Daffodil bulbs & Fall Meeting

We just had our fall meeting and bulb exchange at NENCDS Barco, NC.  It was a successful meeting with a panel discussion of bulb planting by a panel of Jennifer Potter, Nancy Fuchs, and Ceci Brown.  They were very good with sharing their experiences raising daffodils.

Everyone left with a dozen or so new bulbs to plant this fall.  With the our fall meeting and bulbs that I gave away this fall I have my bulbs down to a quantify that I might be able to replant.  I gave shopping bags of bulbs away to WDS (Washington Daffodil Society), VDS (Richmond, Va), and the Tuscorara Group in Chambersburg, PA, as well as laid out a large amount of bulbs to my own society here. Plus I gave away a large amount of miniatures this fall.  I’m really happy at the moment.

I’m happy because I am a worrier and today’s worry is behind me with our successfull meeting. I worry that we will not have anyone show up at our meeting.  I worry that no one will come and put daffodils in our show in the spring.  I fill like Snoopy dancing in the air after one of his small victories.

But mostly I’m happy because I will not have to plant back all the bulbs I dug earlier this year.  When I first got into daffodils I was told that the first few years I would accumulate all the daffodils that I could possibly gather together in one large garden.  Then after I got older I would cut back to my good ones that I always can depend on.  Fellow daffodilians, that’s where I am.  I may have 400 varieties left from my 3,000.  Plus by own hybrids that I had not given up on yet. :-)

Clay

2 comments for “Daffodil bulbs & Fall Meeting

  1. Clay,

    As happy as you are now, I am the exact opposite — wondering where on earth I am going to plant all the bulbs I have here!  I have never had a whopping 3000 different kinds at one time, but NEXT year I simply must do some clearing out! How did you decide which to let go? That’s my biggest problem, naturally. I find it difficult to say goodbye to old friends, some of which I’ve grown for decades. My second biggest problem, naturally, is closing my eyes to the new offerings in the catalogs. Remember that old song…. ?  Like that girl in Oklahoma, I’m just a girl who cain’t say no!

    Suzy

  2. Hi Suzy,

    It was simple.  If the daffodil has not given me a show worthy bloom in the last few years it is now gone.  I eliminated that entire cultivar from my garden, eg ‘February Gold’ even when I still have a couple of these naturalized in my border.

    I do still buy some new daffodils each year as I don’t want my daffodil collection to become ancient while still in the garden.  Plus I am still hybridizing and a hybridizer needs new stock to keep progressing.  Suzy you need to start hybridizing.  It’s surprising how much satisfaction it gives you.

    The sentimental favorites I continue to keep some of those, especially some that I had gotten from Marie Bozievich, regardless if they give me show flowers or not.  One for instance is ‘Vienna Woods’ 9W-R, I just love looking at it in the Garden. And, there are others, but I just don’t keep as many bulbs as before.  I used to keep my favorite show flower planted in two or three places on my property, seven bulbs to a planting. Another I keep is Marie’s favorite daffodil and the one I used as a model to make the Marie Bozievich medal for the best collection of 12 daffodils using four divisions is ‘Killearnan’ 9W-GYR at the time of the striking of the medal.  However, since the time of the first medal the color code has been changed to 3W-GYR.

    Yes it’s hard to let your sentimental favorites go but when you get to the age and health where  you have to slow down.  You downsize and relax a little.

     

    Clay

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