'Jolly Bee'

Description horticole :

Dr. Evrard 2004: ‘Jolly Bee’ a été introduit par Marco van Noort Nursery (Hollande), ‘Rozanne’ par Bloom of Bressingham (UK) en 2000 et nommé d’après Donald and Rozanne Waterer qui ont découvert cet hybride entre G. himalayense et  G. wallichianum 'Buxton's Variety‘en 1992.
Ger. ‘Rozanne’ est l’un des meilleurs ger. introduit depuis quelques années, ses très grandes fleurs bleu à centre blanc de 4 cm de diamètre, mais surtout sa longue période de floraison, de juin aux premières gelées en fait un ‘chouchou’ de tous les jardiniers. A cela ajoutons qu’il est vigoureux, que son port compact ’50 cm x 60 cm) en fait une plante idéale pour les bordures herbacées, mais aussi dans les poteries voir les paniers suspendus.

Description botanique :

RHS trial 2008: Sent by Beeches, Blooms, Cotswold Garden, Rougham Hall, Van Noort These entries were found to have no characters which could be used consistently to distinguish them and are therefore described together. Superb border plants starting to bloom as many geraniums are finishing but then smothering themselves in large, bright blue, saucer-shaped flowers into the autumn. Vigorous, spreading perennial, to 70 160cm in trial. Basal leaf blades dark green (147A), lightly blotched yellowgreen (146B/C), especially at the notches, covered with short, adpressed white hairs, sparse on the undersides except along the veins, c110  90mm on petioles to c130mm, pentagonal in outline, divided to three fifths into 5 or 7; divisions diamond-shaped, lobed to the base, longovate, with a short acute tip, basal lobes toothed. Stem leaves at regular intervals, paired, decreasing in size towards the apex. Stems red-flushed on pedicels and nodes with short, adpressed hairs becoming patent and gland-tipped on pedicels, upper stipules red (181B), lower stipules green. Flowers borne singly, in pairs or small groups towards the tips of the branches. Sepals ovate 10  x 4mm, mucro to 2mm. Flowers to 40mm across, bluish violet (82B) with a pinkish purple blush, white at the base with red (60B) veins.

Notes :

It's the Geranium of the Millennium according to the President of Vlooms of Bressingham, Adrian Bloom of Bressingham (UK)!
Chelsea Flower Show 2000 is next week and this is one of the highlights of the miriad of new plant launches at the show.
Geranium x 'Rozanne' has large single violet-blue flowers with white centres, appearing from June until the first frosts. A combination of a long flowering period and vigorous yet compact habit makes Geranium x 'Rozanne' especially versatile for growing in borders, patio containers or even hanging baskets according to Bloom of Bressingham (UK) - growing to a height of 40cms (16 inches) x 60cms (24 inches) wide.

In 1992 Bloom of Bressingham (UK)s of Bressingham were approached by Geranium x 'Rozanne' breeders Donald and Rozanne Waterer. In their retirement garden packed with plants, the two parents of G. x 'Rozanne', G. himalayense and G. wallichianum 'Buxton's Variety' were growing side by side. Normally G. himalayense flowers much earlier in June and finishes flowering by the time G. wallichianum 'Buxton's Variety' comes into flower in late July and August. In 1989 Rozanne collected and sowed seed of these plants, unaware of the potential of just one of those seedlings.
The unique young seedling was planted out in 1989 and soon exhibited larger leaves, more vigorous growth and flowers which although of a similar appearance to 'Buxton's Variety' were deeper blue and twice as large, improvements which were noted with increasing excitement by Donald and Rozanne.

Though they knew this was likely to be an outstanding plant in 1991 they took further advice by sending flowers and foliage samples to perennial expert Graham Stuart Thomas and to Geranium specialist and Taxonomist at the University Botanic Garden, Cambridge. Dr Peter Yeo, both of whom immediately recognised it as being a potentially outstanding new cultivar. By 1992, the only plant in existence was in the Waterer's Somerset garden. Donald and Rozanne wrote to Adrian Bloom of Bressingham (UK) to see if Bloom of Bressingham (UK)s of Bressingham might act as their agent for G. x 'Rozanne'. Their original plant was now 3-4 feet in diameter and 21 inches in height.

Bloom of Bressingham (UK)s of Bressingham undertook further commercial and performance trials, so the original and only plant was borrowed from Donald and Rozanne in spring 1993 and moved to Bressingham. Although propagator and manager of Bloom of Bressingham (UK)s New Plant Development Unit Paul Gooderham managed to get some plants rooted by cuttings, G. x 'Rozanne' was almost impossible to propagate in quantity by vegetative means. Various micropropagation laboratories were tried in Europe and North America but progress was slow. Frustratingly a further three years passed in perfecting this technique.

Continuing trials indicated that 'Rozanne' loved hot weather, its wallichianum genes responding well where many other Geraniums would wilt in the heat and humidity. Trials in Germany showed its true versatility and a single plant created a fantastic display in a hanging basket. Bloom of Bressingham (UK)s have finally succeeded in building up sufficient stock to launch this new plant - showing that a combination of observation, cultural skills and sheer determination has paid off to be able to launch this plant at Chelsea Flower Show 2000.