Historics

Beefy and Bright April Queen is an older variety that is enjoying a newly found cult of admirers. A stellar landscape daffodil : Plant a few bulbs and in a couple of turns of the planet you will have a Queen's chorus. Blooms bright, tall and well out of the leaves. In zone 6a she is more of an early May Queen.

April Tears is an Alec Gray cross of species N.jonquilla and N.triandrus. An ol dfavorite of the division. Blooms too late to be of much use above zone 7a, Seed parent to the terrific Tripartite, similar to Hawera. Triandrus seem to prefer slightly acidic soil over alkaline.

An antique double. A truly joyous bloomer that deserves a place in any border or cottage garden. Daughter of Telamonious Plenus and Ornatus. Given the parentage Argent should be expected to perform in the deep south, but I can't find any explicit mentions of that.

Barri Conspicuous is one of the founding members of the Iron Ladies and Marathon Men Daffodil Club. A very old Backhouse seedling, aka Conspicuus, has broad petals for an antique, a long 90 degree neck, and a yellow petal color that transmogrifies to creamy white. The cup is a pleasing yet intense yellow orange with just the right amount of Victorian frilly bling. A truly great landscape flower that has been dug and replanted for 150 years, and with good reason. ADS Historic.

The Barr Family were well established daffodil merchants in London by the turn of the 20th century . The appellation "Barrii" or sometimes "Barri" was an early attempt at classification and was applied to many poeticus / pseudo narcissus crosses that they marketed. The tall stems of modern cultivars likely descends from these early crosses of the upright poeticus species. The Barri nomenclature is now commonly dropped.

An old an bright small-cup, Narcissus Bath's Flame was once widely grown as a cut flower. A true classic that will never go out of style. Lithe and long lived. Based on the intense color that is coaxed out of the cup in the Dutch spring weather I think this daffodil would be classified as red, not orange in the cup if it was newly introduced today,

An Englehardt cultivar, similar to Conspicuus , but Brilliancy keeps his yellow perianth color, loud cup, and is really tall. Another old timer that brings real, perennial, spring glory to the bed and landscape. Unlike us, the petals get slender and slim with age. Small availability,

This long celebrated double is new to our list. She is a magnificent creature and as old as the hills, as fresh as the dawn. Good for all uses and certainly as a conversation piece. I seldom see Butter and Eggs on the bench, but in a historical group certainly one to have. Fabulous and luxurious North, South, East, and West.

Canaliculatus - An important Tazetta that is grown commercially in large numbers. A historic, an ADS Classic and an ADS miniature. On commercial acreage lists in Holland it is categorized as a species. Pollen and Pod fertile. We maintain a small stock that is hand harvested and graded apart from the large commercial growers. Floriferous, bright and fragrant. Mentioned as an "erratic and fussy bloomer"¹ in Southern zones 8 and above.


^{1. Daffodils in American Gardens 1733-1940, Sara L. van Beck, 101}

Cyclataz is the lovechild of a species CYCLAmineus and the TAZetta Grande Soleil d'Or . Vigorous, floriferous, wild in form, rich in color. Cyclataz does well in pot culture. ADS Historic. ADS Miniature. She is also the parent of three notable offspring : Alec Gray's Jumblie, Quince, and Tête à Tête.

Broad white petals with a coy green eye. Much Sought after. ADS Historic, ADS Classic. Tall and late, it plays well with others: We put it on the May floral market. A bloom of great beauty and poise that defines elegance : one we cannot imagine living without. A proud parent both ways.

A historic poetaz, Early Spendour has ample wide petals and a brilliant over all coloration that sings in the sunlight. Easy to photograph, easy to fall in love with. ADS historic.

An antique all over mellow yellow small cup from the Rev Engleheart. This is a rare daffodil, so rare that it is rumored not to exist. But here we are one hundred years on with no end in sight. Petals get slim, acute, and shouldered with age. Swellegant ( thanks Cole Porter).

Erlicheer is an older tazetta sport with bodacious double, strongly scented blooms. Excellent for forcing and for cut flowers. Erlicheer may struggle in Zone 6 even with some winter protection. Grows freely in the South. A singular daffodil. Classified as a double but we all know that it really behaves as a tazetta. Makes an unusually large bulb.

Do you have a desert island daffodil ? Feu de Joie is ours, we would happily be banished to a desert island or even asteroid B-612 for that matter. If we could take only this flower we would scrub our volcano every day. Returns and rewards annually in the garden. Every bloom better than the next. Antique white / orange double. ADS Historic. Very limited stock.

Le feu de joie, c'est un beau coup de fusil.

Watching a planting of Firebrand in bloom blow in the breeze on a sunny spring day is an encounter that may never let slip from memory. A poster child for the greatness of historic, small-cupped daffodils : bred mostly by tweed wearing clerics and the landed gentry. A handsome devil, much like Lucifer . Increases with a little care.

Frank Miles has been bringing his sunny disposition to the landscape for 150 years. A two-toned gold on gold large cup that is stunning in the border. If you can have only one antique in your garden, Frank will be a long lasting and loyal friend. Frank was a friend of Oscar Wilde and not homely at all. Historic. Rare.

Gloriosus is a floriferous and beautiful very old tazetta with strong orange colored cups and a classic strong, sweet, fragrance. Pollen and seed fertile Glorious is also self fertile and "seeds like crazy" . A thing of joy and glory forced in a pot or as a cut flower. Needs a winter blanket in northern zones. Not to be confused with the tazetta cultivar "Glorious".

A lovely, older Robert Backhouse cultivar. Glowing Phoenix is wild and sparse double, colorful and free. That is free as in spirit, not as free as in beer. Rare. Very early. ADS Historic.

Grand Monarque is an old and important Tazetta, once grown in great numbers for the cut flower market, both in the US and the Netherlands. It has produced some remarkable seedlings establishing its reputation as a super parent. Plainly colored, Floriferous and fragrant. From the species N. tazetta subsp. lacticolor.

An old poet who, even with the demise of the interest in Latin, continues to be relevant. Horace is as tall as an elephant's eye and like Kansas is as flat as a pancake. As he ages he progresses from a rounded flower to a spellbing rounded star. An offspring of Ornatus.

A historic double , Inglescombe is a sport of Sulphur Phoenix which now may be extinct in the trade. Inglescombe doesn't make particularly large flower, but as it unfurls to something orderly or freeform as is it want, it makes a very large impression. In the border, the vase, or an a good day on the show bench this daffodil has a well earned reputation. We have reasonable stocks.

Many of the historic old blooms that we love are star-flowered small cups. But watch out, the free formed, star shaped, old doubles will steal your heart and leave you jaded. Insulinde is ivory, tangerine and libertine all over. Long lived plant, long lasting blooms held aloft on robust scapes. A Sarah Backhouse cultivar.

A taller, white petaled maiden with an ample, profound-orange, and frilled disc-cup that can become reflexed. Patrimony is unknown, but she is a great example of this form, much more substantial and upright than Professor Einstein who has all but disappeared from cultivation. Jacquline brings a sunny and easy disposition wherever she goes. ADS Historic.

A substantial Australian Tazetta from the golden age of tazetta breeding. A cross of Grand Monarque and pseudo-narcissi, Killara is an ADS Historic.

Well rounded and bright, La Riante is a sassy old small cup. Historic and contrasty, broad white petals with a yellow orange ribbed cup. La Riante was very common in trade mid century. May sun burn without afternoon shade. Rare.

L'innocence is a compact and floriferous tazetta, likely a poetaz, from a time when there was a lot of breeding going on to make tazettas more hardy. Richly colored, its compact size makes if excellent for pot culture or in the rockery where you don't want overly tall tazetta foliage crashing down on the little neighbors. An ADS historic.

Lucifer waves, winks, and beckons in the landscape. Star shaped with a rich colored cup that is variable with age. Angelic and demonic, a truly great landscape daffodil. ADS Historic. Limited.

Please contact me if your club would like to make a mass public planting of historics.

Corpulent and colorful, this daffodil is the first lady of the poetaz group. Martha Washington has large flowers, two or three per scape, that bring a shine and a sweet scent to the border. Makes a very flat flower in maturity. ADS Historic.