The Narcissus poeticus (L.) species stands out from other narcissus due to its unique ornamental and sensory values. In our experiment, the flowers of N. poeticus were harvested at five different stages. After cutting, the plants were placed directly at room temperature or at 4 °C for 1 week. The opening status of the flowers was recorded every 12 h, and based on this, the ornamental value of the flowers was calculated. Additionally, the flower diameter, the scape and flower weight, the dry matter content, the water soluble K, Ca, and Mg content of the plant parts, and the chlorophyll content of the scapes were measured. The complete senescence of the stored flowers was noted to be earlier (after 6.6–7.5 days) than that of the fresh flowers (7.5–8.5 days) and depended on the bud stage at harvest. Flowers opened from all the buds, but the flower size was smaller in the early developmental harvest stage (a 10 mm reduction in diameter and a 0.38 g reduction in fresh weight between the green bud and the large white bud harvest stages). Cold storage delayed further bud development and reduced the flower size in several cases, but it increased the maximum decorative value of the flowers for those flowers that had been harvested as big white buds.

In a pot experiment, an early-flowering Narcissus pseudonarcissus cv. ‘Dutch Master’ (DM) and late-flowering N. poeticus cultural form (PO) were examined. The photosynthetic rate (A), transpiration rate (E), stomatal conductance (gs), photosynthetic water use efficiency (WUE), relative chlorophyll content (CCI) and chlorophyll fluorescence (F) were measured regularly. Leaf length, scape length and weight of the plant organs were also measured. The DM cultivar had higher gs and lower E values than the PO on most measuring dates (season average: gs: DM: 165.34, PO: 123.63; E: DM: 1.39, PO: 1.78 mmol H₂O m⁻²s⁻¹). The A curve was similar for the two taxa, except for the first measuring dates. The basic F values (F0, Fm, Fv) for DM were lower and CCI values were higher than for PO (season average of CCI: DM: 94.82, PO: 60.34). The Fm/F0, Fv/F0 and CCI curves were well described by a second order equation. The seasonal change of F and CCI values was the greatest for both taxa near the leaf tip. Bulb growth occurred in the two taxa in approximately the same calendar period, regardless of flowering time. A significant part of the leaf growth in DM occurred after flowering, while the leaves of PO reached their mature size by flowering.

The vase life of Narcissus poeticus flowers collected at the white bud stage was investigated in 13 different concentrations of NaCl (0–5–10–15–20–30–40–…–100 mM). Every 12 hr, the opening stage of the flowers was recorded, divided into 4 main categories (bud, opening flower, full open (FO) flower and wilting flower) and 14 subcategories. The salinity did not affect the flower opening speed, diameter or weight. The duration of the full flowering stage decreased from 92 hr to 44 hr, the sum of the daily ornamental value score (OVS) decreased from 120 by 3 scores per each 10 mM concentration increase. The scape chlorophyll content increased at low salinity (10–15 mM) and then decreased significantly. The carotenoid content in the scapes of wilted flowers increased in 30–100 mM solutions compared to the values in the flowering stage and flowers grown at lower salt concentrations. The Na and Cl contents in the plant parts increased significantly with the increase in salinity (at the end of the experiment, 100 mM NaCl: scapes: 44.1 g · kg ^-1 and 67.2 g · kg ^-1 Na and Cl; flowers: 16.8 g · kg ^-1 and 24.8 g · kg ^-1 Na and Cl, respectively). There was an inverse correlation between the Na and K contents in the scapes. The EC value of the vase solutions decreased during the experiment.