USPP16872P2 - Chrysanthemum plant named ‘Yolife’ - Google Patents

Abstract

A new and distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plant named ‘Yolife’, characterized by its upright cut Chrysanthemum that is usually grown as a natural spray; dark green-colored foliage; freely flowering habit; uniform inflorescence form and development; large daisy-type inflorescences; red purple-colored ray florets; response time about 11.5 weeks; long and strong peduncles; and good postproduction longevity.

Description

Botanical designation: Chrysanthemum×morifolium.

Cultivar denomination: ‘Yolife’.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plant, botanically known as Chrysanthemum×morifolium and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘Yolife’.

The new Chrysanthemum is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Salinas, Calif. and Alva, Fla. The objective of the breeding program is to create new cut Chrysanthemum cultivars having inflorescences with desirable colors and good inflorescence form and substance.

The new Chrysanthemum originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in December, 2000, in Salinas, Calif., of a proprietary Chrysanthemum×morifolium seedling selection identified as code number T2798, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with a proprietary Chrysanthemum×morifolium seedling selection identified as T3822, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent.

The cultivar Yolife was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled environment in Alva, Fla., in April, 2002. The selection of this plant was based on its desirable inflorescence color and good inflorescence form and substance.

Asexual reproduction of the new Chrysanthemum by terminal cuttings in a controlled environment in Alva, Fla. since June, 2002, has shown that the unique features of this new Chrysanthemum are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Plants of the cultivar Yolife have not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, daylength and light intensity, without, however, any variance in genotype.

The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of ‘Yolife’. These characteristics in combination distinguish ‘Yolife’ as a new and distinct cultivar:

• • 1. Upright cut Chrysanthemum that is usually grown as a natural spray.
  • 2. Dark green-colored foliage.
  • 3. Freely flowering habit, about six inflorescences per flowering stem.
  • 4. Uniform inflorescence form and development.
  • 5. Large daisy-type inflorescences that are about 10.25 cm in diameter.
  • 6. Attractive red purple-colored ray florets.
  • 7. Response time about 11.5 weeks.
  • 8. Long and strong peduncles.
  • 9. Good postproduction longevity with inflorescences and foliage maintaining good substance and color for about two weeks in an interior environment.

Compared to plants of the female parent selection, plants of the new Chrysanthemum have shorter flowering stems, larger inflorescences and longer peduncles.

Compared to plants of the male parent selection, plants of the new Chrysanthemum flower much more uniformly, have more inflorescences per flowering stem and flower slightly earlier.

Plants of the new Chrysanthemum can be compared to plants of the Chrysanthemum×morifolium cultivar Cumbia, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 8,113. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Alva. Fla., plants of the new Chrysanthemum differed from plants of the cultivar Cumbia in the following characteristics:

• • 1. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum had longer flowering stems than plants of the cultivar Cumbia.
  • 2. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum had a more upright spray formation and more uniform inflorescence form than plants of the cultivar Cumbia.
  • 3. Ray florets of plants of the new Chrysanthemum were lighter in color than ray florets of plants of the cultivar Cumbia.
  • 4. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum had longer peduncles than plants of the cultivar Cumbia.
  • 5. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum flowered later than plants of the cultivar Cumbia.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS

The accompanying colored photographs illustrate the overall appearance of the new Chrysanthemum, showing the colors as true as it is reasonably possible to obtain in colored reproductions of this type. Colors in the photographs may differ slightly from the color values cited in the detailed botanical description which accurately describe the colors of the new Chrysanthemum.

The photograph on the first sheet comprises a side perspective view of a typical flowering stem of ‘Yolife’ grown as a natural spray.

The photograph on the second sheet comprises a close-up view of typical inflorescences of ‘Yolife’.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

In the following description, color references are made to The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart, 1995 Edition, except where general terms of ordinary dictionary significance are used. The aforementioned photographs and following observations and measurements describe plants grown in Salinas, Calif., under conditions which approximate commercial practice in a polyethylene-covered greenhouse. Two-week old rooted cuttings were planted on Nov. 3, 2004 and received four weeks of long day/short nights followed by short day/long nights until flowering. Plants were grown as single-stem natural spray cut Chrysanthemums. During the production time, the following environmental conditions were measured: day temperatures, 24 to 27° C.; night temperatures, 10 to 16° C.; and light levels, 2,000 to 4,000 foot-candles. Measurements and numerical values represent averages for six to ten typical flowering stems and were taken about twelve weeks after the start of short days.

• Botanical classification: Chrysanthemum×morifolium cultivar Yolife.
• Commercial classification: Daisy-type cut Chrysanthemum.
• Parentage:
  • • Female or seed parent.—Proprietary Chrysanthemum×morifolium seedling selection identified as code number T2798, not patented.
    • Male or pollen parent.—Proprietary Chrysanthemum×morifolium seedling selection identified as code number T3822, not patented.
• Propagation:
  • • Type.—Terminal tip cuttings.
    • Time to rooting.—About 10 to 14 days with soil temperatures of 18 to 21° C.
    • Root description.—Fine, fibrous; white in color.
    • Rooting habit.—Freely branching.
• Plant description:
  • • Appearance.—Herbaceous daisy-type cut flower that is typically grown as a natural spray.
    • Flowering stem description.—Aspect: Erect. Length: About 135 cm. Spray diameter: About 18.5 cm. Stem diameter: About 8.5 mm. Internode length: About 3.4 cm. Texture: Pubescent; longitudinally ridged. Color: Close to 146A.
    • Foliage description.—Arrangement: Alternate. Length: About 10.1 cm. Width: About 6.2 cm. Apex: Cuspidate. Base: Attenuate. Margin: Palmately lobed; sinuses mostly divergent. Texture: Upper and lower surfaces, pubescent and leathery; veins prominent on lower surface. Color: Developing and fully expanded foliage, upper surface: Close to 147A. Developing and fully expanded foliage, lower surface: Darker than 147B. Venation, upper surface: Close to 147A to 147B. Venation, lower surface: Close to 146A. Petiole: Length: About 2.2 cm. Diameter: About 4 mm. Texture, upper and lower surfaces: Pubescent. Color, upper and lower surfaces: 146A to 146B.
• Flowering description:
  • • Appearance.—Daisy-type inflorescence form with elongated oblong-shaped ray florets. Inflorescences borne on terminals, arising from leaf axils. Disc and ray florets develop acropetally on a capitulum.
    • Flowering response.—Under natural conditions, plant flower in the autumn/winter in the Northern Hemisphere. At other times of the year, inflorescence initiation and development can be induced under short day/long night conditions (at least 13.5 hours of darkness). Plants exposed to three to four weeks of long day/short night conditions after planting followed by photoinductive short day/long night conditions flower about 11.5 weeks later when grown as a natural spray. Inflorescences uniform in form and development.
    • Postproduction longevity.—In an interior environment, inflorescences and foliage will maintain good color and substance for about two weeks in an interior environment.
    • Quantity of inflorescences.—Freely flowering habit, about six inflorescences per stem develop.
    • Fragrance.—None detected.
    • Inflorescence size.—Diameter: Large, about 10.25 cm. Depth (height): About 1.6 cm. Disc diameter: About 2 cm. Receptacle diameter: About 9 mm. Receptacle height: About 1 cm.
    • Inflorescence buds.—Height: About 7.5 mm. Diameter: About 6 mm. Shape: Oblate. Color: Close to 146A to 147A.
    • Ray florets.—Shape: Elongated oblong. Length: About 5.1 cm. Width: About 1.3 cm. Corolla tube length: About 3 mm. Apex: Acute to emarginate. Base: Fused. Texture: Smooth, glabrous; satiny; longitudinally ridged. Aspect: Initially upright; when mature, mostly straight and perpendicular to the peduncle. Number of ray florets per inflorescence: About 51 in three to four whorls. Color: When opening and fully opened, upper surface: Ground color, 155D, overlain with 70A to 71A. When opening and fully opened, lower surface: Ground color, 155D, faintly underlain with 70A to 71A.
    • Disc florets.—Shape: Tubular, elongated. Length: About 8 mm. Width, apex: About 2.5 mm. Width, base: About 2 mm. Number of disc florets per inflorescence: About 264. Color: Immature: Close to 144A. Mature: Apex: Close to 9A. Mid-section: Close to 144D. Base: Close to 155D.
    • Phyllaries.—Quantity per inflorescence: About 34 in about three whorls. Length: About 9 mm. Width: About 3.5 mm. Shape: Lanceolate. Apex: Acute. Base: Truncate. Margin: Entire. Texture, upper surface: Smooth, waxy. Texture, lower surface: Pubescent. Color, upper surface: Close to 146A. Color, lower surface: Close to 146A to 147A.
    • Peduncles.—Length: First peduncle: About 27 cm. Fourth peduncle: About 34 cm. Diameter: About 3 mm. Angle: About 30° from vertical. Strength: Strong. Texture: Pubescent. Color: Close to 146A.
    • Reproductive organs.—Androecium: Present on disc florets only. Anther length: Less than 1 mm. Anther color: Close to 21A. Amount of pollen: None observed. Gynoecium: Present on both ray and disc florets. Style length: About 5 mm. Style color: Close to 144C. Stigma color: Close to 9A.
    • Seed/fruit.—Seed and fruit production has not been observed.
• Disease/pest resistance: Resistance to pathogens and pests common to Chrysanthemums has not been observed on plants grown under commercial conditions.
• Temperature tolerance: Plants of the new Chrysanthemum have demonstrated good tolerance to low temperatures of 7° C. and high temperatures of 38° C.

Claims (1)

1. A new and distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plant named ‘Yolife’, as illustrated and described.

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