Shiloh Noelle

Cunningham introduced it in 1986, and almost forty years on it still sells out across multiple farms. The petals are the reason. Triple Wren describes them as incredibly sweet and pillowy, twisting around a soft center. The color drifts with the calendar. Early blooms lean yellow-pink, while fall flowers shift toward lavender and white, so the September cut is the one people photograph. Scarcity has a mechanical cause: Triple Wren's comparison trial found it makes fewer tubers than Bloomquist Compare, its closest lookalike, so stock builds slowly no matter how much demand piles up. Bloomquist Compare propagates more readily, but the pillowy twist that defines Shiloh Noelle is what you would be giving up. A late bloomer worth waiting for, in Triple Wren's words.

A giant informal decorative, ADS code 0110, with blooms around 8 to 10 inches on a 36 to 48 inch plant. Farm listings range from 6 inches to over 10, so treat bloom size as weather and culture dependent. Third Season reports stems of 12 to 24 inches and a vase life of 5 to 6 days, unusually good for a dinnerplate. It blooms late. Triple Wren calls it a late bloomer worth waiting for, so northern growers with short seasons should start it early and pinch promptly. Triple Wren also reports lower tuber production than its near-twin Bloomquist Compare, which means slower stock building and explains some of the scarcity. It suits patient gardeners and wedding-focused growers whose season peaks in September.