USPP34899P2 - Coleus plant named ‘UF19-79-2’ - Google Patents

Abstract

A new and distinct cultivar of Coleus (Coleus scutellarioides) plant named ‘UF19-79-2’ is a new Coleus plant, selected for having a combination of desirable traits that make it well-suited for good performance as an annual plant in the summer landscape. ‘UF19-79-2’ has foliage that is consistently dark red in color across the plant in both sun and shade trial conditions. ‘UF19-79-2’ is exceptional because it has an extremely vigorous upright and spreading habit, which is not typical of most predominantly red leaf colored Coleus plants. It is upright and spreading in habit, but it is more highly branched and uniform in shape than most dark red Coleus plants that have been produced to date. Since red foliage is one of the most popular consumer choices for garden plants, ‘UF19-79-2’ should have high utility for use in any part of the garden landscape.

Description

Genus and species: Coleus scutellarioides.

Cultivar denomination: ‘UF19-79-2’.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

N/A.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF FEDERAL RESEARCH SUPPORT

N/A.

BACKGROUND OF THE NEW CULTIVAR

The invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Coleus plant named ‘UF19-79-2’. The new cultivar ‘UF19-79-2’ originated from an open pollination conducted in May-November 2018 in Gainesville, Fla. between the female Coleus plant ‘UF18-64-7’ (unpatented) and an unknown male Coleus plant. A single seedling was chosen in May 2019 for further asexual propagation in Gainesville, Fla.

The new cultivar ‘UF19-79-2’ has been reproduced asexually for over 18 months through vegetative meristem tip cuttings and has been found to retain its distinctive characteristics through successive asexual propagations. ‘UF19-79-2’ was first propagated asexually by meristem tip cuttings in May 2019 in Gainesville, Fla., and has remained true-to-type since that time.

Plant Breeder's Rights for the new cultivar ‘UF19-79-2’ have not been applied for, and ‘UF19-79-2’ has not been made publicly available more than one year prior to the filing date of this application.

When compared to the female parent ‘UF18-64-7’, the new cultivar ‘UF19-79-2’ has an upright and spreading habit that grows more horizontal than vertical, and is well-branched. Leaves are predominantly dark red across the entire plant, with some leaves having patches of yellow green in the understory. In contrast, the female parent ‘UF18-64-7’ is much less vigorous and is more upright in habit with less lateral branching. ‘UF18-64-7’ has leaves with a similar shape, but they are more maroon in color with distinct lime green margins.

The new cultivar ‘UF19-79-2’ was selected for its excellent vigor, lateral branching, uniform overall habit, and intense dark red leaf color in sun and shade. It has superb vigor with dark red foliage color, and it produces an exceptional number of lateral branches. ‘UF19-79-2’ is a novel red foliage genotype that it is extremely vigorous and can easily grow four feet tall in the landscape while maintaining intense its dark red leaf color in both sun and shade. It performs well in sun and shade and has excellent vigor to withstand the harsh selection conditions our plants are subjected to in full sun trials in Gainesville, Fla.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The new cultivar ‘UF19-79-2’ has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype of the new cultivar may vary with variations in environment and cultural practices such as temperature, light intensity, fertilization, irrigation, and application of plant growth regulators without any change in genotype.

The following are the most outstanding and distinguishing characteristics of ‘UF19-79-2’ when grown under normal horticultural practices in Gainesville, Fla. ‘UF19-79-2’ has the combination of vigorous upright and spreading growth habit, excellent heat tolerance, and consistent dark red colored leaves that are significantly different than other Coleus plants. It has superior stability in foliage color in both sun and shade conditions, maintaining stable color in all conditions. It has excellent lateral branching, making it suitable for propagators and producers. ‘UF19-79-2’ has been observed to have long-season performance in landscape trials in Gainesville, Fla.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

This new Coleus cultivar ‘UF19-79-2’ is illustrated by the accompanying photographs, which show the plant's form and foliage. The colors shown are as true as can be reasonably obtained by conventional photographic procedures. FIGS. 2 and 3 were taken from plants grown nine weeks from unrooted cuttings in September-November 2021 in a glass-covered greenhouse in Gainesville, Fla.

FIG. 1 shows the pedigree of the claimed plant;

FIG. 2 shows the growth habit, form, and foliage of the claimed plant; and

FIG. 3 shows a close-up view of the foliage of the claimed plant.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE CULTIVAR

The following detailed description sets forth the distinctive characteristics of the new cultivar ‘UF19-79-2’. Color references are to The R.H.S. Colour Chart of The Royal Horticultural Society of London (R.H.S.), 2007 5th Edition.

Description of Growing Conditions

The detailed description was generated using nine-week-old plants of the new cultivar ‘UF19-79-2’ grown from unrooted cuttings in September-November 2021 in a glass-covered greenhouse in Gainesville, Fla. The plants were propagated in mist for ten days after cuttings were stuck, then grown in one-gallon pots for approximately seven and a half additional weeks.

Botanical Description

• Botanical classification:
  • • Family.—Lamiaceae.
    • Botanical name.—Coleus scutellarioides.
    • Common name.—Coleus.
    • Cultivar.—‘UF19-79-2’.
• Parentage:
  • • Female or seed parent.—‘UF18-64-7’.
    • Male or pollen parent.—Unknown.
• Plant description:
  • • Growth habit.—Upright and spreading.
    • Plant height (from top of soil).—40-45 cm.
    • Plant diameter (horizontal plant diameter).—65-70 cm.
• Propagation:
  • • Type cuttings.—Vegetative meristem tip cuttings having at least 1 node.
    • Time to initiate roots.—3-4 days.
    • Time to produce a rooted cutting.—7-10 days.
• Roots:
  • • Rooting habit.—Fibrous.
    • Root description.—Callus forms in 2-3 days, roots initiate in 3-4 days and become a highly branched cutting in 7-10 days.
• Branches:
  • • Quantity per plant.—8.
    • Branch color.—RHS 187A (dark red).
    • Texture.—Smooth.
    • Pubescence.—Not present.
    • Stem description.—Square-shaped stem, 0.9 cm in diameter at the soil line.
    • Branch diameter.—0.7-0.8 cm at the base of a 34 cm long branch.
    • Branch length.—32-34 cm.
    • Internode length.—4-5 cm.
    • Anthocyanin.—RHS 187A (dark red).
• Foliage description:
  • • Quantity of leaves per branch.—24-26.
    • Arrangement.—Opposite.
    • Fragrance.—Not fragrant.
    • Shape.—Ovate.
    • Length.—13-15 cm.
    • Width.—8-9 cm.
    • Apex.—Broadly Acuminate.
    • Base.—Attenuate.
    • Margin.—Lobed.
    • Leaf texture.—Top: Pulverulent. Bottom: Smooth.
    • Pubescence.—Not present.
    • Venation color.—Upper surface: RHS 187A (dark red). Lower surface: RHS 187A (dark red).
    • Venation pattern.—Upper surface: Reticulate. Lower surface: Reticulate.
    • Color, immature leaf.—Upper surface: RHS 187A (dark red) with patches of RHS 144A (strong yellow green) in the understory. Lower surface: RHS N186C (dark greyish red).
    • Color, mature leaf.—Upper surface: RHS 187A (dark red) with patches of RHS 144A (strong yellow green) in the understory. Lower surface: RHS 187A (dark red).
    • Petiole length.—4-5 cm.
    • Petiole diameter.—0.2-0.3 cm.
    • Petiole color.—RHS 187A (dark red).
    • Petiole texture.—Smooth, no pubescence.
• Flowers and seeds: Flowers and seeds have not been observed.
• Fruit/seed set: Fruit/seed not observed.
• Insect and disease resistance: Disease and insect resistance is typical of the species, thus no claims are made of any superior disease or insect resistance with this cultivar. The most common insect pests observed on this plant in Gainesville, Fla. have been long-tailed or citrus mealybugs (Pseudococcus sp.), which occur on older stock plant material held in the greenhouse for over 3-4 months. Impatiens Necrotic Spot Virus (Bunyaviridae) has also been observed in plants confined in greenhouses with mixed crops (peppers) infected with Western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis). The most common pathogen of this species in the U.S. is downy mildew (Perononspora lamii). This pathogen has been observed in stock materials grown closely together in cooler growing seasons.

COMPARISON WITH KNOWN CULTIVARS

Plants of the new Coleus cultivar ‘UF19-79-2’ can be compared to those of ‘UF13-42-4’ (sold commercially under the trade name RUBY SLIPPER™, U.S. Plant Pat. No. 28,566). The color on the upper surface of mature leaves of ‘UF19-79-2’ is RHS 187A (dark red) with patches of RHS 144A (strong yellow green) in the understory. In contrast, the color on the upper surface of mature leaves of ‘UF13-42-4’ is RHS 185A (deep red) with margins colored RHS N144C (light green) in an irregular pattern. Additionally, ‘UF19-79-2’ has thicker stems (0.9 cm in diameter), whereas ‘UF13-42-4’ has thinner stems (0.5 cm in diameter).

Claims (1)

What is claimed is:

1. A new and distinct Coleus scutellarioides plant named ‘UF19-79-2’ as shown and described herein.

Images