Join the hunt: Help find 3 'elusive' UK daffodils this spring – including a rare pink one
Spring wouldn’t be spring without the cheerful golden nod of a daffodil, but a new hunt is on to find some of the UK’s rarest varieties.
The RHS is calling on gardeners, walkers, and nature lovers to help map the UK’s daffodils as part of its new ‘Daffodil Diaries’ project: an initiative designed to track where these flowers are growing and, crucially, to find three rare or potentially extinct varieties; the ‘Mrs R.O. Backhouse’, ‘Mrs William Copeland’ and ‘Sussex Bonfire'.
With an estimated 31,000 varieties of daffodils cultivated worldwide, the UK has long been a hub for the much-loved flower. Now, the RHS — which maintains the official register of daffodil names — wants the public to log sightings of daffodils in their area, including details of colour, type, and height. Scientists will then use this data to monitor how environmental factors influence daffodils.
But there’s an extra-special mission in play: the search for three elusive varieties, which experts fear could be lost. ‘Mrs R.O. Backhouse’, one of the first pink daffodils, is known to exist in collections, but its presence in gardens is unclear — often mistaken for the similar ‘Salome’.
While the 'Mrs William Copeland’, a delicate white double-flowered variety, was last noted in the UK via an American grower, and the ‘Sussex Bonfire’, a rich orange and yellow bloom, has never been located. Plant Heritage’s Sussex Group is particularly eager to rediscover this third one.
“Daffodils have come to mark the arrival of spring and are celebrated for their welcome burst of colour in gardens, parks, and roadsides,” says Dr Kálmán Könyves, Principal Scientist in the Cultivated Plant Diversity team at the RHS. “But there’s more to this ubiquitous yellow flower than meets the eye, with 31,000 known varieties available in green, pink, and red. Understanding where they can be found will help us preserve this diversity in the future.”
The campaign comes as the RHS marks 100 years since its scientist, James Kirkham Ramsbottom, saved the daffodil industry with his pioneering hot water treatment to protect bulbs from eelworms. This method is still used today, ensuring the UK’s daffodil crops thrive (they account for 90% of the world’s cut daffodil flowers).
Gwen Hines, CEO of Plant Heritage, adds the public's involvement is key to the search: “Springtime daffodils are abundant, but rare varieties could be lost from our gardens and roadsides if they’re not found and cared for,” she explains. “While six National Plant Collections do protect some, many others aren’t yet safeguarded, which is why we encourage everyone to look for rare varieties this spring.”
Daffodil Diaries runs from 12th February to 4th May, culminating in the Late Daffodil Show at RHS Garden Harlow Carr. A series of daffodil displays will take place at RHS Gardens nationwide, celebrating over 150 cultivars in bloom. Anyone who spots a daffodil they suspect to be one of the three rare varieties is encouraged to submit their findings on the RHS website.
And if you happen to take a spring walk through Tooting, South West London, once home to ‘Daffodil King’ Peter Barr’s nursery, you might just stumble across some long-lost varieties springing from the ground.
Four key daffodil facts:
Daffodils are a source of galantamine, an important Alzheimer’s treatment which cannot be reliably synthesised.
The daffodil has come to symbolise resilience — being the first of the spring flowers to brave the cold — but in Victorian times, the plant meant ‘egotism’, ‘disdain’, or ‘unrequited love.’
There are 31,000 cultivars of daffodil, organised into 13 different types, including trumpet, double, and split corona daffodils.
The UK grows 90% of the world’s cut flower daffodils.
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