This is a classic case of plant naming in the horticultural trade, where a seed raised 'product' is given a fancy name that makes it sound as if it is a genuine cultivar. "Kniphofia hybrids mixed" would be the accurate description for some of these offerings, but on the other hand some products are really quite good, giving an acceptably similar set of seedlings. There is one such in Kniphofia, known as "Flamenco" which I think derives from the German seed company Benary: these are medium-sized pokers in a good range of colours. It occurs to me that the name could have been adapted to 'Border Ballet' to suit a marketing policy - there is a very great deal of fluidity in these things, much to the horror of the RHS plant names committee and others! The name K. uvaria in such cases should be disregarded - that's what is expected/accepted in the seed trade: the wholesale growers are incredibly consrvative and only want to grow 'names' they're totally familiar with. I must point out that it is perfectly acceptable to call a seed-raised plant a cultivar if it reproduces reliably to type, or at least to a defined set of characters. Unfortunately these tend to slip in the production fields or in gardens and there can be a lot of drift from the original if great care is not taken. John Grimshaw Dr John M. Grimshaw Garden Manager, Colesbourne Gardens Sycamore Cottage Colesbourne Nr Cheltenham Gloucestershire GL53 9NP Website: http://www.colesbournegardens.org.uk/ ----- Original Message ----- From: <Antennaria@aol.com> To: <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> Sent: Tuesday, September 27, 2005 2:06 AM Subject: [pbs] Kniphofia 'Border Ballet' > Last year I bought just one plant of Kniphofia 'Border Ballet', > > Doing a Google search, I see that this is a seed-grown selection of K. > uvaria. Does any one have more information on this "seed strain", such as where was > it was developed and by whom? >