The Short-Cupped Division 3 Daffodil Show Performance
American Hybridized Short-Cupped Daffodils. The Royal Horticulture Society's 1996-1997 Journal devoted to the Short-Cupped Daffodil sparked my interest as short cupped daffodils are some of my favorites. The Journal reported that in the British Isles, the top ten daffodils for the past 10 years included 'Doctor Hugh' 3W-GOO, 'Merlin' 3W-YYR, and 'Purbeck' 3W-YYO four times each; 'Achduart' 3Y-R, three times; 'Moon Shadow' 3W-GYY, 'Stanway' 3Y-R, and 'Verona' 3W-W, were included once each. 'Cool Crystal' 3W-GWW never won the best in "show", but was on the top ten daffodil lists for the last ten years.
Conversely, after a quick review of the show reports, in the 1996 American shows the only Division 3 daffodil that won best in show was the 'La Paloma' 3W-GYR. All together, 79 separately named Division 3 daffodils were included in winning collections, not many. Since there were no listings of individual awards for single daffodils, or divisional best in show, the remainder of my analysis concerns those division 3 cultivars included in winning collections. Using these criteria, 'La Paloma' was the big winner, and the only division 3 to take an award for "best in show," and was included in five additional collections. Next winners were a tie between 'New Penny '3Y-Y, and 'Spindletop' 3W-Y with an even five wins, followed by 'Evesham' 3W-GYY with four, and 'Angel' 3W-GWW, 'Dunley Hall' 3W-Y, 'Glamour Girl' 3W-YYR, 'Rim Ride' 3W-GYO, 'Triple Crown' 3Y-GYR, 'Tyson's Corner' 3W-GYR, 'Purbeck' 3W-YYO with three each.
In the "1997" shows there were more than 108 separately named Division 3 daffodils included in winning collections, counting only those shows east of the Mississippi River, which showed that the mild winter in east during 1996/97 was better for the Division 3. The consistency between the two years was that the best of the lot followed the same pattern. 'La Paloma' again was the big winner with ten. Next winner was 'Evesham' 3W-GYY with eight, followed by a tie with 'New Penny '3Y-Y, and 'Spindletop' 3W-Y with an even seven wins. That was followed by 'Molten Lava' 3W-R, with six, and 'Angel' 3W-GWW, and 'Centerville,'3Y-R with four each. Only two Gold Ribbon Winners were posted from the '97 shows, 'Molten Lava', and 'Rim Ride'. The conclusion was that 1997 was a better growing year for the late season division 3 daffodils, and that the three consistent winners over the two-year span were 'La Paloma,' 'New Penny', and 'Spindletop'.
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