About the name
Name. “Tiara” = “crown / diadem”. A hint at the dense white cluster-flowers as a crown — each branch carries a “diadem” of white flowers. A typical Boerner-style name (elegant English words with an aristocratic touch). Breeder: bred by Eugene S. “Gene” Boerner at Jackson & Perkins (Newark, New York, USA). Code BOEga. US Plant Patent PP 1,981. Introduced 1960. Parentage: 'Chic' × ('Demure' × unnamed seedling). Eugene Boerner (1893–1966), the legendary “Papa Floribunda”, worked at Jackson & Perkins from 1920 and bred dozens of floribundas over 45 years. Tiara is one of his later works, before his death in 1966 (like Saratoga, 1964).
Significance. A late floribunda by “Papa Floribunda”, representing the peak of American breeding in this class after the Second World War. US Plant Patent PP 1,981 — an official patent. The “crown-like” character of the dense white clusters is a rare decorative detail in the class. Leathery, healthy foliage is typical of Boerner varieties. J&P heritage: together with Saratoga (1964), Tiara represents a series of white Boerner floribundas of the 1960s. Not to be confused with other varieties called Tiara — this is the canonical J&P variety of 1960. There are no major international awards (neither AARS nor RHS AGM); Tiara is known primarily as a commercial J&P classic.