I have had excellent luck with Benfica. If you do a search (I might have called it Benefica) you will see the huge flowers on sturdy scapes.

I'm curious...if you had a weaker scape, would you be willing to stake it?
K

I second the suggestion of Benfica..are you willing to let it grow roots before judging whether or not the scape will handle the weight of the flowers? As I'm sure you know, the first blooming for any new bulb with huge flowers is precarious at the least....with no roots...

Donna

Here's my Benefica...I see that several people gave it an extra "e"...
No Stake! PERFECTION!!
K {{gwi:376551}}

Thanks for the advise, and opinions. I'm happy to get your input.

Staking.....yes. But eventually the stem should hold up the flowers without help.

The color on "Benefica/Benifica" is absolutely beautiful! It reminds me of a freshly sliced Beet,...not the juice, but the interior.

How about color stability, disease resistance, flower substance?

Any comparisons with the other black-reds that I listed? Just asking.

Frank

I ordered an expensive Benfica from Europe, but it wasn't any darker than some of the reds I already had, which were probably Red Lion or something similar from a local Big Box store. I expected it to be beet red, but it wasn't.
Northwoodswis

northwoodswis4: .......

Thanks for the posting. I'm sorry that you were disappointed with the color of the 'Benfica' flower.

How can there be such dramatic color differences, and still be, the same plant? How does this happen???? Are stores selling the "Jeckyll and Hyde" of the plant world? Pictures of this plant, always show deep, dark, beet-red blossoms with blackish shadows, .... rich and velvety textured, right? There's a beautiful picture of this flower within this thread. But yet you say that this 'Benfica' that you flowered has blossoms no different than any common, generic "red" that could be bought in any of the Big Box Stores. What do you think is going on here? Mislabeled bulbs, comes to mind,... BUT,... if it's a cultural thing, how could/why would the color of a flower shift so dramatically under different growing conditions? Are the genes for flower color so fickle that color mutations/variations are likely? I'm thinking more mislabeled bulbs, than bad color genetics.

Maybe someone will explain why, and how, this lousy turn of events could happen. If it turns out to be mislabeled bulbs, then that means buying Hipp. bulbs is nothing more than a stinkin' crap shoot! That sucks!!!!! I'm getting ready to buy some bulbs, and I hope I'm not "surprised" in the same way.

I wish you happier, future results, for your efforts.

Frank

Northwoodswis

Most likely you got a mislabel.. quite a shame actually.. since you went out of your way to acquire one of these "beet" red bulbs..My Benfica came under the name of Charmeur (if you can believe that!) from Ebay..so you never know..I had to wait for two years before it finally bloomed and what a wonderful surprise when it finally did!! It is currently doing great. I also have a Red Pearl that I've had for several years, can't remember if it was a mislabel or not..but I do think that these bulbs are in fact mislabeled and not genetically inferior bulbs..those you may find at the big box stores..

And Frank, I think you have to be a bit more lighthearted about all of this and think of it as an adventure..I know, you want what you pay for, and nobody can blame you for that, but as I've posted before, some of my most prized bulbs have come to me as a mislabel..

Donna

here is my (Charmeur) Benfica..
{{gwi:426921}}

{{gwi:426923}}

and Red Pearl..

{{gwi:426925}}

What beautiful flowers, and with such rich colors! The "Benfica" seems to be a little darker/duskier, but the "Red Pearl" is a real beauty too.

Yes D... too serious. You're right ....I should lighten up, and just have some fun. They are after all, just plants.

I wonder if the "ROYAL VELVET" that I'm ordering will come close to this darker color?

Enjoyed to photos.

Frank