Smelly daffodils

Climate change means we can now get daffodils from mid-January. I have never had a problem with any strange smell.

Was there something in the vase that reacted with the water?

PinkCosmos

I had some Paperwhite narcissus in the conservatory a few years ago. Every time I went in I thought I could smell cat pee. We don't have a cat. It was the narcissus.

Having said that, I like the smell of Martinette and the poet daffodils.

Me too. A definitely whiff of cat pee from paper white narcissi!

Sweet peas are another flower that has the same chemical.

Many plants, including narcissi, contain a chemical called indole the smell of which attracts pollinators.

People have different senses of smell but it’s been described variously as acrid and pungent like pee, poo, overheated electrical appliances and burnt cables.

I had some Paperwhite narcissus in the conservatory a few years ago. Every time I went in I thought I could smell cat pee. We don't have a cat. It was the narcissus.

Having said that, I like the smell of Martinette and the poet daffodils.

Absolutely. Mine in the garden smell lovely.

If you want that lovely daff smell - plant them!

Jonquilla, poetical and Tanzetta (sp) are the ones to go for🙂

henetha

I bought mine in Sainsbury's too.

Curiouser and curiouser.

I bought mine in Sainsbury's too.

Mine were ordered from Sainsbury's .

They were £1 a bunch, so nothing fancy, but they look lovely. I think the smell might be fading, or maybe I'm just getting used to it. It's very odd though.

The smelliest and loveliest are ones that you can order from the Scilly Isles - I used to order Mum a box for mothers day every year.

That's puzzling isn't it. I bought some on Saturday and they are opening up beautifully now, but there is no smell like you describe. I don't think it's early for daffs, I've been buying them for several weeks now.
I'm going to go and do a sniff test right now........
Well, they don't smell of anything much. Just the faint whiff which daffodils have.
Good luck in solving this.....I hope you enjoy the daffodils anyway.