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A selection of the species from the wild that flushes red strongly in the summer sunshine. Also known as 'Balls Variety'. Alan Smith says: "Larger, more symmetrical rosettes, colouring well in the Summer." Sempervivum list says (in auto-translation): "A very pretty cultivated form with particularly spherical rosettes. The coloration of the underside of the leaves is darker than in the typical species. The tips of the leaves are broadly reddish-purple in colour. A robust cultivar!" and adds a biographical note about Edward Balls by Georg Merkl: "In 1936, Balls went to Morocco with Dr. Richard Seligman, an alpine gardener. They explored the oasis of Aguelmous, the volcanic mountains of Djebel Siroua and Djebel Amezdour, as well as the area of Djebel Toubkal in the Atlas Mountains. Seligman returned to England and Balls continued on his own and also went further east in the company of an ornithologist from Marrakech. They drove to Tirsal and to the foot of the Djebel Ghat, where Balls found attractive alpine flora. After following in Hooker's footsteps, however, he was more successful in his collecting and received the RHS Award of Merit in 1937 for the discovery of Colchicum triphyllum, which was collected near Tashdirt. Verbascum ballsianum, Salvia ballsiana, and Sempervivum atlanticum "Edward Balls" were named in his honor." |
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