Assembling a collection of Exhibition Daffodils - Hints for beginners.
by George Wilson - NIDG Chairman 2013
Article taken from the RHS Yearbook 2010
I firmly believe that daffodil shows should carry a health warning. Anyone who attends a daffodil show is almost certain to have an interest in plants and whether the show is a local society event or a full blown RHS show the blooms on display are likely to stimulate a desire to grow some of these fabulous flowers. Herein lies the need for a health warning for as we all know once the ‘fever’ strikes there is no cure. So, what I intend focusing on in the following paragraphs is how to indulge the illness while avoiding the many blind alleys and pitfalls to be found during the building of a beginners collection of exhibition quality daffodils. Among the factors to be considered are, keeping within a reasonable budget, limitation in terms of divisions, consideration of space requirements, treatment of new arrivals and avoidance of problems.
The first and perhaps wisest course of action in planning a collection is to talk to current exhibitors and to ask questions. In my first year without any knowledge of what I was doing I spent quite a sum of money on a collection advertised by a large supplier of bulbs as a ‘Collection of Show Standard Daffodils’. When they arrived and I told someone the names of some of my purchases I was informed they were good flowers thirty or more years ago! I don’t advocate that a newcomer should pester exhibitors with detailed questions but anyone showing daffodils will gladly explain where they buy their bulbs and hopefully suggest the newcomer sends off for catalogues from a selection of suppliers.
Obviously in attending daffodil shows the beginner will have seen flowers that were so striking that their names were noted and now with the aid of catalogues the price of these varieties may be found. It is here that a few shocks may be in store, for few people outside the exhibiting fraternity realise just how much it costs to purchase show quality daffodil bulbs. However, from the illustrations in the catalogues it should be possible to choose less expensive alternatives and if directed towards ‘Daffseek’ they can see further examples of the cultivars under consideration. It is also worthwhile checking if cultivars under scrutiny have an RHS Award of Garden Merit or similar accolade. There are many excellent daffodils that have not undergone trial procedures but those that have give an assurance of dependability to the newcomer.
Now some major decisions have to be made, for as with any new venture it would be easy for the uninitiated to set their sights too high. At the outset I feel the beginner should have a good look at the location where they intend to grow their daffodils. As a guideline to the space required I would suggest that in the first three years they aim to build up to a total planting of twenty-five to thirty rows which would give a total bed length of around 8m (26 ft.). Hopefully a bed or beds of this total length could be accommodated within an average size suburban back garden without causing too much disruption or initiating a divorce! I’m not suggesting all of this bed space is created and filled within the first year of planting as one other consideration comes into play i.e. that of funding this new interest. So in summary the would be exhibitor needs to plan the location of the daffodil planting and be content with building a competitive collection over a few years rather than attempting a full blooded assault on the Novice section in the first year.
So, now to the challenge of selection within a sensible budget. When initially I was asked to pen my thoughts on this topic my first reaction was that perhaps a few bulbs of five or six varieties would make a good starter pack but the more I thought about it the more shortcomings I found in this approach. With such a small selection there is little chance for the newcomer to develop their bloom selection, preparation and staging skills. Neither would they have the opportunity to stage a multi bloom single stem collection class unless all their cultivars were in bloom simultaneously. So I decided to devise a fairly extensive collection of bulbs with a prolonged range of flowering times so that virtually a full season of exhibiting is possible. The down side of this approach is that it involves quite a financial outlay. However for those who do not want to part with over £100 on a new hobby there are options of reducing the number of bulbs or the number of cultivars purchased. Next point to be considered is which divisions to concentrate on in the first year and the best guide to this is a study of show schedules. On examination of a reasonable cross section of show schedules most Novice sections have single bloom classes for divisions one to four and divisions six and nine. Additionally there usually are three bloom classes for divisions one to four , A.O.D., and miniatures. On occasions there will be a six bloom class usually chosen from three divisions. In the first year I feel it would be wise to restrict bulb buying to the first four divisions simply to stay within budget yet have enough blooms to gain winning tickets and experience.
It is always sensible when purchasing a product to ‘shop around’ and in the current financial climate this approach is being stressed more and more. In buying daffodil bulbs there can be a great variation in price between the various suppliers for example ‘Ahwahnee’ 2Y-YOO can be bought for between £1-20 per bulb (multi-buy) and £6. I have set an upper limit of £5 per bulb for our beginner and that is only to be paid for absolutely ’must have’ varieties, in general I hope to create the collection at a much lower unit cost involving a total outlay somewhere around £150. This may appear quite a large expenditure but to put it in perspective compare it with any ’serious’ hobby starter pack such as angling, cycling, golf or even bee keeping and it becomes more palatable and as suggested earlier the cost can be adjusted to suit the beginners pocket. Wherever possible bulbs will be priced at multi-buy prices which is ideal as I am aiming to price for three of each variety, the most frequently quoted number for multi-buy offers. Using a target of buying three of each cultivar will mean that each row planted will contain at least two varieties which in the suggested bed length will ultimately give greater choice and a longer show season.
Having tried to adhere to the outlines above I have presented in columnar form below the results of trawling through several catalogues, the cultivars are presented within divisions and in alphabetical order. Whenever possible preference has been given to varieties that have gained an Award of Garden Merit or similar accolade I am aware that any experienced exhibitor could suggest alternatives to any one of my selections but I have based my choices on proven show achievements and on the budgetary considerations outlined above. I have included target prices based on 2008 catalogues and hopefully some bulbs may be cheaper in 2009, although many of the selections must surely be already at the lowest limit of commercial viability.
The first and perhaps wisest course of action in planning a collection is to talk to current exhibitors and to ask questions. In my first year without any knowledge of what I was doing I spent quite a sum of money on a collection advertised by a large supplier of bulbs as a ‘Collection of Show Standard Daffodils’. When they arrived and I told someone the names of some of my purchases I was informed they were good flowers thirty or more years ago! I don’t advocate that a newcomer should pester exhibitors with detailed questions but anyone showing daffodils will gladly explain where they buy their bulbs and hopefully suggest the newcomer sends off for catalogues from a selection of suppliers.
Obviously in attending daffodil shows the beginner will have seen flowers that were so striking that their names were noted and now with the aid of catalogues the price of these varieties may be found. It is here that a few shocks may be in store, for few people outside the exhibiting fraternity realise just how much it costs to purchase show quality daffodil bulbs. However, from the illustrations in the catalogues it should be possible to choose less expensive alternatives and if directed towards ‘Daffseek’ they can see further examples of the cultivars under consideration. It is also worthwhile checking if cultivars under scrutiny have an RHS Award of Garden Merit or similar accolade. There are many excellent daffodils that have not undergone trial procedures but those that have give an assurance of dependability to the newcomer.
Now some major decisions have to be made, for as with any new venture it would be easy for the uninitiated to set their sights too high. At the outset I feel the beginner should have a good look at the location where they intend to grow their daffodils. As a guideline to the space required I would suggest that in the first three years they aim to build up to a total planting of twenty-five to thirty rows which would give a total bed length of around 8m (26 ft.). Hopefully a bed or beds of this total length could be accommodated within an average size suburban back garden without causing too much disruption or initiating a divorce! I’m not suggesting all of this bed space is created and filled within the first year of planting as one other consideration comes into play i.e. that of funding this new interest. So in summary the would be exhibitor needs to plan the location of the daffodil planting and be content with building a competitive collection over a few years rather than attempting a full blooded assault on the Novice section in the first year.
So, now to the challenge of selection within a sensible budget. When initially I was asked to pen my thoughts on this topic my first reaction was that perhaps a few bulbs of five or six varieties would make a good starter pack but the more I thought about it the more shortcomings I found in this approach. With such a small selection there is little chance for the newcomer to develop their bloom selection, preparation and staging skills. Neither would they have the opportunity to stage a multi bloom single stem collection class unless all their cultivars were in bloom simultaneously. So I decided to devise a fairly extensive collection of bulbs with a prolonged range of flowering times so that virtually a full season of exhibiting is possible. The down side of this approach is that it involves quite a financial outlay. However for those who do not want to part with over £100 on a new hobby there are options of reducing the number of bulbs or the number of cultivars purchased. Next point to be considered is which divisions to concentrate on in the first year and the best guide to this is a study of show schedules. On examination of a reasonable cross section of show schedules most Novice sections have single bloom classes for divisions one to four and divisions six and nine. Additionally there usually are three bloom classes for divisions one to four , A.O.D., and miniatures. On occasions there will be a six bloom class usually chosen from three divisions. In the first year I feel it would be wise to restrict bulb buying to the first four divisions simply to stay within budget yet have enough blooms to gain winning tickets and experience.
It is always sensible when purchasing a product to ‘shop around’ and in the current financial climate this approach is being stressed more and more. In buying daffodil bulbs there can be a great variation in price between the various suppliers for example ‘Ahwahnee’ 2Y-YOO can be bought for between £1-20 per bulb (multi-buy) and £6. I have set an upper limit of £5 per bulb for our beginner and that is only to be paid for absolutely ’must have’ varieties, in general I hope to create the collection at a much lower unit cost involving a total outlay somewhere around £150. This may appear quite a large expenditure but to put it in perspective compare it with any ’serious’ hobby starter pack such as angling, cycling, golf or even bee keeping and it becomes more palatable and as suggested earlier the cost can be adjusted to suit the beginners pocket. Wherever possible bulbs will be priced at multi-buy prices which is ideal as I am aiming to price for three of each variety, the most frequently quoted number for multi-buy offers. Using a target of buying three of each cultivar will mean that each row planted will contain at least two varieties which in the suggested bed length will ultimately give greater choice and a longer show season.
Having tried to adhere to the outlines above I have presented in columnar form below the results of trawling through several catalogues, the cultivars are presented within divisions and in alphabetical order. Whenever possible preference has been given to varieties that have gained an Award of Garden Merit or similar accolade I am aware that any experienced exhibitor could suggest alternatives to any one of my selections but I have based my choices on proven show achievements and on the budgetary considerations outlined above. I have included target prices based on 2008 catalogues and hopefully some bulbs may be cheaper in 2009, although many of the selections must surely be already at the lowest limit of commercial viability.
Division Name Time of Flowering Unit Cost Total Cost
1Y-O ‘Corbiere’ Mid £1-50 £4-50 1Y-Y ‘Goldfinger’ Mid/Late £7-50/3 £7-50 1Y-Y ‘Grasmere’ Early £2-00 £6-00 1W-P ‘Pink Silk’ Early/ Mid £7-50/3 £7-50 1W-Y ‘Pops Legacy’ Mid £10-00/3 £10-00 1W-W ‘Silent Valley’ Mid £1-50 £4-50 Division 1 Totals 18 Bulbs Total Cost £40 Average Bulb Cost £2-22 2Y-YOO ‘Ahwahnee’ Mid £1-50 £4-50 2Y-Y ‘Gold Convention’ Mid/ Late £10-00/3 £10-00 2W-P ‘Dailmanach’ Mid £2-50 £7-50 2W-Y ‘Fiona McKillop’ Early/ Mid £12-00/3 £12-00 2W-W ‘Watership Down’ Early £3-00 £ 9-00 Division 2 Totals 15 Bulbs Total Cost £43-00 Average Bulb Cost £2-86 3Y-YYR ‘Badbury Rings’ Mid £3-50 £10-50 3Y-GYY ‘Nonchalant’ Mid/Late £12-00/3 £12-00 3Y-ORR ’Stanway’ Late £5-00/3 £5-00 3W-GWW ’Cool Crystal’ Late £3-00 £9-00 3W-GOO ‘Doctor Hugh’ Late £2-00 £6-00 3W-GYY ‘Limpopo’ Mid/Late £14-00/3 £14-00 Division 3 Totals 18 Bulbs Total Cost £56-50 Average Bulb Cost £3-14 4Y-Y ‘Heamoor’ Early/Mid £7-50/3 £7-50 4Y-O ‘Gay Kybo’ Mid/Late £2-50 £7-50 4W-Y ‘Jersey Roundabout’ Mid/Late £4-50/3 £4-50 Division 4 Totals 9 Bulbs Total Cost £19.50 Average Bulb Cost £2-17 Overall Costing; 60 Bulbs Total Cost £159.00 Average Bulb Cost £2-65 |
This selection will occupy about eight rows in the newly formed daffodil bed if all the cultivars are purchased leaving room for further development. As I said earlier it is also perfectly feasible to ‘cherry pick’ from this collection and reduce the initial outlay to suit individual pockets and still have a chance of success in the Novice section. Having laid out a significant sum of money on this new activity there is one potential disaster that can overtake the newcomer. It is quite likely that in the first flush of enthusiasm they will have joined a local or regional Daffodil Society and often around planting time there will be a society bulb sale or auction where they will part with more money and have the opportunity to pick up real bargains. A word of caution however is required regarding their new purchases for as someone once said ’Society sales are a chance to share pests and diseases with fellow members’. Having fallen into this trap myself and still being plagued by the outcome I strongly recommend that any society purchases or gifts are quarantined by pot growing until their state of health is assessed. It is worth remembering that the plots where enthusiasts grow their daffodils are not subject to Ministry inspections as are bulb suppliers premises and prevention is most definitely better than cure in daffodil husbandry!
By their second year of exhibiting the newcomer will hopefully have the confidence to add more up to date and expensive cultivars and further develop their staging skills. Then alike with the rest of their fellow exhibitors they can set their sights higher and go on to develop a really first rate collection. If like me they retain a soft spot for the first cultivars they purchased then they will always find space to replant and keep in touch with their beginnings in the daffodil world. That is why I’m looking forward to seeing ‘Avenger’ 2W-R in my back garden for the twentieth year in succession. G. Wilson George Wilson is a retired school teacher who says he joined the Northern Ireland Daffodil Group to find out why grown men and women spent hours looking at and talking about flowers that appeared each year in Spring and grew everywhere. Having become ensnared in the same process he is still seeking an answer! |