Overview
- The 2026 appeal asks gardeners and the industry to log where daffodils are flowering with basic details such as colour, type and height, with submissions open until March 4.
- Top priority is locating Mrs R O Backhouse, the oldest pink daffodil now out of commercial cultivation, with requests for photos and post-flowering bulb donations for expert verification.
- Verified bulbs may be donated to Scamp’s Daffodils in collaboration with the Backhouse Rossie Estate to rebuild stocks and return the cultivar to wider cultivation.
- The hunt also targets two rarities—Mrs William Copeland and Sussex Bonfire—with the latter reported as possibly extinct.
- RHS will use incoming data to study climate impacts and flowering trends, building on nearly 3,000 reports last year that showed nationwide growing and a peak bloom in March, with earlier flowering linked to mild winters.