The environmental conditions can influence the color seriously. Withh "royal Velvet" I experienced a spectacular variability from bright red to dark red with black veins. If the bulb is forced under higher temperatures the purple share of the total coloring retrogrades and gives place for the "ordinary" amaryllis orange-red.

{{gwi:379247}}
Benfica

Yes, Soultan, that is the color mine were. I wonder what temperature would bring out the dark red? Any idea, Sir Hans? I do love the deep black reds! Sure would not throw this one out though! And thanks for answering my question...that makes sense!

I think this is the real color of Benfica. You have to take it into consideration that most of the web pages doctor their pictures to enhance the color.

web pages doctor their pictures to enhance the color.

Yes, and don't remind me of that, Soultan

Lizalily
that is a good additional question. Actually I DID discover that, if you force your potted bulbs on your warm windowsill place, then it suffices to transfer them to a cooler place or even outsdoors (the temp should not drop below 13°C) shortly before the frst flowers open, and they will become better (deeper) colored very fast. And, the life time of your flowers will be considerably extended.

Gilmar...forced at high 60s with very minimal light until scapes are a foot tall. Then transfered in another room, until it's first flower opens, with low 70s temp. and very good sunlight (6-8 hours of direct sunlight). This is the darkest blood red color of Gilmar that I have ever seen. My Gilmars that bloomed outdoors in spring/early summer were not this dark.

{{gwi:393724}}

Getting the exact colour in the photo is difficult. Setting the camara at chrome (recomended for flowers) exegerate the red .I find standered setting gives better result. I think difused morning indirect natural light gives nearest result. I only crop my pictures no other change.

I agree with you arif about getting the exact color specially the reds is difficult but not impossible. With the right camera, background and light, you CAN capture the true red color. I NEVER do color changes in my pictures either. I have no reason to do that. Every flower has it's own beauty no matter what it's color. :-)

Lizalily...Sorry to have gone off topic about Benfica. I will post pics of my Benfica once it opens its flowers. I have the batch of supposed to be "dark red" flowered varieties blooming soon.

Here is my awakened Double Dragon. Now this "red" is very hard to capture. As you can see in it's petals, the red and orange colors are so mixed together. This pic is the closest or best shot that I got in the whole photo shoot that depicts it's true red color.

{{gwi:393725}}

Now, that is BLOOD RED, Sir Hans! Very dark and very nice!

Color aside, it's the texture of Double Dragon that really grabs me! It's almost a quilted effect! It's hard to not like doubles when there are flowers like Double Dragon around! It's awesome, Maria!

I have found it very difficult to capture the natural red color of some flowers with digital photography... the camera wants to show orange tones... especially with bright natural light... but with an overcast sky, it becomes a little easier, it seems. I have deleted so many photos because they were not true to color, and I just don't want to "fix" them in Photoshop. I'd prefer to show the true red color as my eyes see it.

I found a second Benifica plant putting out a scape now so I am doing a real "scientific test" on color! One plant moved to my cool bedroom where the afternoon light doesn't hit the window for long at this time of the year, and the other plant stays in the brighter, warmer office room where I spend most of my daytime, with 2 different "Daylight" lamps plus another lamp. The bedroom does not get much above 58 degrees if that, and the office gets to 70 degrees by most afternoons. We should see any results on the color within the next 10 days. Both scapes are showing color on the buds now, but just barely out of their green jackets enough to see it.

I was not so worried about the photography part of the color, but in a number of places read that Benifica was a deep dark red. And Royal Colors does show it that way, as well as one other web site I found.

By the way, mine were not from Parks, as I thought but another of the ABC bulbs. Although I liked dealing with the lady there on the phone (Anne Marie?), her bulbs have been the most mis-named and damaged bulbs of all I ordered. Nearly all show signs of virus. Benifica is one of the cleanest.

"Desire" on the left, "Benifica" on the right.

{{gwi:393726}}

Liza...Please do update us on your experiments.

Jodi...If you look at the pics posted of Double Dragon specially in the bulb companies websites, it seems to look just like any ordinary red double. But it is not. That is why I chose this particular pic /shot which depicts Double Dragon's true color,true petal shape (rounded) and true petal texture. Oh...and one more thing. It's flowers love to look up to the sky...

Lizalily - The backdrop for your flowers is charming! I love looking past the flowers at the greenery growing out your windows! The flowers are just lovely, and the row of pots on the windowsill is so neat and organized... mine are all over the place, where ever they will fit!

Maria - Double Dragon is probably the one red double I would want to add to my collection, just for the sake of its beauty! I have so many bulbs that I really need to start being choosy about which ones I pick, and since doubles are difficult to breed, well... most just don't have a place here. But Double Dragon... oh my! :-)

OK, all 3 Benificas are blooming now and I can not discern any difference. If there is one, the flowers in the darker cooler bedroom are even lighter and more red orange. I suspect mine are misnamed (gee, what a surprise!) THey are very pretty but more red orange then deep dark red.

Sorry, down with the flu and too sick to collect them and take photos. Maybe tomorrow if I CAN stop sneezing and coughing long enough.

Liza,

Take care and I hope you feel better soon!

Thanks for performing that experiment - I learn so much from this forum.

This is my 'Benfica' an this is the real colour:

{{gwi:393727}}

{{gwi:393728}}

Greetings from germany
Bettina

Very beautiful, Betty! Every website catalog photo I've seen of Benfica shows the nice dark burgundy-red color... just like yours!

Thank you for sharing!

Oh my gosh! THAT is what I expected, that is what I wanted, that is NOT what I got! THank you for verifying it...Now I Can still try to find that from someone else! Gee, you would not like to trade for a nice campfire red orange would you, LOL.

Has anyone else bought Benifica from Royal Colors that shows it like that?

Liza,

With some hippies, there are so many environmental conditions that effect the color and size that it is often difficult to compare via photographs.

For instance, I currently have a Double Record that has challenged me over the years. It bloomed quite nicely this year, after splitting and although the blooms are quite pretty, they are so delicate and dainty. Ie., they are tiny.

I have seen faded looking Apple Blossoms that have almost no pink at all, but once the bulb is more established, blooms at the regular time (not forced) in more normal lighting, the colors are so much more vivid and wonderful.

With most, the more light and warmth and the larger the bulb, the more 'normal' the bloom will be.

This makes it extremely difficult to make comparisons with others with similar bulbs, especially reds and pinks that do not have vivid markings to distinguish the differences.

Then again, the marketers are not doing a good job, so if you purchase a bulb that is not in bloom, you are taking a chance that what you are buying is what it is supposed to be.

Frustrating, isn't it?

Frustrating? No, the reverse!
Because then I have a reason to buy new bulbs. *gggg*
I bought 5 bulbs labeld with this promise:

{{gwi:393729}}

Which I got, was 2 Minervas,this one..

{{gwi:393730}}

...that one (Supreme Garden)

{{gwi:393731}}

an the best one - 'Gilmar'
{{gwi:393732}}

It's very difficult for most digi-cams to show the correct colors (above all RED) and for the 2 shown benefica-pictures I threw more than 70 away.

Greetings from germany
Bettina

[off-Topic]Thank you for your welcome, special Elisabeth[/off-Topic]

Lovely pictures and lucky YOU, Bettina!

Yes, I saw the picture of this label on Exoten forums, but the German does not translate well. So, I didn't understand, but only assumed that Exotic Striped is a 'generic' label, similar to the ones I find here on the market that are simply labeled 'red', white', 'pink' 'orange' and 'red and white striped'. Thank you for explaining and for the pictures!

If those were available here, I would definitely purchase some with the hope of getting something 'different' from what I already have.

AND, Yes! Red is difficult to photograph. That makes it even harder to demonstrate the differences in color.

I am still in awe over the Red Peacock that bloomed orange two years ago. I photographed it right next to another blooming Red Peacock to show the difference in color. Both were grown close to each other, so the difference in color could not be explained by environment or photography.

Last year, my orange red peacock didn't bloom, but yesterday, I noticed that there is a bud tip, so I will be able to observe if it is orange again.

Indeed, it is fun to get surprises, but when you get Vivaldi instead of Melusine or Minerva instead of Piquant, it is disappointing and frustrating.

But since Minerva and Vilvaldi will grow in the ground for me, I shouldn't complain too much, huh?

The only thing I have to worry about is the flooding in certain areas of my yard. It flooded last night and a large portion of my west fence is down again.

I won't complain about that either because an ocassional flood is better than those horrid droughts.

Life is full of surprises, some more pleasant than others...

Cheers!

I don't really mind the mislabels, either... unless I'm stuck with a variety that I already have too many of! Take, for instance, the White Dazzlers I thought I bought... one turned out to be Minerva, and the other only leafed out with no bloom. I don't mind the Minerva because I love that flower, but I really wanted whites!

I'd say it's six of one and half a dozen of the other when it comes to mislabels! It is certainly a good excuse to buy more, but it would be nice to get what you ordered in the first place!

Lovely blooms, Bettina! I sure wish I could get a Gilmar from a mislabel!

Ok, here are the results of my temperature variance testing with my "Not Benifica"'s.

{{gwi:393733}}

Woops! Sent that one too soon! OK, the Color is quite true to the way mine look. If anything the Orangish red is lighter and more intense on the flowers. The one on the left was bloomed out in a cool(chilly!), dark unheated room, and the one on the right was in a west facing window kept at 68 degrees during the day and 58 degrees at night. (And any shortage of buds was probably caused by my dogs, not genetic!) See why I am disappointed in them not being the "Burgundy" they are supposed to be? However, they are beautiful flowers in their own right, with lovely form and endurance. They will be find as cut flowers, but oh how people would oooh and ahh over these if they had been burgundy! Sigh!

They are a lovely red, no doubt... but I think you're right about people really liking the burgundy color... and it would have made some lovely arrangements! I can only imagine what could be paired with burgundy in a nice tall vase!

Where is my Benfica? It is lost amongst my other reds. I have not been able to idetify it since the lable got misplaced.

Well, that is just it, Arif! IT is a very nice red flower, but not that distinguished from others! In my grey cool weather and heated house they came out with a bit of Orange to the red, but do not know if they would in your climate. They have a very tidy shape...very nice plant...or that is what ever I had that was supposed to be BEnifica...who knows what it really is!

Liza,

Whatever you are showing on your picture do not look like Benfica for me. Those two flowers are way lighter than they should be for Benfica and have different petal surface and look.
I think it is not too hard to distinguish Benfica given you have not too many dark burgundy varieties with skin-like, thick petals.
I would definitely not call it red. So if a Benfica comes out red, I'd say it is not Benfica.

Here is another pic of my Benfica:

{{gwi:393734}}

Notice the wrinkled surface?

Soultan...Now your talking!!! Beautiful shot!

I will definitely accept Soultan's word on this! I knew it in my heart from the first. Actually, it is a relief that the exquisite Benifica did not disappoint me.

So somewhere out there there is a lovely orangy red like a sunset with beautiful form and endurance that we do not know the name of, LOL.

And I will try again for a Benifica from a company who identifies their flowers correctly more then the one I bought this from (Same source as the Aphrodites that were labeled " Double Precord" and "Rainbow", and nunereous other mislables.

THank you, Soultan! Now, oh expert of ID, what do you suppose my "Not Benificas" are?

Very nice, Soultan! Every photo I've seen of Benfica shows it as being dark, as in burgundy... Bettina's Benfica is a very good example, as is Soultan's... his shows up a tad bit lighter, but I think that's from his lighting set-up.

Wow Soultan, beautiful capture of the texture of the petals....=)

Bettina, I'm enjoying your photography lately. Wgat a great find with Supreme Garden ahd Gilmar. Your Benfica is amazingly beautiful! =)

Liza, for your "Not Benficas" post from 04/05/08, I think your red on the left is either Red Lion or Ferrari. I can't tell as I know it's hard to capture red on camera. =)

Black Pearl 2008


Hi all, just today my Black Pearl has shown her beauty ;-)
Janusz

{{gwi:383846}}

{{gwi:383852}}

Hippeastrum: The Gardener's Amaryllis By Veronica M. Read
Page 50:
Some of the finest reds aviable today have been created by Marko Penning of Penning Breeding B.V. (Honselersdijk), one of The Netherlands's finest young breeders. Hippeastrum 'Parma' (1999) and H. 'Benfica' (2001) usually produce 5-6 blooms per scape, unlike H.'Roma' (1993) which usually has only 4 bloomsper scape and a tendency to rot after flowering. All three hybrids have a glorious sheen towards the throat and rich velvety tepals, Hippeasrum 'Roma' and H. 'Parma' make excellent potted plants while H. 'Benfica' is cultivated as a cut flower.

According to this book I can see that my Black Pearl is
actually Hippeastrum 'Roma' created by Marko Penning in 1993
Regards Janusz

Here is a link that might be useful: Hippeastrum: The Gardener's Amaryllis By Veronica M. Read

I just had a word with Peter Penning and he said that from September they will start selling the bulbs of H. 'Benfica'
Here is the source contact info :
Peter Penning
Penning Freesia B.V.
P.O. Box 9
2675 ZG Honselersdijk
the Netherlands
e-mail : info@penningfreesia.nl
phone : + 31 174 621221
fax: : + 31 174 627501
I hope now we all can get the right Benficas ;-)
Regards
Janusz

Here is a link that might be useful: Penning Freesia & Amaryllis

yanoosheck,
I have ordered a few Romas for the Hungarians last Fall, and those flowers turned out to be bright dark red, not burgundy, not wine... They are like red infused with some purple or cyclamen color. So based on my experiences, I'd say your Black Pearl should be Black Pearl indeed.
I wish I could find a picture right now. If I do, I will definitely post a Roma picture here.

In the mean time, I found a picture of Double Roma on the Hungarian Hagymárium web site that sells this bulb. It should have the same color as Roma, just in double form. So check it out:

{{gwi:393735}}

Picture of Roma...

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:393723}}