Vorlon Revelation
(Sdlg #HTWUT12)
(How’s the Weather Up There x unknown)
50” scapes - 9” flower - Diploid - Early Midseason - Diurnal - 4 branches - 33 buds - Semievergreen - Rebloom - Very Fragrant - Unusual Form - Crispate-Cascade - Double percentage 25%
Bud building, clear cream with rose band, extending rose veins slightly up into the petal above chartreuse to green throat.
I will discontinue carrying Vorlon Revelation as a regular stock item in 2022. For more information, see this post.
I will discontinue carrying Vorlon Revelation as a regular stock item in 2022. For more information, see this post.
Named for the surprise appearance of the Vorlon ambassador, Kosh, outside of his encounter suit on the sci-fi television show Babylon 5, Vorlon Revelation is a stunning flower and, like the Vorlon, appears different depending on who views it and on which day it is viewed. It is large, pale and clean colored. The flower averages 9”, but can be much larger on the first few flowers or in wet years. The scapes are well branched, averaging 4 branches plus the top V, but it can have more branches on well-established clumps. The scapes are tall and on established plants hold up very well in spite of the big flowers and the many buds. The plant typically bud builds for a very long season and can actually end up producing far more buds per scape than the registry number of 33. The plant frequently reblooms in my garden showing both instant rebloom and some fall scapes in some years, even in dry years and on some new divisions.
The flower is a pale, clear cream with a rose band that radiates up into the petals and the petals and sepals are often suffused with a pale rose overlay. Sometimes there is more visible rose in the petals and sepals, though it often fades out by the end of the day, and occasionally there is a partial edge of rose on the petals. The throat is large and green turning to chartreuse as it reaches the band.
The shape of the flower is an unusual form with a good amount of ruffling on the petals and tight ruffles on the sepals. The flowers are crispate, often pinched at the tips and tend to cascade. That is the typical flower, however, this flower often does a lot more. Some days it produces stamen-transformation doubling, while on others it produces midrib cristation. On some days the petals and sepals quill, giving the appearance of a spider type (though that is an illusion, of course). Regardless of the form is takes, the flower is always stunning, breathtaking and catches the eye from across the garden. It is a revelation in a mature clump.
The plant is very vigorous, forming a large clump quickly. The Increase is very fast and it recovers very quickly from division. The foliage is semi-evergreen and is very hardy here in my zone 6 garden. The foliage is nice, but it can be a paler green than I prefer in late summer. In spring it is a bright grass green. The clumps can be very large and the foliage quite tall. In drought, the foliage can get a bit ratty looking, but the plant tolerates drought well without decreasing in size and shows no lack of vigor. I have grown this plant in rough conditions with no inputs such as extra water or fertilizer and it is a vigorous and strong grower and bloomer even in those conditions. It can be extremely stunning when given more inputs.
Vorlon Revelation is very fertile both ways, producing big, vigorous seedlings in a range of weird and wonderful flower forms with clear colors and tall scapes. Vorlon Revelation shows moderate rust resistance, and has shown that same level of resistance consistently for the five years of my screening work. It only shows strong breeding value for rust resistance when bred to cultivars with very high rust resistance. When bred to plants with moderate rust resistance or moderate to high susceptibility, I have seen very few resistant seedlings. However, my seedlings from crossing Vorlon Revelation with very resistant plants are very promising and exciting. Most important for the gardener, Vorlon Revelation is tolerant of rust and doesn’t decrease in clump size, fan count or vigor from having rust.
Vorlon Revelation is a wonderful garden plant and a useful breeder. With its amazing, large and variable flower, its fast increase, easy divisibility, stunning scapes and impressive garden display for a long period of time, it is a valuable cultivar for gardeners and breeders.
Fast-increasing new divisions of Vorlon Revelation showing very good performance in their first year in an average test garden with no amendment and only minimal fertilizer added in the form of a small amount of lime and nitrogen a couple of times a year. The scapes of most cultivars are shorter on their first-scapes-after-planting than they will be when the clump has matured in two to three years.
