If you live in more northern parts of the South and long for some sort of paperwhite, then the Italicus is your answer. The most notable aspect of the flowers is their star-shaped petals appearing on the numerous flowers emerging from a single bulb. Narcissus tazetta ‘Italicus’ is similar to the Chinese sacred lily, but the ‘Italicus’ has a lemon-yellow cup as opposed to the Chinese sacred lily’s solid gold. The ‘Italicus’ has a fragrance that is slightly sweet. You can expect solid multiplication and continued blooms for this generation and the next.
It can be hard sometimes for me to stay focused in January. Although there are bulbs blooming in the field, as I drive around I don’t see the massive displays of color that I see later in the spring. That is, I don’t see large displays of color, until my eye is struck with a cemetery filled with creamy white, highly fragrant blooms. I take out my camera and capture the scene, and my eye once again is reminded to never, ever stop looking for pretty bulbs in the many different, often forgotten places of the world. These truly do extend the seasons of color in your personal garden, giving you that splash right after the first of the year.
Unique
The ‘Italicus’ are unique among the narcissus with their blooms being one of the very first to appear in the new year in late January or February. The petals on this narcissus bloom don’t overlap which allows you to truly enjoy its slightly off-white star shape. This narcissus bulb is one of the largest that we have, along with the Grand Primo. This reliable January bloomer is found in old Spanish and French settlements across Louisiana and does well in our Zone 8 each year near Tyler, TX.
Tazetta
So you may notice that this one is called a Narcissus tazetta. What makes a tazetta bulb different from a non-tazetta bulb? Tazetta flowers have smaller cups, but a LOT more of them. The outer petals can be white, yellow, or orange and the inner cup can be white, yellow, or orange, and there can be many combinations in between. Tazettas are generally larger and more robust than the smaller species flower bulbs often referred to as narcissus. The “tazetta” group is valued because most bulbs in this category are great perennials, and a gardener can choose selections that bloom in December, January, February, and March!
Planting
The most important thing to remember is to plant them where they will have at least half a day of winter sun. If it’s too hot to plant right now or you want to wait, just take them out of the sack that they come in and keep them out of direct sunlight until you are ready to put them in the ground.
