Spartacus

Spartacus ranks twenty-first on the ADS Fab 50 for 2025 and carries both Derrill Hart and Stanley Johnson honor codes, a long-running exhibition flower that also became a popular dinnerplate for the dramatic deep-red color. It pairs naturally with Thomas Edison in a dark-dinnerplate planting, red beside purple, both built for impact. A mid-1990s introduction circulates, and the breeder code is on record, but we could not confirm either to a source we trust, so both stay flagged.

Spartacus is a large dark-red informal decorative, a dinnerplate that crosses from the show bench to the cutting garden. The deep velvety red reads dramatic at eight to ten inches, so it anchors an arrangement the way few colors can. As a giant-leaning variety it needs staking and rewards disbudding. Standard care otherwise. It carries Hart and Johnson honor codes on the Fab 50, so it has the show pedigree, but it is also simply a gorgeous red dinnerplate that gardeners grow for the drama. Thomas Edison sits nearby as the dark-purple counterpart.