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Award-Winning Daffodils for 2005

© Mary Lou Gripshover

Well, I don't know about the weather where you live, but here in Ohio we've had August weather in June. Hot as Hades and bone dry. Who knows what August will bring?

The American Daffodil Society has been making annual awards to deserving daffodils for some years now. The first of these awards is the Wister Award which is given to a daffodil that is an outstanding garden flower in most areas of the United States. Named to honor the eminent horticulturist John Wister of Pennsylvania, the criteria are: 1. That the cultivar must be a good grower. It should have a floriferous habit (many bloom stalks). 2. It should have long lasting bloom with clean color, showy at a distance and reasonably sunfast. 3. Foliage should be vigorous, resistant to disease and frost damage. 4. Stem should be taller than foliage, strong and sturdy. 5. Bulb should be resistant to basal rot and not prone to splitting up. (Too rapid increase can be a problem, such as in a cultivar where the blooms deteriorate dramatically in size and substance after being down two or three years.) 6. Emphasis should be on garden performance, although it may be of show table quality. 7. Cultivar should be readily available. 8. The award may be given annually.

The award goes this year to 'Fragrant Rose' 2 W-GPP. 'Fragrant Rose' was bred in Northern Ireland by Brian Duncan. He says it has the fragrance of the rose, 'Tropicana', but while I don't detect it, many others do. But it is a wonderful flower not only in the garden where it blooms late in the season, but also on the show bench. Almost every flower can be cut for exhibition.

The William G. Pannill Award is given annually to an American hybridizer to recognize a named standard daffodil which has demonstrated winning show qualities for a minimum of five years following registration. Cultivar must have been awarded at least one ADS Gold or White Ribbon within the last five years. Must be regarded as generally "growable and showable" in a majority of the ADS regions. The award honors Mr. Pannill, formerly of Martinsville, Virginia, who is the premier amateur daffodil breeder in the United States.

The award this year went to 'La Paloma' 3 W-GYR. It was bred by the late William Roesé of California. It blooms in late-midseason. It has a wonderful clear white perianth set off by the lovely short cup edged in red.

Why not add one of these daffodils to your garden? Sources can be found on The American Daffodil Society's website, http://www.daffodilusa.org/ under ADS References.