Watsonia Hybrids

John Wickham jwickham@sbcglobal.net
Sun, 02 May 2010 08:12:04 PDT
I am looking for information concerning what I guess could not considered heirloom varieties of Watsonia hybrids. I've been processing and cataloging Theodore Payne's business and personal papers at the Theodore Payne Foundation for Wild Flowers and Native Plants. We only work with California flora at this point, but for most of his career, Payne worked with all types of plants.

There are several articles he wrote concerning the Hybrid Watsonias produced by Mrs. J.L. Hubbard. She started in 1904 and by the time of her death had named about 50 selections. Payne even produced a special catalog for these Hubbard Hybrid Watsonias. There's a photo with examples of the various flower shapes that appeared in these selections. Most were named for people or California locations. 

I'm curious to know if any of these are still around. Here are some of the selection names...
   'Ansonia'
   'Aurora'
   'Bessie Schubert'
   'Edward D. Sturtevant'
   'Fanny Lyon'
   'General Pershing'
   'Harriott'
   'Madame Modjeska'
   'Pearl Dickel'
   'San Diego'
   'Theodore Payne'
   'Victory'

Thanks,

John Wickham


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