Sweet May
How well I like this plant is probably evidenced by the number of photographs I’ve taken of it dating back to 2012 when I first saw and photographed it in Don Hollingsworth’s garden. It is a different, warmer shade of pink than many of the quadruple hybrids.
The flower color undergoes a transformation as the flower ages, becoming more flat and much of the pink fades to white so you might think (as I did) that a photo is of a different flower.
| Cultivar: | Sweet May |
| Year: | 1955 |
| Seedling No: | 16209 (ref. 1965 catalogue) |
| Parentage: | 28: lactiflora X (officinalis X (mlokosewitschii X macrophylla)) |
| Flower: | Color: | “warm” pink with white flares on the reverse |
| Form: | single, two rows (10 petals), cupped when first opening | |
| Blooms: | Week 3 | |
| Carpels: | 2-3, greenish yellow, slightly woolly | |
| Stigmas: | dark red | |
| Disc: | white, conspicuous | |
| Stamens: | filaments pink at base, shading to yellow | |
| Plant: | Habit: | upright, spreads more when mature |
| Foliage color: | medium green | |
| Foliage form: | medium sized leaves | |
| Height: | 28″ in 2021 | |
| Recommendation: | Highly recommended |
| Availability: | Several specialty nurseries |
