My beautiful 'Giraffe'!

Houston, TX(Zone 9b)

NOT!!

I bought this hippie marked as 'Giraffe' last fall. I was so excited!! 'Giraffe' has been on my "want" list for quite some time. Soon after getting it home and potting it up, I began to have my doubts, though. First, it was a really large bulb, and for some reason, I started thinking 'Giraffe' should be smaller form/bulb. Then, when the bud started emerging, it was HUGE. Again, "red flags" thinking it should be smaller. So, it takes forever to grow and come into bloom since I primarily keep them outside and only bring those in for weather protection that are actively growing and/or in bud - and right now with cooler temps, those growing are doing it slowly.

And finally it blooms! Should be named, 'Surprise!', as in, 'Surprise! I'm not 'Giraffe!!'' lol! I bought it from a reputable local nursery (and one of my favorites), but I don't blame them. I believe it was very likely a mix up at the grower or shipper - seems to have been a bigger issue than normal this year. I do plan to contact the nursery, though.

Not an unattractive at all, just not what I wanted. It's a very large bloom - easily at least 5", if not close to 6" across. It's a very salmon-peachy-pink color. Sorry about the flash, the light wasn't great and the sun still hadn't come up yet. It's not very dark, the overall color is close to the pic, though. It also hadn't fully opened yet, but it's been like this for a few days. The first bloom was stunted, and this was the second. I think this one's form is true, though, normally it would probably open a little wider.

Thumbnail by Carter
Houston, TX(Zone 9b)

eh, the color looks much more red on my monitor that it is. It's truly a nice, medium to light salmon-peachy-pink, and seems to be aging toward the salmony side (almost a touch of light orangey color coming in), with no actual red tint at all...

(by the way, that's 'Evergreen' peeking in from the side. Quite a little beauty!!)

This message was edited Jan 27, 2010 1:24 PM

Grayslake, IL(Zone 5a)

My Giraffe was one of the few that was actually right on my order in the fall.

Thumbnail by grrrlgeek

Good old Giraffe from last year...

Thumbnail by
Houston, TX(Zone 9b)

Nice. I love 'Giraffe'. Beautiful pics!

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