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The 'New Yorkers' and 'Parisiennes' are bound by a common ancestor, 'Royal Chocolate Distinction', a seedling Eleonore selected way back in the mid 1980's.

Although enchanted by its distinctively rich colouring, she noticed that the colour didn't hold for long, so set about crossing it with other varieties with the intention of creating plants with both strength, endurance and good colour. 

Selections from seedling crossings with a variety brought back from the USA resulted in the 'New York' series, while the 'Parisiennes' were derived from crossings from a European bred variety.

As simple as it all sounds in principle, the truth is still that Eleonore has spent years crossing, planting and selecting seedlings to cream off the elite plants worthy of flying her flag!

Eleonore with a tray full of seeds collected from her own crossings. Who knows what treasures lie in here!