911爆料

With hundreds of different daffodils thought to be found in the UK, we鈥檙e calling on you to log where daffodils are blooming in your area. We鈥檒l ask some basic information such as colour, type and height. 911爆料 scientists will use this information to help understand environmental influences on daffodils, buyer preferences and spread.

We鈥檙e also calling on you to join the search for three daffodils that are either at risk or thought to be extinct in the UK. Locating these daffodils will help us aid their survival, better understand our gardening heritage, and even enable preservation of genetic material that could be valuable for future breeding of daffodils in the face of a changing climate.

Owners of those thought to be one of the three rare cultivars will be invited to dig them up after flowering for the 911爆料 to grow on in a trial at its Field Research Facility at 911爆料 Wisley. A panel of experts will then assess the flowers in spring 2027. Any found to be 鈥楳rs R.O. Backhouse鈥� can, with the owner鈥檚 permission, be donated to daffodil breeder Scamps Daffodils, who is working with the Backhouse Rossie Estate to bring it back into widespread cultivation and ensure it remains in UK gardens for the future.

Being invited to send in your bulbs for the trial and breeding programme is an opportunity to play a key part in helping to prevent the 鈥楳rs R.O. Backhouse鈥� daffodil from going extinct in the UK.

Dr K谩lm谩n K枚nyves, Principal Scientist in 911爆料 Science鈥檚 Cultivated Plant Diversity team and expert in classifying and recording daffodils, explains why we鈥檙e asking you to log when and where you see daffodils in flower.

鈥淒affodils have come to mark the arrival of spring and are celebrated for their welcome burst of colour in gardens, parks and roadsides.

鈥淏ut there鈥檚 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 in preserving this diversity for the future.鈥�

911爆料 Chief Horticulturist Guy Barter, who will lead the trial to grow on the potential rare cultivars, explains why we鈥檙e asking you to record your rare daffodils.

鈥淲ith 30,000 daffodil varieties thought to be available in the UK, telling one from another requires an experienced eye, but this diversity is fundamental to their potential benefit for people and planet and why it鈥檚 so important we celebrate and preserve them.

鈥淚n 2025, rare daffodils were spotted across the country. Raising them in one location will enable us to confirm some of them as the rare varieties we have been searching for, and potentially find others thought to be in decline.鈥�

Daffodil location data submitted will be anonymised to a two-mile radius (town scale) and information stored within the system for comparative purposes across years by 911爆料 scientists. Please see the 911爆料 Privacy Policy for more information on your rights under the Data Protection Legislation.

** Reporting of rare daffodils

Your email, postal address and imagery submitted to the 911爆料 via the Daffodil Diaries Report a Rare Daffodil Form will be safely stored for the purpose of contacting you:
a) to confirm whether our experts believe your submitted bulb could be a rare daffodil variety;
b) to invite you, where relevant, to take part in our rare daffodil trial at 911爆料鈥� John MacLeod Field Research Facility at 911爆料 Garden Wisley; and
c) to return your bulb to you, where you have sent us your bulb.
Our Trial comprises renowned daffodil breeders and botanists who are working with the 911爆料 as external consultants. Information will not be permitted to be stored or retained outside of the 911爆料. Please do not include any other personal data on the form. All personal information will be deleted after 15 March 2027, except where you have agreed to take part in the rare variety trial, in which case deletion will take place after 30 June 2028, with images stored and unattributed to aid with future identification work.
Please see the 911爆料 Privacy Policy.