Ballerina
P. wittmanniana is now considered a subspecies of P. daurica, as is P. mlokosewitschii. However, Saunders was able to successfully cross it with a lactiflora while he could not achieve the same cross between lactiflora and mlokosewitschii. As one of the first generation of hybrids between two species, it is a rare double. Thus it is a much sought-after plant which may prove difficult to grow.
| Cultivar: | Ballerina |
| Year: | 1941 |
| Seedling No: | 8891. Page 192 of Saunders’ Notebook I |
| Parentage: | 13A: wittmanniana X lactiflora ‘Lady Alexandra Duff’ |
| Flower: | Color: | greenish yellow; sometimes described as cream |
| Form: | double | |
| Blooms: | Week 2 | |
| Carpels: | 3, yellowish at base, shading to pink towards the style, glabrous | |
| Stigmas: | deep purplish red | |
| Disc: | pink, obscure | |
| Stamens: | filaments red at base, shading to yellow | |
| Plant: | Habit: | bush |
| Foliage color: | medium green, reddish tint to stems | |
| Foliage form: | smooth edged, pointed leaves | |
| Height: | 29″ in 2021 on 2 year plant | |
| Recommendation: | Collectors’ plant |
| Availability: | Very rarely offered and pricey when it is |