The name ‘Narcis’ derives from a Greek myth about Narcissus and Echo. The speech of nymph Echo was gone, taken by goddess Hera out of anger. From that moment on, Echo could only repeat people. However, Echo fell in love with Narcissus. He was a handsome young hunter who preferred being alone. When Echo showed up and approached Narcissus, he pushed her away. Narcissus was known for this. One of the women who were angry about this had turned to Aphrodite, the goddess of love. The woman asked for Narcissus to experience how it felt being rejected.

Narcissus came to a holy river where he drank some water. Here he fell in love with his own reflection. But every time he wanted to embrace his reflection and reach the water, it was gone. At the moment the water was calm again, he could see himself. Narcissus ate and drank no longer because of his grief and eventually died. The only thing left from him was a yellow flower: the now famous Narcissus.

The story is a myth and is told in various forms. There are paintings of the story and the flower nowadays is grown in different varieties. The flower of the Narcissus looks down, so that he can always look at himself in the water. Someone who loves himself is now called a 'Narcissist'.

The Narcissus is a bulbous plant that blooms in the spring after a cold resting period.

When cutting a narcissus, a slimy substance flows out of the stem. Because of this mucus other flowers cannot be put in the same vase. The only flower that can handle this substance is the Hyacinth. The mucus can block the juice flow of other flowers.

To be able to make mixed bouquets as a florist, W.F. Leenen treats the flowers with a mixture of Chrysal. You can also do this yourself as a florist. Always ask your grower if they treat the Narcissus for neutralizing the mucus.

Provide a clean vase and fill it with cold water. Leenen always delivers the flowers with leafs. It doesn’t matter if the leafs get into the water of the vase. Don’t forget to cut the Narcissus at an angle. Put them in the water and enjoy a bright spring bouquet!

FloraPodium, 14 March 2018

W.F. Leenen is a family business which is run by the enthusiastic brothers Dirk and Jaco. They have taken over the company that was first established by their grandfather and passed on to their father Jaap. When we visited the company, we had the pleasure to meet Jaap who still works there with the same enthusiasm at age 71 and told us with a great passion about the origins of the company and its beautiful products.

Leenen trades 30 million dry bulbs every year, growing over 3 million Narcissus bulbs of 14 different varieties. Next year they want to expand the assortment to 20 different varieties of Narcissus. The breeding of the bulbs is being done by the company and that is an important fact considering that the duration of the breeding process of a Narcissus takes approximately 25 years! It takes a long time before you have blooming bulbs of a good quality, grown from seeds. Therefore there are only 2 new varieties per year on the market. For Leenen quality is more important than quantity, and that’s why they only grow very small quantities per variety. They find it important to have a big product offer grown on a small scale.

Narcissus were first cultivated in soil, they are now grown using sea shells. In floriculture this method is called substrate. The roots of the plants root easily in the sea shells mixture and Leenen is the first grower who uses this method to produce the Narcissus. It is also very clean because no soil gets stuck to the stems and no disinfectant is required. The shells also permit the Narcissus to be bred in lower temperatures. This method is also very environmentally friendly as most of it can be recycle, leaving only a small amount of waste.

The product of this week is the Narcissus ‘Precocious’, a white Narcissus with a big flower and a frilled pink middle. This flower comes from one of the bulb that was not bred by the company itself. Jaap (the father of Dirk and Jaco) found that bulb from a lot back in the 1950’s. It is a very versatile flower and very different from the yellow Narcissus with its white and pink petals.