Primula x ‘Garryarde Guinevere’

[Paddy Tobin]

Arisaema,

The flower colour of your plant seems not to be typical of 'Guinivere' but the leaves do seem to be bronzed, so it might be termed a Garryard type primula.

If you like it, what matter what name it should bear!

Paddy

[arisaema]

Thanks, Paddy! Name or not it's still a nice plant, it was mostly because I was planning on propagating a few for sale.

[Lesley Cox]

2 cents' worth here. In my opinion, the 'Guinivere' shown by Lampwick (whose dog I adore!) seems to be much too close to pink. It may be just a matter of light or something but 'Guinivere' is usually described as flesh pink and is always a softer colour than the one above, with some apricot and white, even a tiny spot of yellow mixed with the pink, giving a more or less pale biscuit colour.

There's an accurate picture of it somewhere else on the Forum, maybe the southern hemisphere pages from last spring or the one before.

The Edrom plant that Wim mentions is likely to be either 'The Grail' or 'Old Port,' both good reds from the same stable.

And the one which Arisaema posted above, the "nearly white, with relatiovely small flowers, is, I think closer to the x Juliana or (x Pruhinoica) plants that the Garryad race. I'm sure it's a named form and if my aging brain would get into gear, I could say what. Maybe it will come later. There's one called 'Iris Mainwaring' but she may a slightly pinker colour, closer in fact the that of the true 'Guinivere.'

[Lesley Cox]

And Paddy, maybe it doesn't matter too much what the correct name of anything is, if one is just growing for one's own pleasure but as soon as we start to share plants or seed, or sell them in a nursery, it matters very much. One wants to buy, to give or be given, in good faith. If one needs a new pair of shoes the size matters, not a case of any one will do.

[Lesley Cox]

Paul, I've not heard of any hose-in-hose forms among the x Garryad group but that's not to say there are none. It would be good if someone were working with seed on these delightful little plants.

[Paddy Tobin]

Lesley,

My comment about naming was only in connection with the one plant Arisaema showed, wondering if it were 'Guinivere'. It seems not to be but is nonetheless a plant to be enjoyed regardless of being without a name.

Of course, your comment re naming in general are perfectly valid.

Paddy

[Rodger Whitlock]

Earlier messages in this thread imply that the bronze coloration of Guinevere's foliage is due to its descent from P. juliae.

This is curious, as the P. juliae growing here has foliage as green as green can be. Two cultivars of P. × pruhoniciana (P. vulgaris × P. juliae) grown here have green foliage, Arends' 'Scheetreiben' and 'Schneesturm'. Moreover, their inflorescences are utterly different from Guinevere's.

Whence comes the idea that Guinevere or other Garryards have P. juliae blood in them? Or is this simply another gardening myth that is overdue for retirement?

Reading over all the information in earlier replies leads to the conclusion that the foliar bronzing originated with 'Apple Blossom' as a sport or chance hybrid at Garryard and has nothing to do with P. juliae.

Comments?

[Lesley Cox]

I'd go with that Rodger. Can't for the life of me see any connection with P. juliae, very green as you say. I would have thought the bronzing was sported from vulgaris. I'm sure there is NO P. juliae in the Garryad series.

As a note to Paul, there IS a `Wanda' hose-in-hose form but of course 'Wanda' and her mates are x Juliana (in recognition of the juliae blood) or more accurately x Pruhinoica, and not connected with the Garryad forms.