The flower stalks averaged 28 to 32 inches tall, well branched; foliage was dark green with no purple tinge at the base. The flowers' falls were more rounded than Wabash and flared more than does Wabash. Consensus among knowledgeable viewers was; "It's not Wabash" and this was apparent from some distance. No 'it could be _______' gueses surfaced, at least on our bus.
In correspondence with Phil Edinger, HIPS ID Chairman, he has the following thoughts: "What about MELODY (Sass 1955) as the Wabash-impostor? Parantage is Amigo X Wabash, and the intro description (in Fleur de Lis catalog) contains this info: "...flowers are medium large with excellent form and finish. The clean silver toned standards are broad, slightly ruffled and well domed and the semi-flaring falls of deep blue violet are very clean and rich, with a velvety finish. A full gold beard and a hairline edge of white add to its beauty. Graceful, excellently branched stalks with many blooms out at once...."The catalog has a photo which shows standares somewhat conic and beards fairly orange, the falls definitely but very narrowly margined. Season is given as ML.
Melody was grown in the Sass garden for the 1990 AIS convention, where it was widely seen. "...Superstition got it that year or the next, then listed it for a few years. They discontinued it -- poor sales and NO bloom for them (sounds like my Chiquita), so I took some rhizomes. It DID flower for me but was so ho-hum that I dumped it. Now I wish I had paid closer attention!"
