All That Glitters

ALL THAT GLITTERS (McAllister, 1992) OGB  

The name? ". . . is not gold." But this one certainly looks the part. The on-going debate in the garden was actually whether the sparkling yellow-gold of the falls looked more like real gold dust or "fool's gold" - but at any rate the clear, bright yellow gold of this flower cried out for some type of descriptive name. Whether it's real gold or fool's gold, it certainly glitters.

Ivory standards, softly veined yellow. Apricot-yellow falls blushed orange-rust and marked with more distinct rust veins in the throat. Orange-rust beard. Promise to Elizabeth X Koko Knoll. Proven fertile halfbred, but I have nothing to report about its offspring because all of the early crosses I made with it involved my yellow lines, which were relatively low priority when it came to allocating space in seedling beds so I gave its seeds away. As the name suggests, the flower seems to be sprinkled with gold dust, so I do want to try it with some of the other "sparkly" ones like Rhinestone Cowgirl. 

Altogether Lovely

This one fools the camera. To the human eye, it's near flesh pink. A fully fertile halfbred, from Granted Wish X Sunrise in Glory. This one shows up in the background of many of my own newer seedlings and some of its offspring are closer to the long-sought-after tangerine pink. Has even produced some very good quarterbreds. For show aficionados, its ASI code is OGB.

As Is

Standards are soft yellowish buff. Yellow-tipped-burgundy beard is framed by burgundy, which is in turn surrounded by an area of apricot, with the remainder of the falls a blend of gold, rust, and smoky grey that is formed by a heavy wash of red-violet over the golden yellow ground. - Chapeau X 84-9A-3: ((Martha Mia x Expert Advice) x (probably) Rose of Sharon). Better than "good enough", but probably can't be improved by line-breeding because it's a quarterbred so far uninterested in parenthood. 

At Last

AT LAST (McAllister, 1993) OGB-

White standards have faint lilac veins around the edges. Buff falls are covered with an intense network of fine mulberry veining around a mulberry beard. From Casa Vicente X Joint Venture, the type of cross that can produce both functional 1/4-breds and functional 1/2-breds, but registered as a 1/4-bred on the basis of its breeding behavior. So far, it has steadfastly refused my attempts to cross it with 1/2-breds, but it's produced a few seedlings from tetraploid aril and 3/4-bred pollen (Tribe of Judah). The title of the old gospel song seemed apt for this new development. I certainly wasn't the first to cross 1/4-breds back to 1/2-breds, but this was the first of my seedlings from those many experiments that I thought worthy of introduction. Some of them prove to be fully functional 1/2-breds - which must, of course, be judged against other 1/2-breds from more conventional lines and usually fall short of the mark. Some prove to be rather unimpressive 1/4-breds. "At Last" is that fortunate exception: a 1/4-bred with more of the aril "look" than most conventional 1/4-breds. Its intricate dotting and veining is more typical of 1/2-breds, its flaring form more typical of the 1/4-breds.

Bayberry Baby

BAYBERRY BABY (McAllister, 1992) OGB

Gene's Little Secret X Rose of Sharon. Light yellow standards faintly tinged green. Yellow-green falls, washed lightly with brown. Limited fertility. Has produced offspring when crossed with some of its half-sibs, but so far none have proved worthy of introduction. Many years ago, I fell in love with the color of Bayberry Candle (a DeForest TB introduced back in 1969). This is the closest I've come to that special shade, so it practically named itself. Because it's an arilbredmedian, and I have a weakness for alliterative names, "Baby" immediately came to mind.

Beadwork

BEADWORK (McAllister, 1995) OGB- Anon X Boaz.

White ground, splattered with shades of yellow, rust, brown, and violet. The result is a no-two-flowers-exactly-alike pattern that reminds the onlooker of crystalline beadwork. This suggestion won the "Name Game" for Jan Timmons in 1995. No interest in parenthood so far, but it is certainly worth trying with tetraploid arils because this pattern appears to be recessive with respect to aril traits. 

Big Country

A fully fertile halfbred, from Boaz X Jean Ralls. Soft blue standards, yellow-buff falls. Not shown is the strength of the plant. A clump left in place an extra year simply grew underneath the frame of the bed and lifted it out of the ground to get the room it needed. The combination of pastel colors and super-strong plant makes it an excellent breeder.

For show aficionados, its ASI code is OGB.

Blackbeard's Ghost

BLACKBEARD'S GHOST (McAllister, 1992)

Bold Sentry X Whither Thou Goest. S. very pale wisteria violet, slightly darker veins; F. pale wisteria ground washed burgundy and finely veined deeper burgundy; signal area intensely veined deep burgundy; burgundy-black beards. McAllister's Iris Gardens, 1992. 

Bold and Beautiful

A fully fertile halfbred, from an advanced-generation C.G. White seedling X Tribe of Judah. Bold contrast of lavender-blue standards, golden falls, and rust markings that approach red in the signal area.

For show aficionados, its ASI code is OGB.

Bright Prospects

BRIGHT PROSPECTS (McAllister, 1993) OGB-

Hidden Talents X Gene's Little Secret. Yellowed-ivory standards have a deeper yellow flush along the midrib. Soft yellow falls have a prominent wash of rust around a bright orange-yellow beard. There's a double-meaning to this one. The name is somewhat descriptive – a clump really brightens up the garden. The name was actually inspired, however, by the results of its first fertility tests. While it's certainly not as fully fertile as conventional halfbreds, it produced more seedlings than usual for even partially fertile arilbredmedians.

Butterscotch Baby

An arilbredmedian from Hidden Talents X (Lillibright x ?), butteryellow washed with deep butterscotch. Instead of blooming in a single burst of glory, it sends up stalks throughout the season. So far, its longest continuous bloom has been over 6 weeks.

For show aficionados, its ASI code is OGB-.

Classic Elegance

Camera-shy, but to the human eye a vision in silks and velvet. It's an unbalanced tetraploid, from Ballalaika Music X Sunrise in Glory, which shows its regelia heritage in both flower and growth habits, it's onco ancestry in its diffuse beard and velvety signal. Smaller than conventional 3/4-breds, it's also much more wind-resistant. For show aficionados, its ASI code is OGB+.

Close Approach

CLOSE APPROACH (McAllister, 1992) OGB

Esther's Son X Expert Advice. Pinkish-amethyst standards; deeper falls. This is a fully fertile halfbred, one that I consider a promising parent for "pinkish" arilbreds, but I haven't used it very much the last few years because I've turned my attention to working with other colors. Certainly not the true tangerine pink we've been trying to get, but a "Close Approach" to a pink appearance from the pinkish-lavender side.

Clouds of Joy

A fully fertile halfbred, from Granted Wish X Sunrise in Glory. Opens a pale yellowish-ivory then quickly fades to white as the flower expands leaving the yellow style arms peering out of the heart and nutmeg dotting around the beard. White flowers, aril traits, strong plant - still a rare combination in the world of arilbreds and it's proving to be an excellent parent. For show aficionados, its ASI code is OGB.

Code of Silence

Wished for Child X I. kirkwoodii. A subtle mixture of pastels (ivory, yellow, and pinkish lilac) rarely found in the near-arils. The pinkish-lilac standards fade to almost white and the yellowed-ivory falls are brushed with pale lilac to create an overall pinkish-yellow blend. The name refers to whatever there is in its genetic code that silences the usual dark pigments.

Code Talker

Its intricate pattern made it one of the most popular of my recent selections. Garden visitors have described it as "red, white, and blue". The velvety signal is close burgundy cherry; the style arms are white; the center of the standard is light blue-violet and the blaze on the fall is iridescent blue-violet. Unfortunately, it is quite camera-shy – but this picture at least shows its form. An unbalanced tetraploid three-quarterbred, from a Boaz Sib X Dunshanbe with regelia heritage that gives it greater gardenability than most near-arils. Like most of the type, it has shown no interest in parenthood. Its ASI code is OGB+.

Cope Goodwin

Very pale blue standards have just a hint of violet. Blue-violet falls have a 3/4" signal of deep purple.  A quarterbred from Sostenique X Tribe of Judah. For show aficionados, its ASI code is OGB-.

Pre-2001 McAllister Introductions, in Alphabetical Order

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