This E-Mail Letter from Rex Breen, Hancock's Daffodils, Australia, provides useful information on Australian daffodils for the home garden. The Hancock's Daffodil web site is slow to load, but worth the wait.
Clay,
"Thank you for the interest in Ausy daffs. I have had a look at your suit101.com articles and found them interesting. You certainly enjoy the provocative subjects. On historical varieties, I believe that those still around and healthy still deserve a place in a collection (after all most commercial cut flower vars such as Carlton, Fortune, etc., are ancient. I agree that some new show varieties have that built in death time clock."
"On Australian breeding. We at Hancocks have wound our breeding program back of late but still have plenty of nice seedlings to introduce. Being more orientated to garden varieties than show varieties (we are full time professional growers and have no spare time to exhibit during the flower season) we tend toward the decoratives, big and colorful. Of late we have been using Mitsch varieties plus Dutch varieties (Leenen) and our own. We have many new red/pinks, splits of all colours, promising doubles and have been looking at introducing perfume as well. I also feel bulb quality, stem strength and flowers being borne high above erect foliage to be important as well as a good quality flower."
"Tasmanian Breeders (Tas is a state of Australia, some people are not aware of this fact). As you mentioned in an article, Jacksons are continuing on with the show varieties and now introducing a few new lines into their breeding program. Rod Barwick continues to introduce new and interesting miniatures. Other breeders are numerous mainly hobbiests."
"Victorian Breeders (another state on the mainland), Fred Silcock (see article and pictures on English Daffodil Society web site) has hundreds of excellent varieties but never gets around to sell any. Other breeders, apart, from us are hobbiests."
"New South Wales and Australia Capital Territory. Many hobbiest breeders having success in all Divs. Many breeders are now using varieties from overseas in their breeding along with important Australian vars."
"You mention prohibition on importing bulbs. Our quarantine laws changed around ten years ago and provided you pay the quarantine fees we can import bulbs from just about any country. It is expensive to import in small quantities I think many people get in joint orders. We import most of our bulbs from Holland, but varieties have been bred in many different countries."
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