The Daffodil Association of NSW/ACT Inc NEWSLETTER No. 72 August 2012

Transcription

1 The Daffodil Association of NSW/ACT Inc NEWSLETTER No. 72 August 2012 President Treasurer Secretary Newsletter Editor Yvonne Tracey 1 Wolesley St Orange NSW Sheila Hodgson 11 Hirschfeld Cres. Macgregor ACT Janet Johnstone Illinois Woodstock NSW Sharon Davis 89 Wakefield Gardens Ainslie ACT Address: graemecdavis@hotmail.com Tony Davis seedling 6/10 at Orange 2011

2 Showdown best bloom Orange 2011, shown by G & S Davis

3 Dates for your Diary 2012 Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 September CANBERRA Horticultural Society of Canberra s Spring Bulb and Camellia Show, Lancaster Hall, Wesley Centre, National Circuit, Forrest - noon- 5pm Enquiries to Show Secretary Sheila Hodgson-Ph Saturday 22 nd September ORANGE Horticultural Society s Daffodil & Spring Show from 1-5pm at St Barnabas Hall, Cnr. McLachlan & Dora Sts. Orange Enquiries to Show Secretary Yvonne Tracey-Ph Thursday 27 th -Sunday 29 th September DUNEDIN World Daffodil Convention 2012, New Zealand Sunday 14 th October 2012 AGM & Executive Meeting at COWRA followed by the meeting. Following the AGM a review of some of the flowers seen at the shows this year. NOTICE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE Daffodil Association of NSW/ACT INC. SATURDAY 14 OCTOBER 2012 at 12 NOON AT THE RSL CLUB COWRA Nominations for all positions on Council for the 2012/2013 year are invited. Positions are:- President Vice President Secretary Treasurer and Council members. You are encouraged to take an active role in your Society s activities. Please consider a nomination. Nominations must be in writing, signed by the nominee and lodged with the Secretary.

4 Narcissus Hybridisation From Tony Davis Daffodil hybridisation has been taking place at a great pace for more than a century. Men of the cloth such as Rev George Englehart were quite prolific in the late 1800s and early 1900 and many of the modern hybrids can be shown to be direct descendants of those early efforts. With about named hybrids registered on the official register it seems fair to ask why we are still happily pressing ahead in this area. To put it in context, there have been many significant changes in the daffodil world. Perhaps the most obvious developments have come in the availability of new colours eg those with pink or all red trumpets may have existed in the minds of early breeders but it took a great many years for them to be a reality. Now the dream may be all pink or all red cultivars. These should be possible as the colour genes are well established. All we have to do is get them in the right places! Changes in form and size have also been very pronounced while greater substance in the petals has also been achieved. This latter attribute has been most essential to withstand the elements. The new hybrids are getting close to being circular in shape and wind damage with such a form would be substantial without the improved substance that has gone with it. At this point let me give you a pen picture of one of our local hybridisers. He is a little old man who can be seen every day in September wandering along his rows of seedlings. He will probably be wearing a Russian cap to keep out the chill, carrying a somewhat dog eared note book, a pocket full of assorted pens, and old school protractor, tweezers, and always seems to have a great many old bread tags. He stops regularly to inspect the children, usually shakes his head and moves on to the next in line. Occasionally he actually breaks into a half smile and very very rarely he breaks into an animated dance routine. Such are the percentages of special flowers. To give you some idea of the project let me assure you I am very small fry in the hybridisation world. Each year I plant about 1000 seeds and wait five or so years to get the good or bad news. As a rule of thumb most hybridisers number about 1% of the new flowers for closer examination over a 3 or 4 year period. You may expect to get one in every 1000 that have the potential to win a ribbon at a top show and perhaps about 1 in 10,000 that could win a best in show award. In more recent years the standard of my seedlings has improved considerably and I have been achieving a success rate at better than those above such is the benefit of experience. Why did I move from being an exhibitor to taking on the role of hybridising? There were a number of factors apart from a touch of madness. Firstly, I saw it as a challenge. In particular, I was frustrated with the lack of pink cupped daffodils that were suited to our growing conditions. I reasoned that it could not be all that difficult to get it right. I also felt that there was room for great improvement in split cups and why not have all yellow small cups that were strong yellow rather than the cream varieties that were being offered. While chasing these goals I also took an interest in a broader range of daffodils. This helps to keep you happy when the more specific goals prove difficult to achieve. I have learned a number of good lessons along the way. The first of those was to listen to all the helpful advice, ignore some of it at your peril and, most importantly, be prepared to learn from your mistakes. Secondly, use only the best quality parents that suit your goals they are not necessarily the latest offerings from major growers. One of the best Australian hybridisers will sometimes go back 3 or 4 generations to get a characteristic that he is seeking.

5 I know some hybridisers spend long hours working on the pedigree of their possible crosses. I do not do this, preferring instead to follow my gut feeling. Trying to visualise the outcome of any crosses works for me albeit with the knowledge of the results previously achieved. Lastly, stick very close to your assessment guidelines when choosing which seedlings to keep. Basic guidelines for me are: Vigour this is essential. I have thrown away many bulbs that produce show quality flowers but are very hard to keep going. There is no place for pampered pets in my beds. Consistency I would much rather grow on a bulb that gives regular good quality flowers. Colour/ sun hardiness there is no room for wimps and poor colour. Size a good big flower beats a good small one most times. Remember there are many named cultivars that fall well short of modern standards and there is no need to add more of them. Self assessments of your achievements are not usually made public. However, on this occasion it is worth looking at one or two of what I consider to be success stories. In my search for pinks that thrive in our climate my best is undoubtable Bundanoon. This is a good quality pink suitable for a championship class but will not win best in show. However, it is very vigorous and always produces show flowers. I have a number of other good pinks but they are slower to multiply. In regard to the split coronas I have a number of flowers of improved quality but this is still a work in progress. Seedling 1/11 seen last year at Blayney is getting close to the money. After going down some dead end streets I am finally getting close with the yellow small cups with some nice Red Era seedlings showing promise. What of the other interests along the way. There are two standouts worthy of mention. Miss Rhiannon is a very nice 3w-yo which has won many ribbons including those at the Launceston Show. This one is very satisfying having been bred from one of my own seedlings. I am also particularly pleased with the Lady Diana x Florence Joy seedlings. There are quite a number of these and I have high hopes for seedling 8/10 which was Grand Champion at Blayney this year. I know it is a long shot but in case there is someone willing to get a start at hybridising I would recommend they try the following crosses 1) Lady Diana x Florence Joy 2) Red Era x Legislator 3) Banker x any 2yr of good quality A final word of caution in case you do get involved. Remember 1000 seeds per year adds up to a great many bulbs in a short time. I would have close to 10,000 bulbs at various stages of growth and that takes up a lot of space.

6 Royal Horticultural Society International Cultivar Registration Authority for the Genus Narcissus Horticultural classification of daffodils Definition of Division 9 At a meeting on 7 June 2012, the International Daffodil Registrar, with the support of the RHS Advisory Sub-Committee on Narcissus Classification, took the decision to adapt the horticultural classification of daffodils, following international consultation in on the definition of Division 9. From 1 July 2012, Division 9 will be defined as follows: Characteristics of N. poeticus and related species clearly evident; perianth segments pure white; corona very short or disc-shaped, not more than one-fifth the length of the perianth segments; corona usually with a green and/or yellow centre and red rim, but sometimes wholly or partly of other colours; anthers usually set at two distinct levels; flowers fragrant. The revised definition reflects overriding support for Option 2 as laid out in the consultation paper (see attached breakdown of responses). Underlined below are the four criteria that Option 2 incorporated: Characteristics of N. poeticus and related species clearly evident; perianth segments pure white; corona very short or disc-shaped, not more than one-fifth the length of the perianth segments; corona usually with a green and/or yellow centre and red rim, but sometimes wholly or partly of other colours; anthers usually set at two distinct levels; flowers fragrant. The revised definition also includes three changes that the consultation paper flagged up for committee debate: 1) replacement of the word group by the phrase and related species, in order to avoid confusion with the special meaning of the word group in another context (as cultivar group ); 2) removal of the phrase usually one flower to a stem, because multi-headed plants exist; and 3) removal of the word 'usually' from 'flowers usually fragrant', because N. poeticus and related species are consistently fragrant. In addition, in order to clarify the range of corona colouring, the words wholly or partly have been inserted. Please see attached illustrated classification complete with revised definition for Division 9. This cancels all previous editions. The Registrar and the Advisory Committee acknowledge with respect and thanks all views expressed in the course of this consultation and hope that the revised definition will serve its purpose. 3 rd August 2012

7 Classic Daffodils Seedling at Canberra 2011 (Concertina x Colin s Joy) x Catalyst Lady Diana at Orange 2011

8 Tony Davis seedling 33/11 (3y-y) at Canberra 2011