Sold as Pinot Noir

[Paul]

Hello Hibiscateers! I've got a mystery bush on my hands. I just received this plant last week, as part of the orders I placed over the winter. It is labeled as Pinot Noir. It bloomed yesterday, and it is neither Pinot nor Noir. LOL It has 3-lobed leaves, so it is definitely one of the 'fascinating foliage' plants.

So any guesses as to who this Pinot imposter is?

[farmer d]

Hi Paul - my guess is that is Pinot Noir.  Just a very different colored bloom?  How has the weather been there since you got her?  Maybe that has altered the coloration...the form sure looks similar plus the fascinating foliage.  I'm not familiar with any other cvs Charlie has that match this look.

Farmer D

[Paul]

I have only had it for a week, and the temps have been in the 80's during the day and 60's at night. I had a 4" Pinot Noir last year that didn't make it over the winter. The foliage looks the same as this. I was just really surprised by the bloom. Could it be what they call a "sport"?

[Charlie]

I think Darren is right. This doesn't resemble any other bloom that we grow more than Pinot Noir. The way to ID a bloom is to have a photo of the real thing handy and then compare point by point starting in the center.

Are the pads a match in color - yep.
Is the eye the same shape and color - yep.
Is the halo around the eye, if any, the same color - yep
Is the main color of the body of each petal the same - well, not exactly in this case but it is a match if the purple were to drop out of the expected color.
Is the rim color a match, if any - these often change from a more intense orange or red to a lighter shade, even yellow.

What your photo seems to show is a Pinot bloom that has lost or never developed the intense dark purple of the main petal color that Pinot is known for.

Watch a few more blooms and try to catch the color as the blooms just open and see what happens. Also, be sure to use plenty of HVH fertilizer and/or booster so that the colors develop as expected.

Another likely explanation is simply travel stress. I have seen all sorts of changes in blooms that have been in the dark for several days as they travel. Within a couple of weeks all returns to normal.

Charlie

[Paul]

Thanks Charlie! I guess in my limited experience, I really never thought the bloom could be so different. It really doesn't look like any of the photos in the forum or on the web site.  I'll give it some bloom booster and keep an eye on it. Looks like I'll have a second bloom in a day or two. Excited to see how it looks compared to this bloom!

[Charlie]

Paul, just so you can ID it properly you may want to move the plant into the garage or house the day it is going to bloom so the sun/temp does not affect the colors. Let us know how it goes!

Charlie

[Paul]

I took your advice and moved Pinot Noir inside for a few days until the next bloom. I also gave it bloom booster. It bloomed again this morning and its starting to get darker blooms. Its not quite there yet, but its a huge difference from the first bloom! It's fun to see the transition and it looks like it will bloom again in a few days, so I'll keep documenting the progress. Thanks for the advice.

[Paul]

Got another bloom today. Each one is getting a little bit darker.