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Daffodils around the Island are flowering for the earliest time in over ten years thanks to the exceptionally mild autumn.
November was one of the warmest on record, with temperatures 2.7 C above average.
Average temperatures for last month were 12.6 C compared with a usual November average of 9.9 C. This autumn was also the seventh sunniest on record.
Daffodils have been grown in Jersey for export since the 1940s. According to the 2014 Agricultural Statistics, 864 vergées are used for narcissi production.
Some of the first daffodils were planted on the site of old orchards around Le Passage Farm in St Lawrence, now home to Cooke’s Rose Farm.
Roly Cooke said: “This is the earliest we’ve seen daffodils for at least a decade. The Soleil d’Or, a Cornish variety, have been out for three to four weeks, Sensations have been flowering for two to three weeks and there have even been a few early Paper Whites out too.
“This is no doubt down to the weather, and the effect is enhanced by daffodils grown in areas covered by grass which helps keep the bulbs cool and moist. The summer water table was reasonably high, which helped keep the bulbs cool, then, when the weather stayed mild they came out early.
“Although it’s good to have daffodils in flower for Christmas, there will be a gap between Christmas and New Year which is not good for export.”
Daffodils make up Jersey’s entire export crop for flowers, an industry worth just over a million pounds a year. The 2014 Agriculture Statistics show nearly 77,000 packs of daffodils are grown in Jersey each year, up from 52,600 in 2010, when the market was worth just under £876,000.
Since 2010 other categories of flowers grown for export from Jersey, such as anemones, lilies and pinks, are no-longer grown outside. The amount of narcissus bulbs has also decreased, dropping from 753 tonnes in 2010 to 426 tonnes in 2014, with the value of sales dropping from nearly £341,000 to £267,000.
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