QBARS - v27n2 R. 'Pinnacle'

R. 'Pinnacle'
David G. Leach, N. Madison, Ohio
(See cover picture)

Many Shammarello hybrid watchers consider 'Pinnacle', to be the finest of all of those produced by the veteran Ohio breeders. It resulted from a cross made in 1943 between two unnamed pink catawbiense hybrid seedlings. After 30 years the original plant stands seven feet high and five feet wide. 'Pinnacle' blooms at the end of May in the eastern United States. The large trusses are a distinctive silvery pink, much superior to the pinks with blue admixture which have been the staple of the trade in cold climates for a century. The foliage is naturally a slightly yellowish green.

This clone propagates easily via cuttings taken from one or two-year-old plants. Cuttings from older specimens root much less readily. In 1963, after a -35° winter at Brookville, Pa., when the standard "ironclads" lost an average of 50% of their flowers, 'Pinnacle' lost none. It has otherwise been uninjured in the 19 years I have grown it in the harsh zone 5a climate of the western Pennsylvania mountains.

It has been a great favorite with visitors and a credit to its creator.