Anemone b. "white Splendor'
James Waddick (Sun, 19 Apr 2009 16:24:45 PDT)
Diane wrote:
Well, Jim, white in and out certainly makes more sense. My clump of
White Splendour has been growing for at least 35 years, so I can't
blame any current bulb sellers for misnaming it.
Roger wrote:
That it has been supplanted by a newer form under the same name is
no surprise.
The Dutch bulb trade has a long tradition of replacing older cultivars with
newer one under the same name. The true Narcissus 'King Alfred', for example,
hasn't been in commerce for a very long time
What you get these days as Crocus 'Ladykiller' looks quite different from what
I originally had under that name
The older 'White Splendor' is a notably vigorous plant, sturdier than the
rather frail Anemone blanda forms you often see.
Dear Friends,
We could all be right here.
I searched through the Flowers of 'White Splendor'. Here
maybe 10 years in the ground.
The flowers are mostly at prime or past, but a few were still
in early stages of development and not fully expanded. In the not
quite expanded stage I could detect a faint hint of pink on basal
parts of the petals, but none on the older flowers. I showed it to
an 'impartial ' (HAH!) friend who agreed there was 'some' hint of
pink. Very faint.
There are a couple of possibilities:
1. As Roger suggest cultivar substitution has taken place.
More common than most people might think. My 'White Splendor' is
bigger than any other blanda, named or seedling form, and vigorous in
sun and part shade. Is it different ? Who knows?
2. It is very common for plants to open in cool weather
showing a greater pigmentation than those opening in warmer climates.
My stereotype of the Pacific NW of both Roger and Diane is they are
cooler and moister this time of year than here and pigment may be
much more pronounced than here.
3. So we may all have the same plant, same cultivar, and
growing conditions make all the difference. Cwertainly fully expanded
flowers show no hint of color on the outside of the petals and the
plant over all fits the name 'White Splendor' without a detailed
diagnosis. Where is the KAVB when you need them?
...... or the cv I am growing is different. Maybe in many
ways we haven't even discussed. The Dutch are notorious for sending
out anything that fits the vague description (true or not?) and
changing cvs in mid-stream.
Where is the 'horse's mouth' when you need an authoritative answer.?
Still an under appreciated and grown spring 'ephemeral'. I
think I'll order more this fall just for observation purposes (ahem!).
best to all and enjoy, Jim W.
--
Dr. James W. Waddick
8871 NW Brostrom Rd.
Kansas City Missouri 64152-2711
USA
Ph. 816-746-1949
Zone 5 Record low -23F
Summer 100F +