Yes, and a near red with picotee edging, makes me happy.

So beautiful. I kind of looks like my Lyon's Red Rocket. Similar flower shape.

Your Red Rocket has a more refined look ... and is gorgeous.

My Red Rocket has lost its edge. I'm thinking of reordering from Lyons ...

Interesting. Just curious, if your Arturus is doing so well, why would you even want a Red Rocket? You must have more space than I do! :))

I've got plants upstairs and downstairs. The Arcturus is downstairs. The Red Rocket would go upstairs. One of the spare bedrooms upstairs has shelving by the windows.

I keep about 50 plants right now ...

They are probably crawling on a top of one another right now... You need a light under your bed...

Anyway... Red Rocket is a larger plant, the leaf color is darker, more contrast in it.

Arcturus has an added value. It is very OLD, it is very stable - much less chances to lose a geneva edge and - WHO SAID WE ONLY PERMITTED TO CARRY ONE RED???

For one of my recent birthdays, I got a tall shelving unit and converted it to a plant stand. With that stand ... and a few other window spaces, I eventually housed about 150 plants.

After a few years, I realized that I could not provide the necessary care that that many plants required, and so I gradually reduced my number to around 50.

Now I only want to grow what really grows well for me, so it has become easier to discard poorly growing plants. There are a few, even now which are on their way to the bin, if they don't shape up.

I'm thinking that I want to try a few new plants this spring. I was taking a look at the Lyndon Lyon site this morning. My luck with the Russians has not been too good, but I may try a couple more ...

I only have one Russian, Blue Eyes, but it does quite well and is a well-formed plant. I think they're worth a try again :)

I agree with you completely Aegis. I'm obsessed with keeping my collection down to a manageable number - also no more than 50 - which will enable me to properly care for all the plants and not feel oppressed by the effort. Because I constantly want to try new varieties, I'm giving away a lot of plants that I'm not absolutely in love with, or ditching those that don't measure up.

And Irina, I have 3 reds currently - Red Rocket, Bob Serbin and Lyon's Zoe. They are all different. Of those 3, I think Bob Serbin is the truest red as opposed to a burgundy. Zoe is the most burgundy. It's interesting to hear your thoughts on how Arcturus is different from Red Rocket.

Of the few Russians I have, Rings of Saturn is the most interesting and does well, for me.

Blue Eye Russia - is an outstanding show plant. There are plenty of AV dawgs on both side of the pond - some are flimsy, some unstable, some are look-a-likes, and some are just plain boring. That's why vintage is usually worthy - inferior plants

already disappeared - only the cream of the crop is left.

And yes - every collector has a limit - may be 50 - may be 500 - after that everything goes to pot, plants are neglected, bugs proliferate.. it becomes a chore.

Arcturus is vintage. Very hard to get because growers kept it for breeding stock, not for retail. I am happy LLG made it available. I wanted it for years.

Agreed. Outstanding vintage. Easy grower.