The 2016 World Daffodil Convention was in Saint Louis, Missouri April 7-10 and was co-hosted by the Greater Saint Louis Daffodil Society and the Northern California Daffodil Society. This was an augmentation of the American Daffodil Society’s annual convention and daffodil show, having many attendees from overseas. The number of registrants was approximately 250, considerably greater than the typical registration for the ADS annual convention. The daffodil show was held in the Versailles I ballroom of the Sheraton Westport Chalet Hotel April 7-9 which was held at a temperature of around 55 degrees Fahrenheit (13 Celsius) for the benefit of the flowers. Since this show was essentially an ADS national show, the awards were the ADS national awards. These are nearly the same as ADS awards at local daffodil shows plus about a dozen more awards. In this post I will cover the awards that involve a single standard cultivar (plus one that don’t fit conveniently elsewhere) and cover the miniatures and standard collections in other posts. I will not be mentioning awards that were not given.
The Gold Ribbon is for the best standard daffodil excluding the Container and Challenge Sections. The winner was ‘Banker’ 2Y-O exhibited by Glenna Graves. This flower was in her Australian collection.
The Rose Ribbon is for the best standard seedling exhibited by its originator (excluding the Container and Challenge Sections). The winner was Larry Force’s 05-165 9W-GYR (‘Lemon Tree’ x SNR poet). SNR means the Shaw Nature Reserve where (among other things) daffodils have naturalized over the years. This flower was in Larry’s Red-White-Blue Ribbon winning collection.
The White Ribbon is for the best set of three standards. The winner was ‘Pacific Rim’ 2Y-YYR exhibited by Gerard Knehans, Jr.
The Matthew Fowlds Award is the the best named, standard, cyclamineus hybrid, and the Olive W. Lee Trophy is for the best standard daffodil in divisions 5, 6, 7, and 8. The winner of both awards was ‘Flight Path’ 6Y-W exhibited by Mitch and Kate Carney.
The Grant and Amy Mitsch Trophy is for the best set of three stems of one standard daffodil seedling exhibited by its originator. The winner was TH 10/3 7YWW-W (‘Perpetuation’ x ‘Limequilla’) exhibited by Elise Havens.
The Youth Best Bloom Ribbon is for the best bloom in the Youth Section of the show. Exhibitors in this section are 20 years of age or younger. The winner was ‘Crackington’ 4Y-O exhibited by Macy Bader.
The Small Growers Ribbon is for the best bloom in the Small Growers Section of the show. Exhibitors in this section grow 50 or fewer cultivars and species. The winner was N. poeticus 13W-YYR exhibited by Julie Dooley.
The John Van Beck Medal is for the best bloom in the Historic Section. Historic daffodils are cultivars registered before 1940. The winner was ‘Blarney’ 3W-OOY (1935) exhibited by Becky Fox Matthews.
The Historic Set of Three Ribbon is for the best set of three in the Historic Section. The winner was ‘Picador’ 3W-GOO (1910) exhibited by Becky Fox Matthews.
The Best Classic Ribbon is for the best bloom in the Classics Section. Classics are standard daffodils registered between 1940 and 1969 inclusive. The winner was ‘Silent Valley’ 1W-GWW (1964) exhibited by Susan Luken.
There are classes for single stems, three stems, and collections of 5 in the Classics Section. The ADS has an award for the best single stem exhibit, and this was won by ‘Tahiti’ 4Y-O (1956) exhibited by Molly Adams.
The award for best set of three in the Classics Section went to ‘Sir Winston Churchill’ 4W-O (1966) exhibited by Carolyn Cutshall.
The Intermediate Ribbon is for the best intermediate daffodil in the Intermediates Section or in the standard collections. The winner was ‘Little Alice’ 4Y-O exhibited by Cindy Haeffner.
The award for best set of three intermediates in the Intermediate Section went to ‘Eden Park’ 2W-Y exhibited by Mary Lou Gripshover.
The Bender Ribbon is for the best bloom in the Challenge Section. The Challenge Section has classes for daffodils hybridized by the exhibitor and allows the daffodils to be grown under any condition (e.g. greenhouse as well as outdoors). As such, the blooms in the section are not eligible for the Gold, Rose, Miniature Gold, or Miniature Rose Ribbons; hence, the Bender Ribbon is offered for the best bloom in the Challenge Section. The winning flower is a named cultivar ‘Astute’ 2W-O. It was exhibited by Elise Havens.
The best container-grown and shown standard was ‘Falconet’ 8Y-R exhibited by Ray Rogers.
The best species grown and shown in a container was N. obvallaris 13Y-Y exhibited by Ray Rogers.
The Wells Knierim Ribbon is for the best photo in the Photography Section. Shown here is a photograph of the winning photograph onto which Daffnet asserts the poster’s copyright, but the actual photographer was Melanie Paul. ‘Empress of Ireland’ is the title since it’s a photo of that cultivar.
No cultivar is associated with the ADS Silver Ribbon. It goes to the exhibitor who wins the most first place ribbons in horticulture. The winner was Gerard Knehans, Jr. who won 19 blue ribbons.
Other statistics for the Horticulture Division are: 1270 entries by 71 exhibitors for a total of 2793 stems. In the Photography Division there were 21 exhibitors of 114 photographs.
Thanks Kirby for the great photos ( your usual high standard ) and detailed show results . A lot of work involved at a busy time of the season .A very large stem count , 2793 , – obviously a nice reward for the organisers and a credit to all the exhibitors . Enjoy the remaining few weeks of your long season as it moves further north .
We are enjoying a few more early tazettas but still planting and waiting for a good autumn rain to really break our drought .
Cheers John .