Keats may have extolled the virtues of golden daffodils ‘fluttering and dancing in the breeze’, but it turns out they’re not always yellow, or even white with a yellow trumpet. Gardeners are being urged to keep an eye out for some rare pink daffodils as part of a project by the Royal Horticultural Society.
The RHS’ Daffodil Diaries scheme is recording spring blooms in gardens and green spaces across the country. The 2025 survey received almost 3,000 submissions, stretching from the Isles of Scilly to the Outer Hebrides – and there have already been more than 50 reported sightings in 2026.
Last year’s results found that 60% were trumpet daffodils and 56% were all-yellow varieties, with the iconic all-yellow trumpet making up more than two-fifths (42%) of those recorded. Just 6% of the daffodils contained pink, with even fewer green and red varieties.
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The RHS project wants to map the diversity of daffodils and pinpoint the location of rare varieties. They’re particularly interested in any potential sightings of the pink-trumpeted ‘Mrs R O Backhouse’, the white double-flowered ‘Mrs William Copeland’, and the orange and yellow double flower ‘Sussex Bonfire’.
Owners who believe they have these rare daffodils are being invited to dig them up after flowering, so the RHS can grow them in a trial at their research facility at Wisley in Surrey. Experts will then assess the flowers next spring, reports Emily Beament at PA.
RHS chief horticulturist, Guy Barter, said: “With 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’s so important we celebrate and preserve them.
“Rare daffodils were spotted across the country and raising them in one location next year 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.” The charity is particularly interested in potential Mrs R O Backhouse daffodils, which feature a solid coral pink trumpet and ivory petals.
It is believed to have been developed by pioneering female plant breeder, Sara Backhouse, and named by her husband following her death in 1921. The aim is to bring the flower back into widespread cultivation.
Last year’s survey found daffodils in bloom throughout spring with peak flowering in March, while the distinctive, miniature tete-a-tete variety was exclusively seen in February and March. In due course, the RHS plans to analyse data from their daffodil diaries to identify any shifts in peak flowering times, as well as the impact of geographical location and changing trends.
RHS principal plant scientist, Dr Kalman Konyves, said: “It will be fascinating to see how this year’s weather conditions impact on flowering. Indeed, current mild conditions seem to be encouraging earlier flowering and, over the long term, how the daffodil is weathering the influence of climate change.”
For more information and to map daffodil sightings or submit rare varieties, visit RHS Daffodil Diaries. Submissions are open until June 30.
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