NOID. But I have a guess.

6 years ago

Here's a flower (finally! - planted in January) from a bulb that was supposed to be White Christmas but is not. I love it.

It opened such a deep maroon red yesterday that I went to emaryllis.com to look for an ID. I'm guessing "Black Pearl," but it's hard to know for sure. The green-to-white tips were more obvious on first opening, and have today brightened to creamy white.

There are others that look similar: Red Pearl and Royal Velvet. But per Emaryllis, "[On Royal Velvet ...] The pedicels (stem that holds the flower to the scape) are mostly green, and the ovary is gently shaded with a bit of reddishness; the very similar 'Red Pearl' has pedicels shaded burgundy on the upper half, and ovaries are burnished with shiny purple-red." There is no such detail given for Black Pearl. I've eliminated a few other dark reds from consideration because the pistil on this is so very slim and carried low, unlike those others. Such as Benfica. No.

But all you dark-red fanciers might have more ideas than I do. What do you think?

In any case, it's a keeper. :)

Featured Answer

bulbinabox

6 years ago

Not the best picture, here are my Ferrari bulbs from today

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (8)

bulbinabox
6 years ago
What about Ferrari? Black Pearl has rounder petals
Related Professionals
Moline Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Fargo Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Chico Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Denver Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Las Vegas Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Lufkin Landscape Contractors · Greenfield Landscape Contractors · Kalispell Landscape Contractors · Fayetteville Architects & Building Designers · Miami Architects & Building Designers · Fredericksburg Architects & Building Designers · Bloomington Architects & Building Designers · Alexandria Architects & Building Designers · Lebanon Architects & Building Designers · Harrisburg Architects & Building Designers
Fred Biasella
6 years ago
One of my favorites :-)))))
Northern Gardener (3b west central MN) thanked Fred Biasella
Northern Gardener (3b west central MN)
Original Author
6 years ago
Vlad, I disqualified Ferrari a couple of days ago because the pictures I have seen are like yours: more rounded petals than what I have. (You commented that the picture I posted didn't have very round petals: true.) But as the first flower is now in Day Four, its petals have expanded and now may fit the profile.

Also, Emaryllis says re Ferrari, "The China red flowers are held nicely outward, they possess a silky sheen that helps the color shine even in poor lighting. Tepaloids (those little ear-like appendages on the "petals") are always present, as well as green/white on the flower tips."

I have no tepaloids, which I think rules out Ferrari.

Here is how the first-opened flower looks today, bigger and more lush and, well, rounder. Round enough to qualify?
bulbinabox
6 years ago
True, this is not Ferrari. Soon all my dark reds will bloom and I will be in a better position to identify this beauty. So far, Loyalty, Liberty, Carramba and Redstar are my favorite. Oh, and Red Pearl too!
Northern Gardener (3b west central MN) thanked bulbinabox
Northern Gardener (3b west central MN)
Original Author
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Vlad, I so look forward to your help. I think we can disqualify Red Pearl here because there is no red flush to either ovary or pedicel. The Liberty pictured on Emaryllis appears to hold its pistil higher. Loyalty also, from web image searches, seems like a much more contained flower, kind of like Samba in shape, with also the raised pistil.

I've considered Carmen, but most of the pictures I find show a very prominently triangle shape of the pistil.

What about, possibly, Magnum? I'm not seeing anything disqualifying about this possible ID, but then I don't have too many details either. Emaryllis says, "A stout, sturdy and long lasting rich velvety red. While many new cultivars are plying the waters of deep, almost black reds, this one is unmistakably red red, and really large. Very impressive, with heavy substance." I'm not sure I have "red red," but maybe that depends upon the light in which it is observed.
bulbinabox
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
When this has big flowers, then it is not Carmen. Carmen is a medium size, plus it is not red red, but rather a red with a mouve sheen, a bit like Royal Velvet. I do not grow Magnum and it is indeed a possibility. Here are quite a few reds: https://hilverdadeboer.nl/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/royalfloraholland_amaryllis-catalogus-2019-2020lr.pdf
Northern Gardener (3b west central MN) thanked bulbinabox
Northern Gardener (3b west central MN)
Original Author
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Vlad, I downloaded and read through that catalog. For sure, lots of reds in there.

I wish there was some online source that gave more detailed descriptions of secondary characteristics, like the colors of the back sides of the flowers and other structures' forms and colors. Especially the reds: there are so many!

I'm still liking the Magnum ID. It's not quite as deep a red as some others, and so far there's nothing disqualifying. I'll keep looking.