Tuttie's Flower
Tuttie's Flower (2009) Big City Eye X Unknown
Tetraploid , 6, 34, Semi-evergreen, EM. Antique yellow with bold red-purple eye and edge. Vigorous plant is a joy to behold. The color of this flower was a big surprise. Several years ago I ordered Oscie Whatley's 'Soaring' to use with 'Big City Eye.' The plant came from a secondary source, as Oscie had no stock of it. When I saw my plant bloom, I knew it was mislabeled at the vendor's garden, and I began to call it "Not Soaring." It was a large lavender purple flower with a darker purple eye, but it bore no resemblance to Oscie's picture of the real thing. I made seeds with it and tossed it. I suspect that both parents had yellow ancestors in the distant past and that a genetic roll of the dice brought the yellow genes to the forefront in this seedling. Its siblings were shades of purple, rose, and lavender.
Dedicated to my colleague of many years at the Missouri Humanities Council, Clarice Britton.