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Dip. ht 38" dia 9", br 2, bc 11, semi, Noc, M, UF: quilled crispate Snortin’ Whiskey is a taut quilled crispate that has been consistent in form since first bloom in 2006. Dan Bachman’s Gail Braunstein provides hardiness, color, and genetics for a great scape, and while you might think Ned’s Pueblo Dancer would contribute a relaxed, cascade attitude to the blooms, the two parents produced this highly unexpected result. Why wait so long to bring this to market? We had planted it on the edge of a densely planted seedling bed bordered by mature Norway spruce. It was there for four years and didn’t increase well, so we moved it in 2011 and planted two divisions to see if they would increase. They did, a lot! Why the low bud count? The first couple of years in its new spot the scapes were adequate at two to 3-way branching with bud counts in the mid to high teens. However, the registered bud count was taken in 2014 from two overgrown clumps. The best scape we recorded in 2014 was 4 x 18, but about half the scapes on those clumps had low bud counts and drove the average count lower. (Moral of the story: divide the clumps.) The lineout row has looked much better over the last two years. The flower shows excellent form and remarkable consistency, and it’s a good parent for passing on cascade and quilling attributes. Initially we recommended it for similar climates or those to the south since Pueblo Dancer has not been hardy for us, however, it is being tested in a garden in North Dakota and two in Minnesota. It is doing well in all three locations. Dbl. $75 -
ht 36" to 38", 7" to 8", semi, MidLate. br. 4, bc. 28, cascade, semi-evergreen Orchid Corsage x Mama Cuna Pink self with darker veins and green throat. This pink beauty displays seven to eight-inch blooms that cascade, pinch, and roll with relaxed consistency. The base color contrasts with darker parallel veins that trace the surface of the rolling petals, and its flower segments are accented by flowing ruffles. CC is truly stunning in a large clump or row. Carefree Continuity is an exceptional parent for graceful, hardy cascades. It passes on the hardiness, vigor and branching pattern Orchid Corsage. With Mama Cuna in its background, it should be valuable for those wanting to breed cascades with improved branching. The seedlings are consistently sturdy and well rooted. Colors of seedlings range from lavenders through pink to white. The increase is moderate to good. It has strong pollen but is an exceptionally difficult pod parent. Spring division recommended. Carefree Continuity in lineout row -
Dip. ht 30" to 31", dia 5.5", br 3, bc 23, semi, Noc, EM Lipstick Spitfire is a tough, high performing, vigorous, hardy, fertile plant that provides the hybridizer with excellent color and near white breeding opportunities. Named in honor of the famous British single-engine fighter of WWII, Lipstick Spitfire is foolishly pod fertile and always comes back strong the following year. Breeding potential of LS is excellent. Loch Ness Monster provides rich color variations from pinks to rose and lavender to white. Forsyth Flaming Snow provides excellent genetics for white breeding, green throats, and the possibility of edge-no-eye color distribution on the petals and sepals (though I have yet to see this in the kids). It has a strong scape with 3 to 4-way branching and carries an average of 23 buds, with a high count of 29. Flowers present at an upward and outward angle. Lipstick Spitfire is a ruffled rose to pink self with light midribs and a yellow throat. Itís darker in cool early season temperatures, and lightens with hot weather. Ruffling improves with heat, yet heat does not seem to impede its pod fertility. Blooms sometimes spot in colder weather when dew is heavy, but that trait is not prevalent as the weather warms. I have not used it as much as I should in hybridizing, but the seedlings I have seen a range in color from clear rose hues to very nice pinks, nice whites, with some seedlings showing substantially larger blooms. Depending on pollen parent, Lipstick Spitfire will breed significantly larger in one generation. The kids show greatly improved complexion with good pollen parents. Lipstick Spitfire is being grown in two gardens in Minnesota, and multiple locations in North Dakota. It is doing exceptionally well in all. -
Dip. ht 30" Dia 7", br 2 bc 12, Mid, Diurnal, semi White self with Granny Smith apple green throat. Sepals and petals occasionally blushed pink. (Gadsden Icicle x Forsyth Flaming Snow) x Forsyth Garrett Mason x Peacock Maiden)) White self with apple green throat. Sepals and petals occasionally blushed pink. Cynthiaís Grace was named for Deb's beloved cousin, taken from us by cancer far too young. It is a truly sublime white with beautiful ruffling (most likely from Siloam Ralph Henry by way of Forsyth Garrett Mason). It is at its best when displaying its subtle edge blush on the sepals, or at times on both sepals and petals (likely from both FGM and Forsyth Flaming Snow). The green throat no doubt comes from Wyattís Cameo (via Slug Buster). Spring foliage is lovely. This bloom is the result of combining Wyatt Lefeverís whites and edged-no-eye line with Joyce Reinkeís whites (which are predominantly out of Franks Childsí whites). Peacock Maiden often shows an open form with a white throat, and this helps CG display its Granny Smith apple green throat. Junior Citation Winner $75 dbl -
Dip. ht 40" dia 5", br 3 to 4, bc 15, Mid, Diurnal, semi, crispate. Fertility: pod yes, pollen yes North Wind Dancer x Forsyth Pink Flying Dragon #2 Pink with very large yellow throat. Recurved petals and sepals. The blooms of Flamingo Horizon are blended yellow to pink and glow in sun or shade. The striking yellow throat covers about 40% of the flowerís surface, and the recurve of petals and sepals enhances this trait. Because of the recurve in both petals and sepals, it presents a smaller diameter than its sibs, but the recurve is consistent and enhances the color. I have not used it for some reason, but plan to since it combines excellent traits from both parents. North Wind Dancer contributes hardiness, UF form, a solid scape, along with a potential for cascade, quilling and cockerel forms (often when taking cascades or quilled blooms to recurved blooms, wonderful things happen). Forsyth Pink Flying Dragon contributes gorgeous color, the potential for exceptional size, as well as rich hybridizing potential via Dena Marie. Further, the color distribution suggests Bright Pink Horizon will combine well with green lines. -
Dip 45", dia 8" to 10", br 4, bc. 18, Late, variable crispate, semi-evergreen Orchid Corsage x Purple Satellite Asymmetrical pink crispate with light green throat. Petals roll and bend. This one moves! Large and long petaled, Hang Wire shows consistently quilled sepals and drooping falling petals. Note the photo in which Deb is holding a piece 8.5" x 11" paper pleated along the 11" length to form a ruler of sorts. I asked her to hold it in the plane of the bloom for a quick photo, and it measured 11.75" (I measured later that day with a 12" ruler to verify this). Copious rainfall helped the size of blooms that day, but HW usually has a diameter of 9" or 10". Hang Wire is an excellent parent and has Strong pollen. It occasionally presents bee pods but to date has resisted all of my own attempts to produce pods. The increase is good due to the influence of Purple Satellite, but PS also influences fan size, so they are on the smaller side. Hardiness and plant habit is excellent because of Orchid Corsage, and strong seedlings show this hardiness, as well as typical OC color (pink, lavender and near white). We recommend pollen be taken to deeply branched pod parents. The quirky petal display and quilling is often passed on, but HW can also produce graceful cascades. -
Dip. ht 28", dia 6", br 3 bc 21 semi, Diu, EM Forsyth Summer Snow x Heavenly Angel Ice Lemon Sorbet is the best plant so far from a long cross of Forsyth Summer Snow x Heavenly Angel Ice. All characteristics that make it a great garden plant and a high quality hybridizing plant are present. Selected for its scape as well as the flower, Lemon Sorbet is hardy, vigorous, and shows clean foliage. The Scape shows candelabra branching with an average of 21 buds (range of 11 to 36). It presents lovely light lemon yellow to near white blooms with lighter midribs. The gently ruffled flowers open well and present a relaxed posture, and at times the blooms quill. LS is fertile both ways and can contribute to a white program. It also holds genes for petal length, so can contribute to a long petaled white program. I also believe that Lemon Sorbet holds genetics for green throats via Forsyth Flaming Snow as the pollen parent of Forsyth Summer Snow. Lipstick Spitfire is being grown in two gardens in Minnesota, and multiple locations in North Dakota. It is doing exceptionally well in all. -
Tet. Ht 44" dia 7", br 2 bc 15, semi, M Persian Ruby x Bali Watercolor Deep red, with a velvety, at the time near black sheen. The color of the bloom contrasts with the striking green to citron throat. Chasing the Dragon shows beautiful traits of both parents. The velvet surface comes from Persian Ruby, though it is darker than PR. While this is typical, if conditions are right, it leans more purple because of the Bali Watercolor influence (that is how it looked when first selected). It showed the darker red color when we moved it to the farm, and I suspect the color shift has to do with soil. Debís niece had hers in Ohio, and the image she sent was of a strong dark purple flower. It puts on a great show during peak bloom and shows garden presence from 100 feet away. It is particularly fine at clump strength, and it clumps quickly (a couple fans planted at the farm 2007 increased to more than 90 divisions for our region in 2015). This would likely be slow increase in the south, but in central Iowa it is exceptional. I have received numerous complements on CTD both in person and by e-mail, and it won region oneís pop poll this past year. Pod and pollen fertile, the branching and bud count in the registration stats were taken from an overgrown clump. It often has three branches with bud counts in the high teens to low twenties.
