As I’ve mentioned in my other daffodil posts this season, I’ve really been enjoying the immense diversity in this year’s daffodil patch. I planted several “10 packs” of bulbs last fall, with the hopes that they would reward me with a profusion of early spring flowers. So far, I have no been disappointed. Today, I wanted to share one of my favorites – ‘Ice King’ daffodils!
Based on everything that I’ve read online, it seems that most people consider ‘Ice King’ daffodils to be a type of double flower. However, you’ll quickly notice that the entire flower isn’t actually double, rather just the cup. Imagine my surprise when these started to open! It looks as if someone has stuffed the cup full of dainty petals. Various bits and of white and soft yellow make this daffodil extremely interesting to look at. 
According to DaffSeek, ‘Ice King’ daffodils are actually a sport of ‘Ice Follies’ daffodil. You’ll remember the ‘Ice Follies’ from our previous post. After reading that, it made sense as to why there was so much diversity among each bulb. While some of the bulbs are characteristically very double, a few were single flowered and nearly identical to ‘Ice Follies.’ This really makes me wonder if these ever revert back. It’s definitely something that I’ll have to note in the future. 
As the flowers age, their appearance changes quite a bit. In the photo above, the ‘Ice King’ blooms on the left had been open longest. You can see that this makes the yellow color more obvious. The ones on the right are more closed still. 
As it turns out, ‘Ice King’ daffodils were an absolutely gorgeous addition to my cutting garden. Have you ever grown ‘Ice King’ Narcissus before? If so, I’d love to hear all about your experiences in the comments below. Thanks so much for stopping by!
