One of the newest Sinningia introductions is 'Heartland's Maverick'. Will people look?

xSinvana 'Heartland's Maverick' grown by Gary's Specialty Plants

 Story # 10, Part I

            We don’t know why customers buy a particular plant.

            The Sinningia hybridizer works for the different and the improved.  Sometimes you just get what you get.

            ‘Heartland’s Maverick’ is an unlikely cross between xSinvana ‘Mount Magazine’ and a mini hybrid, S. ‘Los Angles’.  An unlikely hybrid, because xSinvana ‘Mount Magazine’ was predicted to be sterile.  Dale Martens made many tries of the cross and was successful.

            The parent xSinvana ‘Mount Magazine’ is an intergeneric hybrid between Sinningia conspicua and Paliavana tenuiflora.  This was registered with the Gesneriad Society in 2006 by Jon Lindstrom, University of Arkansas.

            ‘Heartland’s Maverick’ may be tetraploid.  The point of bringing up the possibility that it may be tetraploid is that the phenotype (what the plant looks like) could be good.  Physically, tetraploid plants have bigger leaves and the flowers have more substance.  The problem is that the plants are often brittle.

            Plants of ‘Heartland’s Maverick’ have big slipper shaped purple flowers that are cheery.

            Will the non-collector notice it?  Once we have enough supply, the market will be tested.  I like it a lot.  We’ll see if others do too.