In many countries, daffodils are apt to bloom when pleasant days are few and disappointments are few. This is usually due to the weather, which is highly variable and changeable to a great extent.
Nonetheless, daffodils are increasing in popularity because they grow so easily and are colorful at a time when they are most appreciated.
Recently there has been a spurt of interest in the remarkable new varieties seen in gardens and shows. Hybridizers in Ireland, England, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States are constantly making new strides so that progress becomes more and more apparent each year.
To list the popular favorites, much thought, research, and careful evaluation are required. Fortunately, with the organization of the newly formed American Daffodil Society, a clearing house for the opinions of daffodil enthusiasts has been established.
It is a little easier to line up the old and new favorites and to realize what will be the ruling favorites of the future.
Another helpful agent in grading daffodils is the now widely used “Daffodil Classification Table” of the Royal Horticultural Society of England.
It is the basis of the planning of most daffodil shows and is essential in sorting out the merits of the thousands of named varieties now available to the public.
Three Important Uses of Daffodils
Daffodils have three important uses: for naturalizing, for herbaceous harder use, and for flower show display.
Those used for naturalizing should be hardy, have good carrying color, and, if possible, be able to hold their heads up for greater effectiveness.
Some varieties used with success are:
- Golden Harvest
- Selma Lagerlof
- Unsurpassable
- Daisy Schaffer
- Beersheba
- Ada Finch
For the strong red color, along with the yellows and creamy white, Dick Wellband, Scarlet Leader, and especially Scarlet Elegance are tops.
In general, a good show flower also makes a good garden subject, but the reverse of this statement, that a good garden flower is also a good show flower, is not always true.
The large yellow trumpets that have replaced the old Ring Alfred are:
- Citron-yellow Aerobic
- Large, showy Golden Harvest
- Rex
- Unsurpassable
- William The Silent
More choices and expensive but very popular shows are:
- Kings-court
- Hunter’s Moon
- Moonstruck
A particularly lovely yellow, with slight buff and greenish shadings, is Tintoretto, while Mulatto of similar coloration is an excellent garden subject with less perfect flowers.
Standard Bicolor trumpets are:
- Music Hall
- Queen of Bicolors
- President Lebrun
The novel is Effective, with the gold of the trumpet blending into the white perianth in the manner of a stain. The preamble is the outstanding show flower in this class.
White trumpet daffodils are as coveted as they are beautiful. Inexpensive and extremely popular are:
- Beersheba
- Ada Finch
- Mount Hood
- Chastity
On the show tables, Broughshane and Cantatrice are apt to be consistent winners. An extraordinarily beautiful reverse bicolor trumpet, called Spellbinder, is practically the only representative of its class.
Large Cup Daffodils
There are unquestionably more named varieties of large cupped daffodils than any other class. The plant breeders have been particularly active with this group.
Selecting only a few favorites is especially difficult, but of the large cups with yellow perianths, the well-known, dependable, inexpensive favorites are:
- Aranjuez
- Fortune
- Carbineer
- Scarlet Leader
- Adventure
New but reasonably priced are Dunkeld and Ultimus, the last to bloom with me. Showy Dunkeld is an especially vigorous grower, while Ceylon, California Gold, and Galway are the exhibitor’s favorites.
Large cups with white perianths in great favor are:
- Daisy Schaffer
- Dick Wellband
- Glorification
- Selma Lagerlof
- Duke of Windsor
- John Evelyn
- Nova Scotia
Especially attractive and much more expensive are the following:
- Green Island
- Rococo
Sonnica and Coverack Perfection are also treasured among the newer varieties. Excellent pure white or creamy white large cups include:
- Jules Verne
- Ludlow
- Flora’s Favorite
- Cool beauty, Zero
Binkie is unique as the only commonly available reverse bicolor large. cup. It wins everywhere in its class, year after year. Good small cupped daffodils, with yellow perianths, are rather rare.
The older Chungking and the newer classically perfect Arnhem are the most outstanding varieties. Arnhem has large, overlapping, creamy yellow petals and a bright red cup.
Some Small Cups
There are many good small cups, with white perianths. Carolina, Pomona, and Lady Kesavan are in great favor.
Carolina is certainly best for general garden and shows use. Though classified as a “small cup,” the immaculately pure Chinese White is one of the largest of all daffodils.
Other show favorites in the pure white class are Frigid and Silver Salver. An inexpensive old-time favorite is Hera. Polar Ice, though newer, is already well-liked.
Double daffodils are not as popular as the trumpets and large cupped varieties, but an increase in appeal has become apparent as more novel and colorful types have been released.
The old fear of “blasting” buds that do not open except under ideal weather conditions has practice call) been eliminated from the modern double types.
Especially lovely are Cheerfulness and its yellow form, simply called Yellow Cheerfulness. Twink, Irene Copeland, and Mary Copeland are standard favorites. Mrs. William Copeland is the best inexpensive double white daffodil so far.
Hollandia is a striking novelty in orange and yellow. Shirley Temple and Swansdown are unique and have a very special appeal. Falaise is very late flowering and very highly scented. The largest variety by far is the huge Sunburst from Oregon.
A typical triandrus hybrid is Thalia, so exquisite it is sometimes called the “orchid daffodil.” Two or three creamy white nodding flowers are borne on the stalk late in the season.
Tresamble and the especially stunning but somewhat tender Silver Chimes are good companions.
The cyclamineus group of daffodils is characterized by long, narrow trumpets and a back-swept perianth, giving the flower the appearance of constantly facing a strong wind.
Peeping Torn is rapidly becoming the outstanding variety here. Two other favorites are February Gold and March Sunshine.
Jonquils for Fragrance
With their intensely sweet perfume, Jonquil hybrids always appeal to garden and cut flower use.
No other variety in this group seems to approach Trevithian in popularity. It has excellent habits and good height.
It grows easily and produces clusters of two or three golden flowers with a delightfully sweet fragrance.
Others well worth growing are:
- Golden Sceptre
- Golden Goblet
- Golden Perfection
The bunch-flowered (poetaz or tazetta) narcissus boasts three outstanding members:
- Geranium
- Martha Washington
- Orange Wonder
Martha Washington has the largest flowers, while Orange Wonder is the latest to flower. It has a very rich fragrance.
Poeticus Group
My top favorite in the poeticus group is Actaea. Large, tall, and stately, it is the most outstanding. Rarer and with a jewel-like beauty is Sea-green.
Practically all daffodil shows now have a special classification for species, miniatures, and hybrids, all grouped in a large but increasingly popular class. Raindrop, April Tears, and Hawera are popular hybrids.
Certainly, one of the outstanding wild species is the tiny, elfin, pure-white Narcissus watieri from the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. The quaint N. triandrus albus, “angel’s tears, ” and N. bulbocodium, or “hoop petticoat narcissus, ” are ideal for rock gardens.
Pink Daffodils
“Pink daffodils” are mostly classified in the large cup division. Many that have been offered to the public have had poor form. Since the novelty of the pink color has subsided, more care is being shown in selecting varieties for introduction.
Mrs. R. O. Backhouse still is the most commonly grown. A small variety called Rosy Trumpet has one of the pinkest of all tones in the trumpet portion.
Probably the best three inexpensive pinks are the following:
- Well-formed Rosy Sunrise
- Lady Bird
- Louise de Coligny
The latter has the pleasant scent of violets. Salmon Trout and Compton Mackenzie are the “super pinks” to look for at the big shows.
No discussion of popular daffodils would be complete without a few special superlatives. Among the earlier varieties are:
- March Sunshine
- Ada Finch
- February Gold
- Peeping Torn
- Fortune
The latest to flower include:
- Chinese White
- Ultimus
- Frigid
- Samaria
- Silver Salver
- Silver Chimes
- Falaise
- all are mostly white except Ultimus.
Some of the largest are:
- Broughshane
- Green Island
- Golden Harvest
- Daisy Schaffer
- Bonneville
- Yellow Sun
- Jules Verne
The very whitest are:
- Beersheba
- Cantatrice
- Chinese White
- Ludlow
- Frigid
- Zero
Among the loveliest of all are:
- Tintoretto
- Binkie
- Chinese White
- Ludlow
- Moonstruck
- Rosy Sunrise
- Silver Chimes
- a charming miniature called Lemon Drops
- The sulphury yellow Spellbinder
- The pale green-gold Luna Moth
- And the immaculately beautiful, perfectly formed, and fabulously expensive Empress of Ireland
44659 by George H. Pride