Eagle eyed gardeners are to help bring a rare pink daffodil back into cultivation as the RHS’ daffodil campaign returns for a second year today. 

Daffodil Diaries invites the UK’s 34million gardeners to log daffodils growing in their garden and local public and community spaces. In 2025 there were nearly 3,000 submissions from across the country, spanning the Scilly Isles to the Outer Hebrides.  

The mapping of spring flowering daffodils last year revealed that 60% of those grown in the UK are trumpet daffodils, with all yellow varieties dominating (56%). 

Other flower shapes reported by the public were cup shaped (20%), doubles (16%) and split (4%). More than two in five (43%) were recorded as greater than 30cm. 

The all yellow trumpet proved most popular (42%), followed by all yellow double flowers (8%) and yellow and white cups (5%). Just 6% of daffodils were reported to contain pink, 1% green and 0.4% red.  

March saw peak daffodil flowering with the more easily recognisable ‘Tête-à-tête' ‘flowering solely in February and March. Over time, the charity will be able to interrogate the data to identify changes in peak flowering, preferences according to geography and evolving fashions. 

“Our Daffodil Diaries mapping project has revealed the daffodil to be a truly national flower, being grown in all four corners of the country. Yellow daffodils are far and away the most popular, not unsurprising for their welcome burst of colour, but it is interesting to note that the more adaptable pinks have proven less popular than we might have assumed and green and red varieties negligible, highlighting the importance in maintaining cultivated diversity in gardens” said RHS Principal Plant Scientist Dr Kálmán Könyves. “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.” 

Working with conservation charity Plant Heritage the RHS also called on the public to help it find three rare daffodil varieties in 2025: the original pink trumpeted daffodil ‘Mrs R.O Backhouse’, white double flowered ‘Mrs William Copeland’ and orange and yellow double flower ‘Sussex Bonfire’. Over 1,000 sightings were submitted and in 2026 owners of those thought to be one of the three will be invited to dig them up after flowering this year for the RHS to grow on at its John MacLeod Field Research Facility at Wisley. A panel of experts will then assess the flowers in spring 2027 and any found to be Mrs RO Backhouse can, with the owner’s permission, be donated to daffodil breeder Scamps Daffodils who is working with the Backhouse Rossie Estate to bring it back into widespread cultivation and ensure it remains in UK gardens for the future. 

“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”, said RHS Chief Horticulturist Guy Barter who will lead the trial and manage bulb submission and returns. “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.” 

Gwen Hines, CEO of Plant Heritage, adds: "We've been blown away by the public response to this campaign. It will be exciting to see if any of the bulbs turn out to be the rare ones we are looking for. We hope this has also highlighted to everyone the treasure chest of important plants we have in our gardens.'' 

RHS Retail will sell more varieties of daffodil than ever before with 40 different varieties sold in the green this spring and 76 different cultivars available in bulb form in the summer. These include scented collections and others providing six months of flowering. 

The RHS trial of Cyclamineus daffodil cultivars also enters its second year this year. The distinctive ‘swept back’ petals of the daffodil mean they resemble cyclamen and are increasingly popular because of their delicate size and early flowering. The trial will bestow the best performing with an RHS Award of Garden Merit.  

For more information about Daffodil Diaries, and to map daffodil sightings or submit rare varieties please visit: RHS Daffodil Diaries / RHS Mapping and rare variety submissions are open until 30th June 2026.