Daffs in Demand, Make Sure you get Yours in time

Garden centres and shops have been caught in an upward spiral of daffodil prices following a surge in worldwide demand. This in turn means, of course, that retail prices this autumn will be correspondingly higher. Tulips, too, are affected, but to a lesser extent.
Trade prices of even the most common varieties of daffodil have taken off, and there are signs that ‘you aint seen nothing yet’; specialist wholesale growers predict that it could take a couple of years for things to settle down.
A combination of factors has brought the situation about. Worldwide retail bulb sales last autumn shot up by over 30%, putting tremendous pressure on home growers who were also confronted by an unprecedented demand from abroad, specially the east coast growers.
Where many small scale daffodil growers have gone to the wall, and the daffodil acreage has declined by about a third. This is not good for our export trade – indeed I gather Britain is now the international daffodil market leader, but the availablility of sufficient supplies to please everyone has taken a further downturn because unfortunate weather conditions have adversely affected our bulb harvest two years running.
Leading suppliers to the garden centre trade, tell me that retail prices of bread and butter varieties can be expected to have risen by 50% when they go on sale this autumn; top grade, less common varieties will cost only 15% more because they would have been selling at premium anyway. So the overall daffodil price pattern may appear to have levelled out.
The worlds biggest daffodil supplier, Winchester Bulb Growers, who farm 600 acres in Cornwall, UK, predict that growers in the UK and abroad will now be encouraged to expand their production acreage, but this will mean taking off the market bulbs that would have gone on retail sale and using them instead for multiplication.
This will in turn compound the problem still further! To cap all that, comes news of a possible breakthrough in the treatment of Alzheimers –the degenerative disease that destroys the mental faculties of millions of sufferers – involving the use of a substance found in the bulbs of snowdrops and yes, daffodils.
According to New Scientist, galanthamine, an alkaloid taken from these bulbs, has helped to stabalise patients for up to a year in early trails of a new treatment. The report recalls that galanthamine was used during the 1950s in the treatment of patients undergoing surgery, and at that time supplies were taken from species of Caucasian snowdrop.
Now the British pharmaceutical company planning clinical trials on 600 patients, has found a strain of daffodils growing in East Anglia UK. The mind boggles at the effect this would have on the market if the trials prove successful.
A flash warning
Some people suggest to me that the electrical and magnetic influences of a violent thunderstorm have the capacity to temporarily stimulate an otherwise flagging garden – as well as affect the mental and physical state of human beings.
I think there is likely to be some truth in both theories, but what I do know for certain is that we are now in the thunderstorm season – and for gardeners, park keepers and agricultural workers in particular, its perhaps a good time to reflect upon the dangers of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
We should all recognise by now that sheltering under tree in a thunderstorm is not a good idea. Its equally important not to be caught out in the middle of a field or other open spaces. If you happen to find yourself totally exposed, then crouch down with your head between your knees and wait for the storm to pass. Ideally, get back to the total safety of your car as soon as possible.

Trevor Dalley has been growing and preserving his own fruit for 40 year, most of the preserves are sold in his Organic Farm Shops in Herefordshire England. Did you find those tips on Organic Food a way of Life useful? You can find out more at NEW! Guide to Organic Cooking! - The Healthy Way of Living!