The Maltese Narcissus

Did you know that wild Narcissus flowers are actually protected by law. So if you are spending time walking around the Maltese countryside, and you spot the rare fragrant tiny flower please do not pick this flower from the wild. Unfortunately, the narcissus has become rare and is considered as endangered.

The narcissus flower (fjura tan-narċis in Maltese) grows from a flower bulb. This is a flower that our family have grown for generations. So we are lucky to still have bulbs of these lovely flower available in our fields.

One of our ways to give back to the Maltese community is that we are propagating bulbs with Maltese genetics. We do this in order to keep these flowers alive. We are now in our third year of this project. This year we have had a big yield of flowers and also bulbs. So we also plan on selling extra bulbs that we propagate to clients to help the population of Maltese narcissus to keep growing locally.

Narcissus can propagate in 2 ways:

• either through the bulb which remains in the soil. The new flower is considered a genetic copy of the mother flower. Or through the help of pollinators, like bees, which spread the seeds and help the flower to grow.
• Flowers that grow through seeds will not be a genetic copy of the mother DNA. But the benefit of this is that they will adapt to their surroundings and become also more resilient.

The Malta Florist organise open days throughout the year and during these open days we explain the process in further detail and also organise workshops where you can purchase bulbs to plant in your own garden.