QBARS - v29n4 R. 'Isobel Pierce'

R. 'Isobel Pierce'
Lawrence Pierce, Seattle, Washington

One of his promising hybrids, referred to by Halfdan Lem in a talk before the Seattle Chapter back in 1961, was a cross of 'Anna' x 'Lem's Goal'. This cross is now registered as 'Isobel Pierce'.

'Anna' was named for his wife and was a selected seedling plant from 'Norman Gill' x 'Hon. Jean Marie de Montague'. 'Lem's Goal', as the name suggests, was at that time considered by him to be a good yellow. Both parents of 'Isobel Pierce' were crosses he had made in the 1950's and named.

From Elmer Fisher's Nursery in Sumner came the plant which he gave me to show to our plant awards committee. It was agreed by the members participating that it should be placed on our eligibility list for future awards.

Besides plant quality and unusual plant flowering characteristics we also found that it met most of the criteria for commercial growing. With that recommendation, Mr. Fisher started propagating and asked that I name the new introduction, which I did.

Most unusual are the short stamens with pearl-like bead anthers arising from a reddish-brown basal blotch. The large flowers (9-10) per ball truss bloom in mid-May. A shaded spot is to be preferred for the blooms last much longer. The open, funnel-shaped corollas have five to seven petals of dark reddish-pink, each with frilly edges and each with outer stripes of deeper color.