Echinopsis 'Shot Scarlet'
9th August 2018
Just arrived and newly repotted. An old hybrid produced by John Pilbeam. In an article on www.cactuspro.com he writes:
Several years ago, inspired by a Kent nurseryman, Fred Martin, who produced Chamaelobivia hybrids by the hundreds, I was tempted to create them myself.
I crossed Chamaecereus silvestrii (now generally considered a Lobivia) with any Lobivia that was in bloom at the same time, carefully spotting the crosses attempted with marks of different colors.
Many of the plants produced in this way did not deserve to be preserved. But in my fifties, I had half a dozen that were worth it and were reproduced.
They have been widely distributed and they are found quite unexpectedly on the competition tables1), or in some collections I visited, or even in other nurseries.
The two best, by far, were early named Chamaelobivia cv. Kent Sunrise and C. cv. Scarlet Shot.
The second best of the group, the Chamaelobivia cv. Shot Scarlet, gave Bill, my assigned photographer, great difficulties for several years before finding the right film to capture the subtle colors of the petals.
I think he has just done that, and it is hoped that the colour tests will do them justice. When I was a "little guy" (as they say with a Yorkshire accent in the commercials right now), my older brother
worked in a company that produced quality fabrics, which we generally couldn't enjoy, other than the velvet falls, which usually ended up in tablecloths. But the strange piece of silk he brought home one
day really tickled my imagination, with its colors changing from the angle of observation, giving the effect of a shimmering drawing composed of subtle colors changing with each movement.
So I thought it was appropriate for this hybrid with the petals of a bright scarlet, with a bluish tone on the reverse, to call it "Shot Scarlet", which proved very popular.
References:
https://www.cactuspro.com/articles/chamaelobivia_et_rebutia_hybrides (accessed 03.02.2021)