| Well, in any case, to keep the thread going, I just got 'Mirandy' this year, offered VID from Vintage Gardens. It came as one of the larger bands among my collection of "fragrant dark-red or crimson HTs" (see My Page for complete inventory), and since they're all destined to remain pot-pets anyway, 'Mirandy' was deemed vigorous enough to be allowed to flower. And yes, they are beautiful, and very fragrant. I've been getting so much rain here lately that I've been harvesting buds when the sepals drop back to at least enjoy inside in a vase rather than let all that plant energy turn into a pile of mushy petals. I can't really say much about how the plant behaves, other than as a band growing in a 1-gallon pot with a rich soil mix (equal parts peat moss, Bovung composted manure plus humus, and shredded hardwood mulch), 1/2 cup Jobe's Organic Knock Out fertilizer, and a first-soak with 1 tablespoon fish/seaweed emulsion per gallon of water. In the ground would be a different story. There's also been a lot of rain in my area, such that I haven't had to water any of the potted bands except for the first-soak at potting time. So far, it's growing strong and fast, has perfectly clean foliage (though none of the potted bands have any foliage issues at all now, so that might be just a moot point), and produces flowers consistent with those pictured on HelpMeFind. While I can't say for sure that the stated parentage is correct, I do also have one of its purported parents growing in a pot as well. 'Night' (aka 'Lady Sackville') leans more toward the brown end of burgundy, while 'Mirandy' is more of a cherry-burgundy. Fragrance-wise, both smell like "old-lady rose perfume" of about equal "very fragrant" strength, but there's a slightly sharper, earthier note (to my nose) to 'Night / Lady Sackville', while 'Mirandy' leans a little sweeter, perhaps with a hint of citrus. I also have two purported full-siblings of 'Mirandy' -- 'Nocturne' and 'Rose of Freedom' (which were also offered by Vintage as VID). The one flower on 'Rose of Freedom' I've seen was a little lighter than 'Mirandy', but very similar in size, shape and fragrance. While 'Nocturne' hasn't bloomed for me yet, the three of them do seem more similar in plant characteristics than either is to 'Night / Lady Sackville'. And 'Mirandy' and 'Rose of Freedom' didn't inherit the same flower form of 'Night / Lady Sackville', which has shorter inner petals that don't allow for as much of the high-centered spiral look as it opens. I don't have 'Charlotte Armstrong', but based on pictures I've seen, the three offspring of it I have seem to show variations of her flower shape with degrees of influence from 'Night / Lady Sackville' in color. 'Charlotte Armstrong' is pink, but shows up in the pedigrees of quite a few dark-red or crimson HTs, often as a direct parent with another dark-red or crimson, and seems to be able to pass on her form with the deeper color from the other parent. Then again, those parentage claims could also be incorrect..... Not proof, but the three kids I have do look similar enough to be full-sibs, and that they COULD have come from those two parents. :-) ~Christopher |
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