To the ends of the earth

Sunday 18 September 2022

Templeton Daffodils, Christchurch

How to appreciate these heralds of Spring? Visit a daffodil farm. I'm a member of the Rolleston Garden Club and our outing this month was to pop out to Templeton Daffodils for a feast for the eyes and some tips on growing these bulbs.

David and Leitha Adams own and manage the farm.

They have been producing lists of daffodils for thirty years. It's mostly now a devoted hobby producing and selling as many bulbs as they can reasonably manage. They also enter daffodil shows, such as the big one at Woodend, exhibiting their best blooms that the earwigs haven't spoiled. On occasions the farm is visited by high-profile persons who have heard about their blooms and bulbs. Even The Netherlands appreciates the new shapes and colours the Adams have produced over the years.

Breeding bulbs is a long-term project. The flowers are not cut to supply florists. Instead they are left to sow seed and the seedlings are left for 5 years to produce their first flower. After that it's a matter of selection as to which plants will continue

to do their own thing or be used for selective breeding. Once plants can flower with predicable results their bulbs can be offered for sale. Every seedling that results from random pollination is unique - some are more desirable than others. The flower beds have increased over the years but David informed us that from seed - selection-checking results can take 15 years for one new cultivar.

Types of daffodils and related bulbs include: Trumpets, large cups, small cups, doubles, Jonquils, Tazettas, Split Coronas, Poeticus and Bulbocodium hybrids.

David and Leitha have provided some interesting names for their cultivars : Cream Scone, Simply Purring, White Imp, for example.

Customers need to order before 30 January 2023.Brian starts sending out bulb orders in March and finishes end of April. International orders include a Phytosanitary Certificate.

David gave us some important planting advice: If you live in Canterbury you need to plant your daffodils extra deep. The Nor-Westers are not kind to these tall-blooming flowers, exposing the bulb to insect invasion and also stressing the plant so it may not send up many flower stalks. Even when you so everything right, earwigs can wreak havoc by chewing the edges of the flower petals.

We were generously allowed to pick a bunch of daffodils for free, each, from the field where the Adams had already dug out the best bulbs for production and selling. How awesome to wander down the beautiful rows of flowers and choose what we liked best.My bunch has pride of place on my dining table.