Three strikes, and we’re (edged) out.

Emaryllis hasn’t always reported each attempt to get a desired cultivar into the gallery in great depth, but we have at least noted mislabeling frustrations in the effort to document ‘Cutting Edge’, an Israeli variety with few available photos online. Several years back it was purchased as a dry bulb by mail-order, and later in 2016, 2019, and again in 2020 the only way it could be found…in an expensive bulb kit. These are not the traditional box kits with a pot, media, and loose bulb to plant. The “box” is actually a glazed ceramic cachepot, no drained grower’s pot to sleeve within included in this case.

The stats, save for price, are much the same in all three cases over the years. The ceramic pot is from Portugal (Smith and Hawken branded), the coir disc is from Sri Lanka, and the bulb (claimed at 26-28cm circumference) is from Israel, though that is not noted. The kit is assembled and sold by the Netherland Bulb Company of Pennsylvania. This year, the price of the kit (found at a tony local nursery) was a whopping US $28.99. Similar kits with other varieties from the same supplier could be had for less. With both weary trepidation, and that good old Emaryllis spirit of hopefulness, the purchase was made November 10, 2020. Don’t think for a moment that paying sky high prices will insure either labeling correctness or performance…but we can hope, right?

There are other ceramic pot kits using bulbs from Saad-Assaf/Amaryllis IL on offer, including standard “open stock” varieties, but also their own magnificent ‘Ruby Star’ and for the first time in a kit, the pastel and peachy ‘Tinkerbell’.

The main reason for featuring the attempt to get ‘Cutting Edge’ this year is simple. In the time between purchasing the kit and writing this up, both Saad-Assaf and Amaryllis IL have updated their websites. Not only is ‘Cutting Edge’ gone, but similar “coming soon” ‘Minuet’, the spectacular favorite ‘Sophisticate’ and a host of others have disappeared. New varieties are being developed and introduced to give the companies a truly well-rounded amaryllis portfolio…but this was probably the last hope of getting ‘Cutting Edge’.

Though the bulb included in the kit did meet the minimum size requirement, it did not have any live roots. With luck (and warmth) it will strike some new roots to propel vigorous growth and proper bloom. The bulb was potted up, watered, and placed under lights November 13, less than 48 hours after purchase. The pandemic has allowed one good thing, plenty of time on hand!

The first scape opened its blooms around December 18, a little more than a month after potting up. The 16″/40.5cm scape produced four flowers, each with a familiar plain cream and green face with minimal red picotee edging. No boisterous and frilled picotee edge nor red brushed face of ‘Cutting Edge’ here, but rather the more subtle beauty of the grower’s most similar offering, ‘Emerald Dawn’. With four flowers on the first scape, this is not the best the cultivar can do, but certainly acceptable so long as you don’t mind the mislabeling part. For the record, Emaryllis does mind the mislabeling part.

While we are fans of ‘Emerald Dawn’, the wind has gone out of our sails as we realize that our last chance to see ‘Cutting Edge’ has faded just as these flowers have opened.

As the holiday lights offer splashes of color in and out of the home, and the amaryllis bench is vibrant with opening flowers, the cool and enchanting beauty of ‘Emerald Dawn’ steps in with its own welcome balance. While always appreciated in its own right, the bittersweet reality that we may never get the chance to sample its more lively sibling ‘Cutting Edge’ confers just a touch of melancholy to its quiet beauty.