A lovely jonquil section species from the Atlas mountains of North Africa. Despite its southerly provenance it is has been cold-hardy with me, in the past, in raised beds of well-drained, sandy and gravelly loam. In the wild its habitat certainly gets frost and snow in winter. It does however appreciate a warmer, drier summer rest than it probably gets outside in the UK and we do now grow it under alpine glass with good results.
From March onwards you can expect solitary golden fragrant stars each 3.5 cm across, with a characteristically spreading, deeply cleft corona and slightly reflexing petals.
Related to Narcissus rupicola but with larger flowers on slightly taller stems and with greenish foliage (rather than the greyish foliage of rupicola). The foliage of marvieri grows upwards more rather than being spreading. When grown well it is the more vigorous of the two.
