Croft 16 Daffodils

We sell old daffodil bulbs - mostly ones which were bred before 1930.

This is our second season of offering historic daffodil cultivars for sale. Some are commercially available for the first time in decades from our collection, built up and researched over the past twenty-five years. The flowers may not have the perfect form or sophisticated colouring of the modern show-bench varieties, but we feel they possess a special charm. These qualities make them ideal for informal plantings.

Daffodil hybrids which have survived for eighty years or more are tough. Here, our collection of old daffodils thrives on a raised beach: stony, very acid, well-drained soil derived from Torridonian sandstone.

Most winters are stormy and wet, and relatively mild. Temperatures below -5° C are rarely sustained and snow seldom settles for more than a day. So the six-week freeze in December 2009 and January 2010, during which the night temperature often fell below -10° C, with persistent ice several inches thick and occasional fresh snowfalls, was a bit of a change. Although we were confident the outdoor daffodil stocks would come through unscathed, we assumed that the more tender cut-flower Tazetta and Poetaz varieties in the tunnels would not survive - but happily we were proved wrong.

Husbandry of the bulbs includes burning over, mulching with seaweed (collected from the shoreline just below the croft), and regular hot-water treatment to control eelworm and to reduce infestation by narcissus-fly. In response to enthusiastic enquiries from the U.S.A., we arranged for a Plant Health adviser from the Scottish Government's Rural Payments and Inspections Directorate (SGRPID) to visit the croft in the spring to collect soil samples and inspect our daffodil stocks. The clean bill of health means that we are able to export daffodil bulbs to the U.S.A. in the 2010 season. Another first is inclusion in the RHS Plant Finder 2010-11.

We have submitted an application to have our vintage daffodils designated a National Collection® of pre-1930 cultivars; the relevant committee will make their deliberations in the autumn.

Andrea Jones, Garden Photographer of the Year (2008), spent several days photographing here during mid-April for planned articles in The Garden and Coast Magazine. We are extremely grateful for her generosity in allowing us to include some of her excellent images on this web site.

We truly believe the survival of rare plants in cultivation depends on distributing them effectively. We have added more unusual hybrids to the sales list this year, but have had to withdraw others to allow them to bulk up again. Further beautiful, vintage cultivars have been earmarked for the 2011 season, so we do hope you will visit this site again next year.

Please contact us on +44 (0)1445 781717 or email sales@croft16daffodils.co.uk if there are other pre-1930 cultivars you are seeking or can offer.

With best wishes        Le gach deagh dhùrachd

Kate and Duncan Donald