Spot the difference: dandelion and daffodil
I planted some ‘Tete Boucle’ daffs in pots last year and brought them with me to plant in the new garden. Of course they flowered well last year and, being busy, they were left in the pots and it was only when they started to bloom that I remembered them and I pulled them apart and replanted them in their new home. This is absolutely NOT the right thing to do. It damages the roots just when they need them most. But, despite the fact that the bulbs had divided very freely, because the bulbs were near the surface, and I pulled them into almost individual bulbs, they seem to have settled down well. They flowered anyway and the leaves look perky. But I was just cursing a dandelion in the lawn (I only have the one, probably because the docks, thistles and clover are crowding them out) when I thought how similar the daffodil flowers are. They are not as dandelion-like as ‘Rip Van Winkle’ but there is more than a casual resemblance.
‘Tete Boucle’ (apologies for the lack of accents) is a double ‘sport’ of ‘Tete-a-tete’ that was registered in 2008. It seems to be just a vigorous as the original and a bright and sweet little thing. It has, so far, been able to hold the flowers well clear of the soil, despite the windy, wet spring.
We have found this an excellent garden daffodil, as good as the single for vigour and reliability. As for the dandelions – fine on the roadside outside the garden!
That sure is a dinky one. I have not grown Tete-a-Tete yet because almost all of our daffodils go out onto the roadsides, where they must bloom as weeds are already starting to grow. Shorter types would get overwhelmed. Tete Boucle (pardon the lack of accent) is one I have not heard of.