Description
‘Almira’
9W-YYR
[Poeticus]
(unknown, pre-1899; possibly a hybrid between ‘Ornatus’ and N. radiiflorus var. exertus)
Grown for years by us as “not ‘Actaea’” or “too dark yellow ‘Ornatus Maximus’ with greener leaves”, Kate stumbled across some crackingly accurate photographs of this tall, large-flowered Poet in early 1900s catalogues. After the outbreak of World War I, the cultivar tended to be called ‘King Edward VII’. The perianth can indeed resemble “Orn Max”, but the shallow, tightly ruffled cup on opening has a broad margin of jasper-red shading through brick-red to rich orange-reds. In older flowers this becomes a narrower margin of pale Dutch vermilion. Within, a white ring develops between the rim and the empire yellow corona.
