No daffodils this Easter!

Warm spring weather means we’re set for a shortage by Mother’s Day

IF you’ve been enjoying the blaze of yellow that’s followed last month’s heatwave, make the most of it – because this year’s daffodils may not be around for much longer.

Florists are warning that the early warm weather means we’re heading for a daffodil shortage by Mother’s Day – and there might be none left at all by Easter.

Experts fear record February temperatures of up to 21C (70F) mean the flowers – traditionally associated with both occasions – have peaked too soon. This year, Mothering Sunday falls on March 31, while Good Friday is on April 19. But the early spring means daffs across Britain burst into life weeks ago.

In turn, this has triggered a surge in demand, with year-onyear wholesale prices doubling and growers harvesting record crops earlier than ever. Online Early risers: This year’s crop garden centre Gardening Express, which sells 30 different types of daffodil, said orders have tripled. And grower Naylor Flowers, near Spalding, Lincolnshire, has doubled the number of workers harvesting crops to supply supermarkets to 400.

The rush for daffodils is in stark contrast to this time last year when the -5C Beast from the East had gripped the country.

This weekend’s expected hailstorms and even snow showers will be too late to make a difference. Daffodils are usually planted in autumn and spend months rooting before flowering between March and May. But Gardening Express director Chris Bonnett warned: ‘People have been able to pick up daffodils since mid- January this year, which is phenomenally early. In previous years, we have had to put them under protective covering in polytunnels to bring them on.

‘But this year with the unusually mild weather in recent weeks in the UK, the bulbs think that spring has already sprung. There could be a shortage of daffodils for Mother’s Day.

‘And with Easter being late this year, it could mean that all the daffodils in the land will be finished by then – when most people like to buy them to decorate their homes.

‘[We’re] taking special measures … But if the demand continues, we’ll have to switch off the fridges and sell the flowers we’ve set aside for Easter too.’

Matthew Naylor of Naylor Flowers, which supplies firms including Aldi and Co-op, said: ‘We have had 400 people harvesting our crop instead of the usual 200 for twice as long. The warm weather is a real headache.’