Spartacus

Spartacus reminds me of a red firework exploding with the way the petals flow back to the stem. This reliable giant is usually one of my first to bloom (and often looks dark purple as a bud, making me nervous each year that my labelling system somehow failed, no matter how many times it happens lol). She is also, as most varieties I choose to grow and share, consistently productive. 

She is also queen of the sports with at least 5 other versions of her mutated into different colors that stabilized (including vassio meggos, Steve meggos, bohemian Spartacus,  Harvey Koop, and Louie Meggos)

Spartacus lives up to the connotation of its name. It has great strong stems, towers in the garden at around 5.5 feet tall, keeps its chin up even though it has a large burden, and handles the heat like it was born for it. This is another staple variety for me. 

5' Tall, A, Informal Decorative, Dark Red, 1993 US origin, hybrdized by: m senior