Some Aims in Daffodil
Breeding by Brian S. Duncan.
Taken from Daffodils in Ireland 1979.
In daffodils, as in many things, perfection is a target which moves progressively ahead of the present. The perfect daffodil has not yet been raised but by crossing the near perfect of today, we can hope to set new standards of perfection for the future. To succeed in this aim it is probably best to think in terms of combining good qualities and eliminating faults. We know from our own experience that the perfection of fifty years ago is mediocrity of today so we can be sure that the perfection of today will be the mediocrity of fifty years hence. There is scope for improvement in all aspects of daffodil quality and for development of new colours in practically all sub-divisions. These are the considerations on which my daffodil breeding aims are based:
A. To consolidate and improve already well-established types.
B. To seek new breaks and developments in colour and form.
There is a danger that written descriptions of the points of good exhibition daffodils may be accepted and developed too literally. Some modern flowers are becoming so stiff, rigid, round and flat that they might have had their origin on a draughtman’s board. There must be room for variety or posterity will judge daffodil raisers as a race of single-minded idiots! I know of several flowers which measure up to show standards, but they are not particularly attractive. Such is ‘Camelot’, valuable parent and good show flower but who would claim it is more beautiful than ‘St. Keverne’, ‘Ormeau’ or ‘Galway’? Is ‘Arkle’ for all its size and smoothness really a nicer flower than ‘Arctic Gold’ or ‘Kingscourt’? Conversely, is there a prettier flower than ‘My Love’ which hardly meets modern exhibition standards?
I want to breed consistent flowers of top exhibition quality whilst retaining hints of the intrinsic beauty and informality of their wild forebears.
I will deal briefly with my aims under the first objective in the usual classification order.
1Y-Y There has been a lack of really significant progress in yellow trumpets since ‘Kingscourt’ appeared in 1938 which indicated that a new approach is necessary. I have a vision of a yellow trumpet with the form and size of ‘Empress of Ireland’ and the deep golden, shining smooth texture of ‘Arctic Gold’ or ‘Midas Touch’. My ‘Verdant’ (1Y-Y) (‘Joybell’ x ‘Empress of Ireland’) might provide a route to this vision and also add a nice green eye.
1W-Y How about consistent long-stemmed bicolour trumpets of similar form to ‘Empress of Ireland’, ‘White Star’ or ‘Silent Valley’ with perianths of poeticus white and trumpets of maximus gold? Such ideals are easily imagined, not so easily achieved. From hundreds of seedlings I have found that muddy or stained perianths mar those with good trumpet colour and pale trumpets always seem to be attached to those with good white perianths.
1W-W ‘White Star’ at its best almost defies improvement. Nevertheless, there is room for variation in this classy division and if a replica of the slender green-eyed ‘Silent Valley’ with the consistency of ‘White Star’ and the whiteness of ‘White Empress’ appeared it would indeed be a welcomed flower of ethereal beauty.
1Y-W The ultimate in reverse bicolours of deep golden perianth and pure white trumpet is an interesting prospect to which we might need as much time to adjust as its achievement will take.
2Y-Y As a change from the rigid, round form of modern 2Y-Y flowers, I fancy a deep golden, full-sized flower after the style of ‘Joybell’ with its beautifully-shaped petals and trumpet roll. Added stem length , green eyes and a top quality self-lemon flower are further aims in this class.
Deep-coloured 2Y-R flowers are essential for any Engleheart Cup aspirant. Distinct forms combined with intensity of colour and sunproof qualities must be the aim. Flowers rounded and double triangular perianths with bowl, cup and goblet-shaped crowns are wanted for variation. Hopefully, some may have green eyes. There is also room for deeper yellow perianths and new styles in the rimmed Y-R class.
In the 2W-Y’s I am seeking refinement and variety in a fairly uncouth and wide-mouthed class. Pure white and gold versions of ‘Joybell’, ‘My Love’ and ‘Misty Glen’ with green eyes would take some beating.
2W-R The children of ‘Kilworth’ x ‘Arbar’ are lovely and still about the best 2W-R’s available but their faults are as many as their merits. The improvements required are – greater consistency, whiter petals, more varied cup shapes, earlier flowering, sun resistance and cleaner, better bulb quality. A continuation of line or in-breeding is likely to exacerbate and perpetuate the problems. We should look elsewhere for suitable breeding material – old or new – and try to progress by eliminating the faults step-by-step.
In pinks I have been seeking added stem length, whiter petals, improved cup colour by eliminating copper tones and by enhancing the reddish and lilac tints. Red-pinks, lavender-pinks and pure apple-blossom pinks of top quality with fragrance are developments for the future. Rimmed pinks, pink trumpets and bright small-cupped pinks of quality also provide imaginative scope. I even confess to having made some crosses which may yield split corona pinks of more refined quality and deeper colour.
Division 3 There are no deep golden self-yellow flowers in Division 3 and pure white and deep gold ideal in the 3W-Y class is proving just as elusive as in Division 1 and 2. Such ideals in a flower of ‘Aircastle’ quality would please, but I fear the former, at least, is several generations ahead of us. A more substantial flower with better colour is needed to replace ‘Perimeter’ and ‘Rockall’ needs a challenger with pure white, broader perianth segments and hard, round, smooth-skinned bulbs. The rimmed ‘Merlin’ is just about perfect but is a little to small for inclusion in group classes. ‘Verona’ has everything one could wish for except purity of whiteness. The above remarks indicate my aims in Division 3 – nothing very dramatic, just steady progress by elimination of faults.
Under the second objective my aims fall into five main categories:
1. To extend the range of colours in trumpet daffodils of exhibition form.
2. To improve, intensify and add sun resistance to the orange flush in daffodils.
3. To improve, intensify and introduce to othe divisions the lilac tines found in ‘Lilac Charm’.
4. To extend the range of colours in cyclamineus daffodils for exhibition and garden display.
5. To raise a selection of pink double daffodils of exhibition quality with garden display and cut-flower potential.
In the first category I can visualise well-formed trumpet daffodils in the colours of ‘Loch Hope’, ‘Ringmaster’, ‘Sabine Hay’, ‘Don Carlos’, ‘Merlin’, ‘Green Island’, ‘Violetta’, ‘Infatuation’ and ‘Lilac Charm’. Such flowers are not impossible dreams – some are almost with us, others much further ahead. The second category applies mainly to Division 2 and 3 though I hope some self/red doubles may emerge through the distinctly flushed ‘Smokey Bear’. With a bit of luck, trumpet and cyclamineus flushed flowers may appear within the next couple of decades.
Already some American Division 2 pinks show lilac tones and I have a pink double seedling with even deeper lilac tints than ‘Lilac Charm’ so that there are interesting prospects in this third category.
There is great scope for development in the cyclamineus division. I have made crosses which I hope will lead to a whole range of pinks with long, medium and short cups with lilac-pink, red-pink solid colours and with yellow and white cups edged with various pink tones. Indeed the whole range of colours in the varieties indicated for Category 1 is being sought and some progress is being made. The appearance of a strangely attractive little double cyclamineus with yellow refexed perianth and neat waisted cup filled with smaller petaloids like old ‘Van Sion’ suggest a further line which might be worth some work.
Pink Doubles, the objective in Category 5, are a very attractive prospect and some should eventually find their way into the cut-flower and commercial bulb trades. ‘Pink Pageant’ and ‘Pink Paradise’ were welcomed seedlings of some merit. Further crosses have been made involving these two flowers and some of the Murray Evans seedlings which are whiter and more red-pink, but of less regular and attractive form. Hopefully, the best qualities of the two types can be combined in some of the progeny.
There is obviously some overlapping in these five lines of development, but the possibilities are endless. We do not know what “flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today” even if we do seek to influence nature by hand pollination. That is what makes hybridising so enthralling and so absorbing. It is unlikely that many of these aims will be achieved, but there is fun in trying and perhaps some of the near misses will provide stepping stones to future development.
A. To consolidate and improve already well-established types.
B. To seek new breaks and developments in colour and form.
There is a danger that written descriptions of the points of good exhibition daffodils may be accepted and developed too literally. Some modern flowers are becoming so stiff, rigid, round and flat that they might have had their origin on a draughtman’s board. There must be room for variety or posterity will judge daffodil raisers as a race of single-minded idiots! I know of several flowers which measure up to show standards, but they are not particularly attractive. Such is ‘Camelot’, valuable parent and good show flower but who would claim it is more beautiful than ‘St. Keverne’, ‘Ormeau’ or ‘Galway’? Is ‘Arkle’ for all its size and smoothness really a nicer flower than ‘Arctic Gold’ or ‘Kingscourt’? Conversely, is there a prettier flower than ‘My Love’ which hardly meets modern exhibition standards?
I want to breed consistent flowers of top exhibition quality whilst retaining hints of the intrinsic beauty and informality of their wild forebears.
I will deal briefly with my aims under the first objective in the usual classification order.
1Y-Y There has been a lack of really significant progress in yellow trumpets since ‘Kingscourt’ appeared in 1938 which indicated that a new approach is necessary. I have a vision of a yellow trumpet with the form and size of ‘Empress of Ireland’ and the deep golden, shining smooth texture of ‘Arctic Gold’ or ‘Midas Touch’. My ‘Verdant’ (1Y-Y) (‘Joybell’ x ‘Empress of Ireland’) might provide a route to this vision and also add a nice green eye.
1W-Y How about consistent long-stemmed bicolour trumpets of similar form to ‘Empress of Ireland’, ‘White Star’ or ‘Silent Valley’ with perianths of poeticus white and trumpets of maximus gold? Such ideals are easily imagined, not so easily achieved. From hundreds of seedlings I have found that muddy or stained perianths mar those with good trumpet colour and pale trumpets always seem to be attached to those with good white perianths.
1W-W ‘White Star’ at its best almost defies improvement. Nevertheless, there is room for variation in this classy division and if a replica of the slender green-eyed ‘Silent Valley’ with the consistency of ‘White Star’ and the whiteness of ‘White Empress’ appeared it would indeed be a welcomed flower of ethereal beauty.
1Y-W The ultimate in reverse bicolours of deep golden perianth and pure white trumpet is an interesting prospect to which we might need as much time to adjust as its achievement will take.
2Y-Y As a change from the rigid, round form of modern 2Y-Y flowers, I fancy a deep golden, full-sized flower after the style of ‘Joybell’ with its beautifully-shaped petals and trumpet roll. Added stem length , green eyes and a top quality self-lemon flower are further aims in this class.
Deep-coloured 2Y-R flowers are essential for any Engleheart Cup aspirant. Distinct forms combined with intensity of colour and sunproof qualities must be the aim. Flowers rounded and double triangular perianths with bowl, cup and goblet-shaped crowns are wanted for variation. Hopefully, some may have green eyes. There is also room for deeper yellow perianths and new styles in the rimmed Y-R class.
In the 2W-Y’s I am seeking refinement and variety in a fairly uncouth and wide-mouthed class. Pure white and gold versions of ‘Joybell’, ‘My Love’ and ‘Misty Glen’ with green eyes would take some beating.
2W-R The children of ‘Kilworth’ x ‘Arbar’ are lovely and still about the best 2W-R’s available but their faults are as many as their merits. The improvements required are – greater consistency, whiter petals, more varied cup shapes, earlier flowering, sun resistance and cleaner, better bulb quality. A continuation of line or in-breeding is likely to exacerbate and perpetuate the problems. We should look elsewhere for suitable breeding material – old or new – and try to progress by eliminating the faults step-by-step.
In pinks I have been seeking added stem length, whiter petals, improved cup colour by eliminating copper tones and by enhancing the reddish and lilac tints. Red-pinks, lavender-pinks and pure apple-blossom pinks of top quality with fragrance are developments for the future. Rimmed pinks, pink trumpets and bright small-cupped pinks of quality also provide imaginative scope. I even confess to having made some crosses which may yield split corona pinks of more refined quality and deeper colour.
Division 3 There are no deep golden self-yellow flowers in Division 3 and pure white and deep gold ideal in the 3W-Y class is proving just as elusive as in Division 1 and 2. Such ideals in a flower of ‘Aircastle’ quality would please, but I fear the former, at least, is several generations ahead of us. A more substantial flower with better colour is needed to replace ‘Perimeter’ and ‘Rockall’ needs a challenger with pure white, broader perianth segments and hard, round, smooth-skinned bulbs. The rimmed ‘Merlin’ is just about perfect but is a little to small for inclusion in group classes. ‘Verona’ has everything one could wish for except purity of whiteness. The above remarks indicate my aims in Division 3 – nothing very dramatic, just steady progress by elimination of faults.
Under the second objective my aims fall into five main categories:
1. To extend the range of colours in trumpet daffodils of exhibition form.
2. To improve, intensify and add sun resistance to the orange flush in daffodils.
3. To improve, intensify and introduce to othe divisions the lilac tines found in ‘Lilac Charm’.
4. To extend the range of colours in cyclamineus daffodils for exhibition and garden display.
5. To raise a selection of pink double daffodils of exhibition quality with garden display and cut-flower potential.
In the first category I can visualise well-formed trumpet daffodils in the colours of ‘Loch Hope’, ‘Ringmaster’, ‘Sabine Hay’, ‘Don Carlos’, ‘Merlin’, ‘Green Island’, ‘Violetta’, ‘Infatuation’ and ‘Lilac Charm’. Such flowers are not impossible dreams – some are almost with us, others much further ahead. The second category applies mainly to Division 2 and 3 though I hope some self/red doubles may emerge through the distinctly flushed ‘Smokey Bear’. With a bit of luck, trumpet and cyclamineus flushed flowers may appear within the next couple of decades.
Already some American Division 2 pinks show lilac tones and I have a pink double seedling with even deeper lilac tints than ‘Lilac Charm’ so that there are interesting prospects in this third category.
There is great scope for development in the cyclamineus division. I have made crosses which I hope will lead to a whole range of pinks with long, medium and short cups with lilac-pink, red-pink solid colours and with yellow and white cups edged with various pink tones. Indeed the whole range of colours in the varieties indicated for Category 1 is being sought and some progress is being made. The appearance of a strangely attractive little double cyclamineus with yellow refexed perianth and neat waisted cup filled with smaller petaloids like old ‘Van Sion’ suggest a further line which might be worth some work.
Pink Doubles, the objective in Category 5, are a very attractive prospect and some should eventually find their way into the cut-flower and commercial bulb trades. ‘Pink Pageant’ and ‘Pink Paradise’ were welcomed seedlings of some merit. Further crosses have been made involving these two flowers and some of the Murray Evans seedlings which are whiter and more red-pink, but of less regular and attractive form. Hopefully, the best qualities of the two types can be combined in some of the progeny.
There is obviously some overlapping in these five lines of development, but the possibilities are endless. We do not know what “flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today” even if we do seek to influence nature by hand pollination. That is what makes hybridising so enthralling and so absorbing. It is unlikely that many of these aims will be achieved, but there is fun in trying and perhaps some of the near misses will provide stepping stones to future development.