. They will naturalize well under deciduous bushes or trees, though you should avoid planting them under evergreens or where they will have to fight with voracious roots for nutrients.

Make sure the bulbs are firm and fleshy. If they are dry and peeling like onions, or have air pockets and feel squashy between your fingers, discard them. Also reject any with signs of rot, mold or mildew, or with white spots.

The bulbs should be planted at three times their depth, so for Replete that should be around eight inches, and they will need a similar amount of space between them, as they are naturally clump forming. If you plant the bulbs in a heavy or clay soil, dig in a little organic matter and surround each bulb with a layer of compost. You may also want to plant them at around four inches and make up the difference with mulch to give them more ideal growing conditions.

During Flowering

Like most other daffodils, Replete will flower happily for you with little more than an occasional watering during a dry spring. If you cut them for the vase, remember they will produce a milky white sap that is poisonous to most other spring flowers, so either display them on their own or use a daffodil neutralizing feed in the water. The sap, and indeed all parts of the daffodil are mildly toxic, so always wash your hands after handling them.

After flowering

Don’t cut or tie the leaves after flowering. Instead, deadhead the flowers, as they are either sterile or produce seeds that don’t grow true to form, and will only continue to draw energy from the bulb unnecessarily. Allow the leaves to die back naturally, and apply a liquid or granular fertilizer formulated for bulbs during the six weeks or so after flowering, as this is when the bulb is actively storing energy for the following year. They will also need watering if the weather is dry.

Throughout the hotter summer months the bulbs are dormant and need less water, but their root system becomes active again in the fall, when you should ensure the ground doesn’t dry out around them, even through the winter.

Daffodils don’t like to be continually dug up and are happier if left in one spot to mature, but they will need lifting and dividing as the clumps they form get too big and they begin to compete for food, generally every three years or so.

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