What to do with a sea of unseasonal daffodils?

THE weather isn’t frightful and as a result the flowers are delightful, but a Bandon daffodil grower is wondering where to find his unseasonal market.

When Brian Perrott planted his Early Sensation daffodils he never thought the crop would reach full bloom long before the expected time of January.

“In the nine years I have been growing daffodils this is the mildest winter we have ever had and consequently these flowers were ready for picking 10 days ago.”

At least one-third of an acre of the golden blooms will remain in the ground as there is little demand by the consumer for bunches of freshly cut flowers at this side of Christmas.

Once January arrives, “it’s like flicking a switch”, says Mr Perrott, who grows the blooms on his family farm outside Bandon.

The Perrott family has in recent years been exporting the bulk of their blooms to the US, with a small percentage being sold at home.

The state of the dollar, however, may necessitate next January’s flowers going to British or mainland European markets instead.

For the moment the family’s biggest concern is how to convince the market that along with holly and ivy, daffodils now have a place in Yuletide decorations.

Met Éireann is promising more seasonal weather over the next number of days.

The weather will turn very cold across Ireland through tomorrow, Christmas Eve, and remain very cold through Christmas Day and St Stephen’s Day. Strong north-west winds will bring wintry showers across the country; these will fall as hail, sleet and snow with night-time frost at the weekend.

The daffodils are frost resistant and should not be affected by the changing weather, but are still likely to remain unharvested.