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MTDS News September 2007 

Middle Tennessee Daffodil Society 

Established April 5, 1958

 

MTDS Officers: 2007-2008                                              ADS Officers who are members of MTDS:

President: Ann McKinney                                              Southeast Regional Director: Becky Matthews

Vice President: Amanda McKinney                            Youth Committee Chairman: Becky Matthews

Treasurer: Ann McKinney                                              ADS Legal Counsel: Dick Frank

Membership Chairman: Anne Owen                         

                                               

 

From the President:

After such a great year last year, I am hoping to keep the momentum going with new members and an active MTDS! Fall is just about here so hopefully the weather will cool some and we can get out in the garden and plant some bulbs for our show in the spring. I am hoping that you all had a great summer, even though we all almost died of heat stroke! I look forward to seeing you all at my house on October 28th for the fall meeting.

 

                           Thank you for your continued support and interest in daffodils,

                                      

                                                                           Ann McKinney

                                                                           MTDS President

 

FALL MEMBERSHIP MEETING

Our fall meeting will be Sunday, October 28, 2007 at 2:00 pm at my house: 5134 Remington Drive, Brentwood. Please plan to attend. We will have a bulb swap for current members. Please bring bulbs to swap if you dug this summer. A $5 donation to MTDS would be greatly appreciated. All members who joined in the spring will receive free bulbs as promised! Directions to my house: Take I-65 South to exit 71 – Concord Road. Take a right off the exit. Take a right at the traffic light on to Franklin Road. Take a left at the next traffic light on to Murray Lane. Take the first left into Princeton Hills. Take first left onto Remington Drive. My house is the last on the left 5134. My home phone is 377-6848 if you get lost. Please RSVP to ateamtn@aol.com or call me at home to let me know you are coming.  Bring a friend!

 

               Program:

                           Daffodil Culture

                           Naturalizing Daffodils

                           Bulb Exchange

 

 

 

MTDS MEMBERSHIP…

The expiration of your membership dues are indicated on your mailing label. Please mail dues, $10.00 for an individual, $15.00 for a family to MTDS: Anne Owen 1203 Natchez Road Franklin, TN 37069. For information or questions, please contact Anne at annieo1203@comcast.net or 794-0138. Please pay your dues so that you are not dropped from our mailing list! Also, please let us know if there is any change in your mailing or email address so that we can contact you with society news and happenings.

 

 

IN MEMORIUM – Bob Cartwright & Shirley Ruppert

Bob Cartwright, husband of Mary Cartwright, and a long-time member of MTDS passed away suddenly after a fall in August. Bob was a great supporter of MTDS and for many years served as the society’s treasurer. Bob also kept an amazingly detailed diary which he used to help re-create the history of MTDS. Bob will be greatly missed. He was a very kind and friendly man. Please keep Mary and her family in your thoughts and prayers.

 

Shirley Ruppert passed away in June after a short illness. She was a relatively new member to the MTDS. Shirley was an active member of the Nashville Rose society and along with her husband Jim, ran a bed and breakfast.

 

 

MTDS TREASURER’S REPORT

April 1, 2007September 1, 2007                              

Beginning Balance:       $3,083.60                               

Income:                                                              Expenses:

   Dues:                           $    115.00                               Newsletter:                 $  29.58

   Interest on CD:           $    167.03                  

                                                                          

Total Income                 $    282.03                   Total Expenses:                      $   29.58

Ending Balance:                        $  3336.05       Checking Balance: $669.02  CD Balance: $2,667.03

 

 

 

FUTURE MTDS NEWSLETTERS

I would like to begin sending as many of the future newsletter and meeting notices by email. This will save the MTDS money spent on printing and postage. It will also allow me to insert color photos! Please make sure that Annie Owen (Membership Chairman) has your correct email. Her email is annieo1203@comcast.net.  If we do not hear from you, we will send you a hard copy. Thanks for your support in this.

 

 

FALL DAFFODIL TIPS

 

It is just about fall and time for daffodil planting season! It is an exciting time for daffodil enthusiasts. Fall work will hopefully lead to beautiful blooms in the spring! Good thing daffodils like to be dry in the summer months!

 

Fall is a great time to review your daffodil collection and tidy up your files. Here are my suggestions for goals for this fall:

 

(1)   Keep at least two copies of your maps!

Update your maps of your daffodil bulbs and where they are planted based on what didn’t come up in the spring, bulbs you dug this summer and bulbs you plant this fall. It is nearly impossible to keep up with labels and you would hate to sacrifice showing a beautiful bloom because you lost the name.

 

Date your revised map, make a copy and keep it in a safe place!

 

(2)   Do some daffodil research!

Go to www.daffseek.com and find out all you can about the daffodils that you have. Create a spreadsheet of your collection so that you know the name, color code, breeder, country of origin and date of registration. This will help you to determine the best place to enter your blooms in the spring. If you venture out to enter collections of 5, you will be able to sort your spreadsheets to come up with collections by division, color, country of origin or even historics.

 

Additionally, you will be able to see what holes you have in your collection of daffodils- areas where you may want to add varieties. As space allows, it is good to add different divisions, maybe even some miniatures and try to spread out the varieties over early, mid-season and late-season bloomers to increase your chances for blooms on March 29th

 

(3)   Fall Daffodil Care

Fertilize your already planted bulbs with low nitrogen fertilizer this fall. You will be thrilled with the results in the spring! Also, a thorough watering in the fall will produce larger blooms.

 

If you are planting this fall:

(a)   Make sure you wait until Late October or early November to begin, particularly this year since it has been so warm. You will want the soil to cool. Warm soil makes the bulbs susceptible to basil rot. You will be disappointed if you jump the gun and your bulbs rot before spring. Planting late is better than early. I have planted as late as February and granted, the first spring the blooms are really late, but by the second season they are back on track.

 

 

 

(b)   It is not necessary to plant more than one bulb of each variety.

 

(c) The most important step in planting is the pre-planting process. Make a list of all of the daffodils that you intend to plant, along with their colorcodes. You will want to make sure that you do not plant more than one variety with similar color codes in adjoining holes or rows. Bulbs may “creep” over time. Additionally, if labels go missing and you have to rely on a map, it may be difficult to determine what the bloom is if two similar varieties are in close proximity to each other. Often times, it is the pre-planning that takes the most amount of time. The planting part is just the physical workout!

 

(d) Mulch your daffodil bulbs. This will keep the bulbs warmer in the winter and cooler in the spring. It will also help prevent dirt spots on your blooms in the spring. Water the newly planted bulbs.

 

(e) One more thing to remember when planting…never plant soft bulbs! These bulbs are not healthy and should be discarded. Only plant hardened, solid bulbs so as to not contaminate any bulbs already planted.

 

 

 

IMPORTANT DATES:

    OCTOBER 28, 2007                          FALL MEETING AT ANN MCKINNEY’S

    MARCH 9, 2008                                SPRING MEETING

    MARCH 29-30, 2008                        MIDDLE TENNESSEE DAFFODIL SHOW

    APRIL 10-13,  2008                          ADS CONVENTION, RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

APRIL 14-24, 2008                            WORLD DAFFODIL CONVENTION – LONDON, BELFAST, AMSTERDAM