GNASHING OF TEETH

GNASHING OF TEETH (see the 5 pictures below) will likely be my only 2011 intro for the reasons stated in an earlier post. It is an outstanding hybridizing plant if you're looking to add teeth to almost any color (most will be white to ivory). The first picture is a typical good day outside and is an accurate color. The second picture is also accurate, although it is usually not that dark or that purple. The third picture is its maiden bloom in the greenhouse. The fourth is the reason it is being recommended only to hybridizers - it spots way too much to meet my standards of an outstanding garden flower. The last picture is of its outdoor scapes this year. See the bottom for a complete description. There will be more pictures of it on the website when I get that updated. See coming posts for pictures of its offsppring.

GNASHING OF TEETH TET 35502 {[(Lifting Me Higher x Fortune's Dearest) x (Forbidden Desires x Tet LBB)] x [(Fortune's Dearest x Lifting Me Higher) x Doyle Pierce]}, 29" (24" in rough winters or until established in zone 4, and on rebloom), M (to late-mid), Ev, fr, reliable MN instant rebloom, 6-1/2" (up to 7"), 3-way branching with 18 buds (2-way with 12 buds at Springwood in years 1 and 2 after planting, higher thereafter and with more snow cover), good opener. Grape cranberry with pale lavender eye and edge plus pale ivory to white teeth; yellow to green throat. Amazing parent for large, very sharky, introduction quality kids in all color ranges and forms (see MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST and future intro 22305, and there will be many more once testing periods are completed). Slower increaser (one fan will only go to two the next year). Sharky even when temps are in the high 60's to mid 70's, but will lose them all in the 50's. Not the best garden plant at Springwood due to frequent spotting from heavy dew, but it doesn't pass that on to most of its kids. Tested at Linda Agin's in Alabama and evaluated by her as outstanding as both a garden and hybridizing plant. Flawless in greenhouse settings. Super rust resistance. I won't be able to ship this year until late May/early June, since it emerges very, very late in the spring - it seems to know not to come out of the ground until all danger of frost is past - please don't worry and go digging around looking for it. Also, the fans may look small and somewhat tentative as they emerge for you in 2012, but they will be large once the season gets going. Fertile both ways - easy pollen and average to above average pod fertility (hits in GH 50-70% of the time)............$250SF

Why the name? Obviously because of its huge teeth, but also because of the mis-steps on its way to introduction - from my putting it in a dumb location for its first northern test, to all of the southern test plants inadvertently being thrown away, to the spotting.