Daffodils in Dera Ghazi Khan

[robert donnelly]

Hello, I'm Robert Donnelly and I live in Lancaster in the north-west of England close to the beautiful Lake District. I have a small patio garden attached to the house where I grow flowers, especially Clematis and Lonicera growing up the walls and trellis, in my beds I have Galanthus nivalis for winter interest along with Hellebores, in spring it is a riot of yellow, gold and white with 2O varieties of Daffodils (Narcissus pseudonarcissus, Narcissus poeticus amongst others. Summer it is Fuchsia sp. and Pelagoniums, while autumn colour is provided by Sorbus 'Joseph Rock' and a Prunus 'Amanagowa'. I also have an organic small holding where I grow a variety of european and asian fruits, herbs and vegetables. I specialise in Italian herbs and vegetables and have a great interest in chillis.
I studied at Lancaster University where I meet a nice man and his family, Najeeb from Dera Ghazi Khan, he has since returned to Pakistan and one of the things he misses from his years here are the swathes of golden daffodils in the springtime. I was wondering if anyone has any hints on growing them in the quite different conditions of the Punjab. Also are bulbs easily available in a range of varieties , and if not is it possible for bulbs to be sent by post. Bulbs for autumn planting will be available soon here in the UK. I would like his family to have a floral reminder of their happy days in Lancaster. Thank You. Robert.

[UMAR KHAN]

Robert Daffodils are cool climate bulbs thats why they dont survive here.if any one likes it he has to purchase new bulbs every year.in our hilly areas like swat & galiyat are ideal for dafodiles as wel as for Fuchia.our summers are very hot the temp touches 49-50 c.so plants like hadrangea,tuberous begonia,azelea,cyclamen,primulas never survives.there is a local narcissus(nargis) which can survive in hot summers.when the winter arrives it bounce back with yelow cuped white flowers.dafodiles like dutch master,king alfred or casata never see the second spring.

[robert donnelly]

Thank you Umar, shame about the daffodils, 'King Alfred' is my favorite when naturalized in woodland. Here they are planted Sept-October to flower the following late March/April. Could vernalization be achieved by storage in a cool cellar and then planted in large pots in a shady area of a compound, I imagine they would flower much earlier in Pakistan. When would you plant new bulbs and when would you expect them to flower, also what about Jonquils in bowls indoors for forcing? Are good daffodil bulbs generally available in Pakistan or would one need a specialist nursery? Do you know any distributors of bulbs in Pakistan? Thank you for the information. I have been looking over this site and appreciate the level of horticultural discussion.
I have a Ficus carica 'Brown Turkey' which grows outdoors all year round in a large terracotta pot, the last few winters have been very wet with prolonged temps of -15'C for weeks, despite this it continues to fruit, albeit only one crop/year. So I like a challenge and I know Najeeb does too. So perhaps I will encourage him to try. The other plant I would like to know about is Lathyrus odoratus the sweetpea especially the Spencer varieties as they are so sweet smelling and a gorgeous cut flower. Are they commonly grown in Pakistan? Thank you and happy gardening, Robert.

[Izhar]

Hi Robert, Dera Ghazi Khan is situated in the somewhat the center of our country and has very high temperatures during summers but there are some micro-climate near Fort Munro which gets occasional snowfall in winters, these areas may be suitable for Daffodil cultivation.
There are few retailers for flower seeds and bulbs in Pakistan and they do carry Daffodils like:
1) Flower Record
2) Ice follies
3) Yellow cheerfulness

One reputable whole seller is http://www.greenworks.com.pk/, you can contact them for a variety of Dutch origin bulbs..
Ficus carica grows very easily here and fruits year round. Sweet peas are also grown here in the cooler season i.e. from October to April..

Here are my last season's sweet peas, they continued blooming for next two months:

[robert donnelly]

Thank you, I am envious that you can have sweetpeas in winter! I notice you are growing Tropaeolum in the background (nasturtiums) are they purely decorative or do you use the leaves and flowers in salads, they have a good peppery taste, also the seeds can be pickled and used as a spicy tapa. Sweetpeas-- have you tried the very long stemed and odiferous Spencer Old Fashioned varieties, they always make me think I am in a large Edwardian Stately House for some reason.. I grow sweetpeas as a companion plant with my climbing peas and beans, as the scramble up bamboo wigwams they provide extra support for the tendrils of the peas, as they flower earlier than the beans they encourage bees to visit and increase pollination and finally they look and smell lovely.

[Izhar]

Can you name any specific varieties from "Spencer Old Fashioned varieties"... I can buy the sweet peas from Thompson & Morgan UK... this year I also won a packet of "Flying the Flag" varieties on the occasion of the royal wedding, will be sowing these in October... I just love their fragrance..

[UMAR KHAN]

Spencer sweet peas are the most fragrant & beautiful but i have replaced it with royal series which produce the largest flowers.yes as Izhar already mentioned green works imports quality flower bulbs.i used to grew king alfred in Abbottabad but now i have shifted to my native city Mardan.i have also no more intrest in bulbs because of the limited blooming time.my main intrest is in Roses now.

[tweedle2009]

Welcome aboard.

Robert,we'd love to see your clematis in bloom.I live in Lahore,Punjab where temps reach 46C in summer.I imported 15 varieties from Guernseyclematis.co.uk, of which I am left with only 3 varieties.One is florida Sieboldii, other is Gipsy Queen, 3rd one I don't remember.I am an importer so I sold all other.Florida Sieboldii is doing fine while other two are still in state of stress.I'll inquire my friends about Viticellas and Montanas , may be they survived.

Sweet Autumn Clematis is very hardy and is growing here in full sun.Flowers early summer to fall.I am growing 20 or more.Other plants that I am growing include Adeniums(150 varieties),Daylilies(220 varieties),Vigna Caracalla,Kiwi Fruit Vines,Gerberas,Aristolochia Giganta,Gloriosa Superba,Mucuna Sempervirens,Akebia Longracemosa,Ferraria crispa n blah blah.Thinking abt trying alliums and southafrican bulbs this fall.

[Izhar]

Robert, one thing I want to add is, most of the summer & spring bulbs in your region are winter blooming bulbs in our region for example:

1) Ranunculus
2) Anemones
3) Calla lily (also blooms in summer here)
4) Dahlia
5) Freesia
6) Gladiolus
7) Lillies (Oriental and Asiatic) etc etc