Prospective varieties of Narcissus hybridus hort. suitable for mass growing in piedmont Crimea

One of the main tasks of introduction of decorative plants in botanical gardens is identification of the most promising species, forms and varieties suitable for use in the landscaping practice. The genus Narcissus L. is a highly popular decorative culture with more than 30,000 varieties as of today. The purpose of this work is to identify varieties with high decorative effect and environmental sustainability for use in mass growing within the piedmont Crimea. Evaluation of the Narcissus sortment was held from 2011 to 2015. The subjects of research were 30 varieties of daffodils from the collection of the N.V. Bagrov Botanic Garden of the Tavrida Academy of the V.I. Vernadsky Crimean Federal University. In order to determine the merits of daffodils, the methods of variety testing of decorative plants were used. In addition, we have developed a 100-point scale integrated assessment of decorative and practical traits. The scale includes 14 main features. Seven of these features characterize decorative qualities of the flowers, the other seven – practical qualities. As a result of phenological observations, it was established that the beginning phase of vegetation varieties Narcissus hybridus hort. in the conditions of piedmont Crimea falls on mid-February –early March. The total period of the flowering season makes 28-55 days. The evaluation determined six (6) unpromising, thirteen (13) average promising and eleven (11) highly promising varieties. The highly promising varieties are 'Ice Follies', 'Kissрroof', 'Pink Charm', 'Salome', 'Serola', (Large-cupped Daffodils), 'Curlew', 'Pipit' (Jonquilla Daffodils), 'Tahiti' (Double Daffodils), 'Mount Hood' (Trumpet Daffodils), 'Jetfire' (Cyclamineus Daffodils) and 'Lemon Beauty' (Split Corona Daffodils). They are recommended for use in landscaping practice within the piedmont Crimea.