Sports are traditionally less stable genetically than their sport parents (meaning the original form of the rose). It is common to have about a 30% reversion rate, unless you plant something REALLY unstable like Simsalabim. That thing appears to have an extremely high reversion rate. There was one of the Poulsen landscape polys Arena found he couldn't sell. The thing was so genetically unstable, there was no way he could tell customers what color to expect it to be. Walking the rows in the fields, it appeared as if there were a dozen different varieties planted. They were all the SAME rose. It was quite impossible to get ten that matched. Even when you found some which nearly did, the successive blooms were as different as the plants in the field. Who knows why plants sport in the first place, much less why they revert? No, you are NOT "doing anything wrong". It's just the roll of the dice you live with when planting mutations. Kim

Hey, Lucy, morning, glad you are able to join us from Florida! This is a first day blossom- she is still coloring up. By the second day, the slugs had gotten to her more but what they left is solid peach. I have another to photograph this morning. Kylie, my DIL Sandy is not only an incredible gardener, but she also carves wood and builds things. This birdhouse was a Mother's Day present 4 years ago, and was home to bluebirds- the metal on post was attempt to keep our cats away. The bluebirds finally left- their nerves were shot from constant bombardment from the felines. Ingrid, thanks- it is wild out there now. My sunny driveway is lined with brugs and the garage area gardens are loaded, too. And one sunny pond area has the brugs circling the retaining wall. Not to mention seedlings (most not blooming yet) everywhere! Hard to all take in- that's why so many photos- will sustain me for the winter months!

I can just imagine you showing this to a hosta novice and trying to explain, "Well, this is what Stripteas is supposed to look like, but this part looks like the parent, Gold Standard, and this part . . . ". Great plant! N

The HelpMeFind.com listing says Abracadabra is a sport (mutation) of Hocus Pocus, which is also striped. Hocus Pocus is listed as a sport of Black Beauty, which is dark red. I'll put a link below. (It's also possible that the rose bush had the wrong label on it, and is an entirely different variety.) Here is a link that might be useful: Black Beauty