Sweet Nathalie

Pieter Lindhout of Lindhout Ornata in the Netherlands introduced Sweet Nathalie in 2006, and it has spent the years since as the champagne understudy in the blush drama. When Cafe au Lait sells out, which is always, Sweet Nathalie is one of the two names farms reach for, the other being Breakout. Its case is the color, a true neutral champagne that flatters every palette it touches and blushes pink early in the season. Idlewild grew it for years before moving it to their retired list, noting the downward facing habit, while Summer Dreams carries it among their whites. It is not rare and it is not temperamental, and that is the point. This is the dependable version of a fashionable color.

Sweet Nathalie grows to about 48 inches and carries 4 to 6 inch formal decorative blooms on sturdy stems. The honest flaw is documented by Idlewild: it is somewhat clock faced, and blooms tend to face slightly downward, which costs some presentation in the field and makes harvest angle matter in the vase. It is otherwise an easy, steady plant in the BB class, easier to net and stake than the dinnerplates it gets compared with. Pinch at 8 to 12 inches and lift tubers in cold zones. It suits growers who want the Cafe au Lait palette in a more manageable flower; the tradeoff against Cafe au Lait itself is size and drama exchanged for steadiness and supply. Against Breakout, the other blush stand in, Nathalie is much smaller but droops far less.