The man who ‘saved’ the daffodil
Seeing vibrant yellow trumpets of daffodils bursting from fields, roadsides and gardens each spring, it’s hard to believe that a hundred years ago they came close to being entirely wiped out by disease.
By 1915 daffodil growers had realised that a disease, which had been known about for several decades, was reaching a level which threatened the very existence of their stock of bulbs. It was thought to be a fungal infection, but despite spraying with fungicide and dipping the
A figure from a research paper by Ramsbottom, comparing a healthy plant to three attacked by eelworm.
Born in 1891, James Kirkham Ramsbottom suffered poor health in his youth, which led him to pursue a career outdoors. After working as a gardener at Chelsea Physic Garden he went on to study at RHS Wisley in 1911. He completed his Wisley Diploma in 1913 and achieved the top mark in the final examination. From Wisley, he went into journalism, working at The Gardeners Magazine until 1915, when he returned to Wisley as a research student.
Many bulb growers look upon the disease as ‘one of nature’s gifts’ and are of the opinion that the bulbs will ultimately right themselves. Suffice it to say that if the bulbs are left to themselves, the bulb industry will soon cease to exist.
Bulb with Tylenchus
Showing protruding mass of eelworms at base. 1917
To assist Ramsbottom’s investigations, the RHS appealed to growers to send in affected specimens.
Narcissus bulbs from pots
Showing invasion by eelworms from inoculation on the foliage leaves. 1917
“Hundreds of bulbs passed through my hands even during the first few weeks of the investigation”
In 1916, Ramsbottom was given the job of leading a study into ‘rootless’ disease in daffodils. Ramsbottom concluded that the culprit was actually a kind of eelworm and discovered the comparatively simple remedy of soaking the bulbs in hot water before planting. Kirkham discovered that boiling the narcissus bulbs in a hot water bath at 43°C killed the eel-worm but didn’t destroy the bulb.
Showing (A) the typical appearance of the neck of a healthy bulb, and (B) the broken down neck of a diseased one. 1917.
This process is still used today on an industrial scale to treat bulbs before planting. Ditylenchus dipsaci is now known as the stem and bulb nematode and is still the most significant pest in daffodils.
Display in The Old Labratory at RHS Wisley
Tragically, aged just 33, Ramsbottom died, falling from a hotel window in New York, where he had travelled in 1925 to give a series of lectures on his work. In RHS Wisley there is a plaque in his memory and some of his tools are on exhibit.
We wouldn’t have the richness of daffodils and narcissus if it wasn’t for him.
The bulb growers of Spalding presented him with a gold watch in gratitude for ‘saving the daffodil’. In recognition of his work, Ramsbottom was awarded the Barr Memorial cup in 1924. The 1967 Daffodil Yearbook wrote, “Never was an honour more fully deserved than this and it is an uplifting experience to pause for a moment and consider the enormity of the debt that we owe to the labours of this dedicated pioneer.” The daffodil
