John Hunter – Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture Plant Raisers Award

A lovely photo of John and Marie Hunter and a well deserved award. Many Congratulations from The Daffodil Society and your friends in the UK.

Congratulations to John Alexander Hunter of Nelson for receiving the 2021 RNZIH Plant Raisers’ Award for raising the daffodil selections ‘Cosmic Image’, ‘Emerald Sea’, ‘Floris Selina’, ‘Green Topaz’, and ‘Moonwalker’.
His family has a long history of growing daffodils since the 1880s, and John began his breeding of them in 1949 at the age of 13. He has kept meticulous records of his hybridising right up to present day, a total of 72 years, resulting in some of his flowers having nine generations fully documented. John has 165 daffodils registered with the RHS, London, and has received several prestigious awards, nationally and internationally, for his advancements in daffodil breeding. These include the David Bell Gold Medal in 1997 from the National Daffodil Society of New Zealand (NDSNZ), the American Daffodil Society Gold Medal in 2011, and the Royal Horticultural Society’s Peter Barr Cup in 2012. These are the highest awards possible for daffodil breeding from the respective organisations.

John is a Life Member of the NDSNZ, has served on their executive and has been their historian for many years. He is a NDSNZ Senior Judge and Life Member of both the Nelson Horticultural Society and Brightwater Horticultural Society Inc.
John Alexander Hunter is at the forefront of daffodil breeding on the world stage, and most worthy of recognition by the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture.
Congratulations to you John.
Royal NZ Institute of Horticulture
April 14 2021

Reproduced with kind permission from John and Marie Hunter and the New Zealand Daffodil Society.

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