In 2004 Dave Karnstedt sent me his seedling K82-66-1 9W-R which he indicated was a borderline poet. After seven and a half years, it has not really increased but apparently has an offset big enough to flower. Attached are photos of the two blooms I picked this afternoon. The larger one is about 52mm in diameter; the smaller one is about 48 mm in diameter.
The last list that Dave put out as Cascade Daffodils was in 2007, the same year that he passed away. Some of you may remember that his list (but not he) was at the national show in Tacoma in 2007. Page 2 has a picture of three stems of ‘On Stage’ 9W-R (Link 9W-R Seedling x Seraph). Dave says it is seedling K82-66-1, blooms in late season, is about 60 mm in diameter, and is about 15″ tall. In my warm, dry climate, it doesn’t look nearly as good as his picture and has never grown as large as 60 mm in diameter nor as tall as 15″. Curiously, there is a bit of green in the eye at my place but not in the catalogue photo.
The catalogue description is: “A tall vigorous poet of brilliant white and deep orange-red that exhibits better sun resistance than most of the type. The flowers in the illustration had been in bloom for more than a week when selected, at random, for the photograph. After being out in the weather for that time, the deep red of the corona has matured to rather more orange than red but the solid color remains intact. Like all poets in a hot, sunny, windy environment, the flowers will clearly show the effect. Selected for show, the plane perianths require little grooming. The firm petals have wonderful substance that contributes to a long vase life when cut. For many years, I thought this could be a miniature as it measured just at 50 mm and bloomed on ten inch stems. In recent seasons, it has grown larger and taller (in all respects) and become a genuine standard. Nearly lost on two occasions, it has finally increased enough to offer a few bulbs for others to enjoy.”
I assume Dave hybridized it in Minnesota and later moved it to Cloverdale, Oregon. He thought it rained too much for his daffodils in Cloverdale and moved them once again to Silverton, Oregon. His last list has a Silverton address, so that’s where ‘On Stage’ is most likely to be happy.
I do not know how many (if any) orders Dave was able to fill before his passing. Nor do I know if the rescue team from Minnesota found and dug ‘On Stage.’ ‘On Stage’ is not in Daffseek nor in the RHS on-line database, and this probably means Dave did not get the registration mailed in before his passing. It is apparent from his Cascade Daffodils list that he meant to register it in 2007.
If I’m the only one that has ‘On Stage,’ it seems to me that I should send my bulb to a more favorable climate and to a grower who can propagate and distribute it. I would hate to be responsible for its extinction.
Kirby Fong