Facts About Daffodils

October 27th, 2005


They’re one of the easiest flowers to grow and provide a lovely display of colour in the spring. But how much do you know about daffodils?

Daffodils are members of the Narcissus family.

Daffodils originated in south west Europe.

These days, the majority of daffodils are grown in the Channel Islands, Great Britain, Holland and the Isles of Scilly.

There are over 25,000 varieties of daffodils and they come in yellow, white, orange and even a peach/pink shade.

All parts of the daffodil are poisonous.

The sap of daffodils can be damaging to other flowers. If you’ve picked them to display in a vase with other flowers, then it’s best to leave them in water on their own for at least 12 hours, before mixing them together.

The emblem of Wales is the daffodil. People often wear daffodils on St. David’s Day.

In New York, nearly 2,500,000 daffodils are grown each year.

The Victorians thought daffodils acted as a symbol of regard.

Prince Charles, from the British Royal Family, is annually given one daffodil to act as a form of rent for land on the Isles of Scilly.

Daffodil bulbs contain a substance called galanthine, which has medicinal properties. In fact, it’s sometimes used in treatments for Alzheimer’s.

In Australia, they have an annual Daffodil Day to help raise awareness about cancer. The daffodil is also used as a symbol by Marie Curie Cancer Care in the UK.

13 Responses to “Facts About Daffodils”

  1. doris Says:

    Interesting facts about daffodils. Did you know that March is cancer month in Canada and we too have a day when we sell daffodils? The proceeds are donated to the Canadian Cancer Society.

  2. Philippa Says:

    What a great read, thank you! :-) My kids planted daff’s last year and they were lovely.

  3. Brandon Says:

    These are very interesting facts about all the flowers in the garden category. Could we learn about other types of gardening too? Another flower I would like to learn about is morning glories. Grandma grows beautiful blue ones.

  4. Samantha Says:

    I don’t care much for daffodils, but do know that they help raise money for cancer research, so that is a plus.

  5. Jim Says:

    Daffodils are nice, but I much prefer tulips, snowdrops, hyacinths and iris as early spring flowers.

  6. Katy Says:

    Wow cool stuff. Amazing how Daffodils don’t freeze during the Winter.

  7. Safa Says:

    Yah, I like carnations ang morning glories better.

  8. Sanders Says:

    What structures or behaviors do daffodils have to survive?

  9. Nancy Says:

    How do you maintain daffodils in a pot? do you cut flower tops off?

  10. sarah Says:

    u r smarty pants

  11. ashley Says:

    my sister plant daffodils this year.she is in love with it:):):):):)

  12. Ashley Says:

    I had to do a project on daffodils this year and this page helped me a lot thank you so much!

  13. BOB Says:

    THey need water,sunlight and air.

Add info or Comment

Facts, Articles, and more