Cherry Appaloosa

[roadrunner]

Charlie,

Are you still propagating Cherry Appaloosa or would Peppermint Drop be a much better choice?    

[Charlie]

Yes. we're still doing Cherry Appaloosa as well as Peppermint Drop. Another good choice would be one of the newest hybrids that has Cherry Appaloosa as a parent.

Charlie

[helixturnhelix]

Is the bush good on this new offspring?  I have a CA and it is so slow growing, I like compact but this is ridiculous!

[roadrunner]

My CA lasted about 3 years and just died this week.  I managed to get a good looking small bush and some really nice blooms for a couple of years, but it didn't handle its first spider mite and whitefly attacks very well this year and went into a steady decline this summer in spite of diligent spraying and washing the foliage to get rid of the pests, and extra nutritional supplement to help recovery. The number of spider mites and whiteflies never appeared to get to a significant infestation level so I'm surprised it became so stressed and weakened. Possibly some type of disease was transmitted by mites or whiteflies.

I'm putting this one on my too tempermental for my level of expertise list.  I'm hoping to give Peppermint Drop a try if I can get my hands on one.

[blupit007]

My first CA bloom. LOVE IT!

[Charlie]

Beautiful blooms, Kristen. You captured the color very well, seems to me.

Sorry to hear about the loss, Dave, but not surprised. Cherry Appaloosa is a touchy one. I would have gotten rid of it long ago except for those perfect blooms.

There are a few new grafted ones that will be made available this summer to those who will take on the challenge of growing it. To my surprise, the one that I had over the years that did the best is the one we planted in our full sun outdoor garden in Fallbrook. It was stronger and grew better than the potted ones I had. CA is turning out to be useful in hybridizing when crossed with a good bush like Saffron.

Charlie

[blupit007]

Charlie, I was really happy when I saw the bloom open.  When it was almost ready it looked like it would be all red.  But then it opened half way and I was happy, then it opened all the way and I was even happier.  I crossed it both ways with Cindy's Heart.  They both opened on the same day.