Tasmanian Daffodils

LADY DIANA ( Don Broadfield) Lady Slim 1W-W x Gwyn 2W-W

If the TDC was to name outstanding Tasmanian hybrids produced in recent years, one of the first for consideration would be Lady Diana 2W-W

This flower has appeared consistently as a show winner ever since it first appeared in our records in 1986.

Don Broadfield always kindly sent show reports to the editors of our journal. Some years ago I had cause to ring him and in the course of the phone conversation, I asked Don about the breeding of Lady Diana. I made some rough notes, always intending to flesh them out and check with Don but that opportunity has now been lost. However, reders may be interested to know a little more about the development of this lovely daffodil from the notes that I have.

Lady Diana might well never have graced our show benches.

Among the many seedlings that Don raised, Lady Diana proved initially to be very frustrating. The seedling did not want to flower and after 7 years, Don dug it up. It had a huge bulb, bigger than an apple but no offsets. As a last resort, Don planted it in his mother`s patch with other seedlings, in soil that had never grown daffodils before.

One day, Don walked in the gate - looked across and saw a white daffodil standing up, looking him straight in the eye! It was Lady Diana after 10 years! The bulb still had only two small offsets but after that it went mad! Said Don, "many a time I toyed with the idea of throwing it in the garbage."

Don attempted to register this seedling, but his chosen name was refused as there was already Lady Di 2W-Y. Don decided to keep the name without registration but it is good to see that Lady Diana 2W-W is now listed in the RHS Register.

To see more info and photos, please follow the link:

http://daffseek.org/query/query-detail.php?value1=Lady%20Diana&lastpage=1&which=hist1