Liberator
Original name Commander. Flowers are held high above the foliage on strong stems that tend to be at an angle. In 2020 the luxuriant foliage had distinct purple overtones early in the spring (second photo).
| Cultivar: | Liberator |
| Year: | 1940 (first offering in Catalogue but under the name Commander, appeared as Liberator in 1941) |
| Seedling No: | 7224. Page 136 of Saunders’ Notebook I |
| Parentage: | 5: lactiflora ‘Primevere’ X officinalis (crimson single) |
| Flower: | Color: | deep red or crimson, may become purplish with age |
| Form: | single, 2 rows of about 10 rounded petals | |
| Blooms: | Week 5 | |
| Carpels: | 5, light green, glabrous | |
| Stigmas: | dark pink | |
| Disc: | crimson (reported); white, edged pink (mine) | |
| Stamens: | reddish throughout | |
| Plant: | Habit: | somewhat spreading bush |
| Foliage color: | deep green, sometimes purplish toned when young | |
| Foliage form: | leaves pointed, very crinkled and somewhat infolded | |
| Height: | 42″ in 2021 | |
| Recommendation: | Recommended |
| Availability: | Several specialty nurseries |
