Everyone should realize when looking at the pics of Purple Fringe and Royal Satin that these are the first flowers from tiny plants in one gallon pots. These pictures are only early indications of what the flowers will be like from fully developed plants. Compare the first flower pics of Purple Satin with the more recent ones and you will see what I mean.
The pics of Royal Satin are its first flower taken over a 4 day bloom period. Tim didn't show the pics of its first day flower because it didn't open fully. It is even darker than the other pics of 2, 3,and 4 day flowers.
Royal satin fades very slightly during its bloom period. The flower is really very dark but the translucence and shininess of the petals make it look lighter in the full sun pics.
I am really excited about Royal Satin not just because of it's solid dark purple petals and high petal count but also because it's flower is huge for a first flower from such a small seedling. Not only that it has a more tropical flower form than Purple Satin and it opens wide into a full blown star.
If you look at Purple Satin with it's wide petaled and mostly cup shape flower you might not see much tropical in it except for the color of the flower held high and half tropical stamens and slightly dentate leaf.
Actually I like that about it because it is a hardy looking plant and flower, but it's purple ! It really says, I'm hardy AND purple !
Royal Satin on the other hand looks like it will look more tropical than hardy, or an even split. I imagine some people seeing it will say, "What purple tropical is that ?" This plant should fill the demand for a purple hardy that really looks tropical.
Royal Satin is definitely branching and you can bet that I will be making as many as I can as fast as I can.
Purple fringe is named for the dark purple line along the edge of the petals. It too is branching. It seems to be more tropical looking than hardy or 50-50. It is a little redder than the other purples sometimes especially in this cold weather. It has only had three flowers and the pics on IWC are of its first flower. We will see how it develops as it matures in full summer here. It has lost its fringe in its latest flower so we will see what happens.
I have LOTS of fine pinks that run the full range of pinks from hotter than Mayla to light shell pink. Some have white petal bases. They also run the full range of flower forms from peony, cup, star, flat, flat top with the petals hanging down with upright or wide open and flattened stamens. Some start out very dark red like Escarboucle and stay that way. Others start out as very dark red but by the third day they are light-medium pink. This gives it three different colors on the same plant. Some are dark pink in summer and light pink in fall. Almost all of them are branching.
Red Satin is in a class by itself so far color wise. It is a color that the camera can't really get accurate because of the slight amount of blue in the satiny shine. There are a lot of lilies I don't know but I think that there is no other lily with this color. I have Vesuve, Mayla, Fulgens, Escarboucle, Atropurpurea and some other dark reds as well as dozens of hot pink-red seedlings and none of them are like this. The petals are VERY satiny and they shine in the sun and that hides the true darkness of the flower in pics taken in direct sun. The color is very close to blood some days. It does not fade from day one. The pics are of the first two flowers I think, from a tiny plant in a one gallon pot. When it grows up it should be great. It is branching.
