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Re: [IGS] Painted Ladies?

     I understand the term "painted ladies" to refer to a color class of
     zonal geraniums in which the center of the flower is white, shading
     out toward a red margin.  The white center may be larger or smaller,
     and more or less well defined.  Its size also seems, sometimes, to be
     governed by growing conditions -- for me, larger in bright light and
     long days, smaller in dimmer conditions and short days.

     Some of the named varieties that are or were in the trade include:
     'Alice of Vincennes,' 'Souvenir de Mirande,' 'Cheerio,' 'Dopey' (a
     dwarf zonal), and 'Fantasy.'  (If this list seems at all outdated,
     remember that I have recently ended a 15-year hiatus in growing and
     collecting geraniums.)  I once grew one that I bought as 'Painted
     Lady' -- no guarantee that it was the original cultivar of that name
     -- and found that it was by no means the best of its kind, having
     relatively small flowers and rather a leggy habit.

     An interesting thing about the group is that some of them, at least,
     are among the best winter- or short day-flowering cultivars.  This may
     not be true of all of them, because the class is defined by color and
     not necessarily common ancestry.

     Some of them are among my favorite varieties.

     Barry Roth
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