Daffodils in the Southern Hemisphere in 2008

[Mini-daffs]

 
Hi
Anne and Paul, you have shown once again a preference for the most expensive exhibition daffodils!!
The miniature cyclamineus flowers are exceptionally good exhibition flowers but nowhere near the hybridising challenge as the standard miniatures.
Martin, I will post some photos later of some miniatures that have desirable characteristics in terms of multiplying and flowering.
Lots of people appear to looking at the miniature photos but not too many comments.
The first photo is of a bulbocodium with unusual form. I am not sure it is stable because it is an offset from a bulbocodium clump that did not have this form. It may be a sport. I would like it to pass on the form and intensify the form. Only time will tell.
The other photos are of species. I quite like N. hedreanthus luteolentus. It is one of my favourite species.

[Paul T]

Graham,

Good to know that Anne and I have excellent taste!!    I just love the alpestris myself, but the hedreanthus luteolentus is pretty special too.  I have bulbocodium graellsii in flower here at the moment which I love, but I clearly remember your teeny tiny little version of it that I seriously lusted after at one of the spring shows.  I am so going to miss seeing them this year.

[art600]

Hi

Lots of people appear to looking at the miniature photos but not too many comments.

Graham

I am one who has looked and marveled at the beauty of these miniatures.  My comments would be repetitious as you keep on amazing me with the variety, colour, form and sheer beauty of your efforts over many years.

I find I am with Anne and Paul in having expensive taste - but more frustratingly a taste that you are unwilling to satisfy.  I quite understand the effort it would take, and will have to be satisfied with drooling at a distance.

[Mini-daffs]

 
Hi
Arthur, we breed bulbs with the ultimate aim of selling the bulbs. We export to the US and the UK but our market is primarily those interested in exhibiting or breeding miniatures. This is a small but specialised world and the price of good exhibition bulbs is very high. We also produce a lot of bulbs that are quite suitable for alpine gardens that are not of exhibition standard. The cost of exporting them is prohibitive because of the cost of phytosanitary certificates unless the order is very large. I am not sure that the Dutch would be interested in our  bulbs because they prefer big and bold rather than small and beautiful.

[Paul T]

Graham,

And both of them are cuties!!  Nice to see them in their pots to give a real size reference.

[Mini-daffs]

 
Hi
Some more photos.
Paul, yes they are little cuties and they are the sort of thing that people who want to breed miniatures should have. They will breed standards and cyclamineus hybrids and have extremely complex genes so you can breed for all whites, white-yellows, reverse bicolors, all yellows and more significantly coloured seedlings. The big bonus is rapid increase and floriferous in nature.

[art600]

First one I have not liked - the double moschatus.  The single is so much more elegant.

[fermi de Sousa]

Graham,
some stunning stuff!
I'm thinking of re-mortgaging the house, so can you send me your bulb list this year? please?
cheers
fermi

[arillady]

Graham I have been following your photos too and there are just too many lovelies in them. Like Paul I do like the N. alpestris and some of those little ones but I do like the untidyness of the doubles - I too much prefer the smaller and daintier than the larger stronger looking daffs.
I ordered some bulbs of what Hancock's sell as N. odoratus which I cannot find in Blanchard's book, Charity May (only because my daughter's name is Charity and it was quite a nice simple one) and I will try again with J T Bennett Poe and some Pueblo which I can't remember now.
Has anyone any of Alister Clark bred daffodils?

[Mini-daffs]

 
Hi
Pat, we don't have any really old cultivars like those of Alistair Clark. Ian Dyason from Victoria is likely to know who may still have some of them.
A few photos of flowers exhibited at the Canberra Show will be posted. The weather was not kind so it was surprising to see as many quality flowers as there were on display.

[Martin Baxendale]

Graham, I assume that champion miniature is the cyclamineus micro-mini seedling you showed us a few days ago. Congratulations! A well-deserved win.

[Mini-daffs]

 
Hi
Martin, thanks. It is interesting to see what is opening at the moment. I am currently downloading some photos of some of our jonquilla and triandus hybrids that did not flower in time for the show. The other hybrids that are flowering in profusion are our apodanthe hybrids.
This post includes more show photos. The triandus hybrids are some of our latest and greatest. They are intermediate in size.
The reason you will be seeing some very advanced triandus and jonquilla hybrids is because we have fertile triandus and jonquilla hybrids to work with.

[art600]

Really interesting developments in triandrus.  I find the specie difficult to grow - or retain.  Are your hybrids good doers? or is it too early to know.

[Mini-daffs]

 
Hi
Arthur, we have triandus hybrids that are strong and robust. As a general rule hybrids that have modern standards in their parentage are more robust than the species. This is certainly the case with both N. cyclamineus and N. triandus. The only caveat is that we can grow and keep NTT and N.cyclamineus for years (they actually split vegatively for us) so we have better growing conditions and techniques than most people.

[Mini-daffs]

 
Hi
I see I managed to post two of the same photos and only noticed it now (I don't look at my own photos. I see enough while editing them.)
As you can see from the photos we dabble in breeding bulbocodiums as well.