REPLY: 'KING ALFRED' daffodil -- was Pacific BX 89

DaveKarn@aol.com DaveKarn@aol.com
Wed, 11 May 2005 10:53:32 PDT
In a message dated 5/11/05 7:15:23 AM Pacific Daylight Time, 
totototo@pacificcoast.net writes:

> the real 'King Alfred' was long ago supplanted in commerce by other 
> cultivars of similar appearance.
> 

All ~

This has long been true but is changing.  Because of this emphasis on KA by 
so many daffodil suppliers (who are never out of anything and substitute at 
will), a few bulbs of the genuine thing have become available from specialist 
suppliers.  I have a few bulbs of this, the flowers from which I will sometimes 
bench at shows just to display to visitors what the real thing looks like.  
These have come from very old plantings on property that has been in the same 
family for generations so there is very little likelihood that they aren't what 
they purport to be.  The commonest substitutes for 'King Alfred' are 'Dutch 
Master' and 'Unsurpassable.'

Too, there has grown in recent years a very real interest in historical 
plants -- and daffodils are no exception -- to the point where many of these really 
old ones are finding themselves back in demand, once again.  I guess it's 
like the three button suit -- if you hang on to it long enough, it periodically 
comes back into fashion again!

Best,
Dave Karnstedt
Cascade Daffodils
Silverton, OR
email:  davekarn@aol.com
Cool Mediterranean climate -- wet and cool/cold in winter and hot and dry in 
summer.


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