Chrysanthemum plant named ‘Empire Harmony’

Abstract

A distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plant named ‘Empire Harmony’, characterized by its uniformly mounded plant habit; decorative-type inflorescences that are about 4.2 cm in diameter; attractive two-tone bronze ray florets; and numerous inflorescences per plant.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plant, botanically known as Dendranthema grandiflora and referred to by the cultivar name Empire Harmony.

The new cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in New York Mills, N.Y. The objective of the breeding program is to create new garden-type Chrysanthemum cultivars having inflorescences with desirable inflorescence forms and floret colors and good garden performance.

The new cultivar originated from a cross made by the Inventor in October, 1994, of the Dendranthema grandiflora cultivar Sunny Linda (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,145) as the female, or seed, parent with an unidentified proprietary seedling selection as the male, or pollen, parent.

The cultivar Empire Harmony was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in New York Mills, N.Y., in September, 1995. The selection of this plant was based on its desirable inflorescence form and ray floret color.

Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal cuttings taken in a controlled environment in New York Mills, N.Y., has shown that the unique features of this new Chrysanthemum are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The cultivar Empire Harmony has 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 ‘Empire Harmony’. These characteristics in combination distinguish ‘Empire Harmony’ as a new and distinct cultivar:

1. Uniformly mounded plant habit.

2. Decorative-type inflorescences that are about 4.2 cm in diameter.

3. Attractive two-tone bronze ray florets.

4. Numerous inflorescences per plant.

The new Chrysanthemum is similar to the Chrysanthemum cultivar Glowing Lynn (disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 10,038). However in side-by-side comparisons under commercial practice, plants of the new Chrysanthemum differed from plants of the cultivar Glowing Lynn in the following characteristics:

1. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum are fuller and more flexible than plants of the cultivar Glowing Lynn.

2. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum flower about one week earlier than plants of the cultivar Glowing Lynn under natural season conditions.

3. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum flower more uniformly than plants of the cultivar Glowing Lynn.

4. Ray florets of plants of the new Chrysanthemum have yellowish centers with dark red apical margins giving a two-tone bronze appearance whereas ray florets of plants of the cultivar Glowing Lynn are more uniformly bronze in color.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS

The accompanying photographs illustrate the overall appearance of the new cultivar.

The photograph at the top of the sheet comprises a side perspective view of a typical flowering plant of ‘Empire Harmony’.

The photograph at the bottom of the sheet comprises a close-up view of typical inflorescences of the cultivar ‘Empire Harmony’. These photographs show the colors as true as it is reasonably possible to obtain in colored reproductions of this type. Floret and foliage colors in the photographs may differ from the actual colors due to light reflectance.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

In the following description, color references are made to The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart except where general terms of ordinary dictionary significance are used. The following observations and measurements describe plants grown in Leamington, Ontario, Canada, under conditions which approximate those generally used in commercial garden Chrysanthemum production. One rooted cutting was planted in a 15-cm container on Jul. 20, 1998 and plants were grown outdoors under natural season conditions. Measurements and numerical values represent averages for typical flowering containers.

Botanical classification: Deandranthema grandiflora cultivar Empire Harmony.

Commercial classification: Decorative-type garden chrysanthemum.

Parentage:

Female or seed parent.—Dendranthema grandiflora cultivar Sunny Linda, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,145.

Male or pollen parent.—Unidentified proprietary seedling selection.

Propagation:

Type.—Terminal tip cuttings.

Time to rooting.—Seven to ten days with soil temperature of 21° C.

Rooting habit.—Fine, fibrous and well-branched.

Plant description:

Appearance.—Perennial herbaceous decorative-type garden Chrysanthemum. Inverted triangle. Stems initially upright, then outwardly spreading giving a uniformly mounded appearance to the plant. Freely branching with lateral branches potentially developing at every node, when pinched, about 10 laterals develop.

Plant height.—About 30 cm.

Plant spread.—About 45 cm.

Foliage description.—Leaf arrangement: Alternate. Length: About 4.2 cm. Width: About 4.1 cm. Apex: Mucronate. Base: Attenuate to truncate. Margin: Palmately lobed, sinuses divergent. Texture: Upper surface slightly pubescent; lower surface, moderately pubescent. Veins prominent on lower surface. Petiole length: About 1.5 cm. Petiole diameter: About 3 mm. Color: Young foliage upper surface: 147A, glossy. Young foliage lower surface: 147B. Mature foliage upper surface: 147A, glossy. Mature foliage lower surface: 147B. Venation upper surface: 147A. Venation lower surface: 147B.

Inflorescence description:

Appearance.—Decorative-type inflorescence form with oblong-shaped ray florets. Inflorescences borne on terminals above foliage, arising from leaf axils. Disk and ray florets arranged acropetally on a capitulum. One inflorescence per terminal with numerous inflorescences per plant, about 10 to 12 per lateral stem.

Flowering response.—Under natural season conditions, plants flower in late September in the Northern Hemisphere about 74 days after planting, and flower for at least three weeks depending on weather conditions.

Inflorescence bud (before showing color).—Height: About 5 mm. Diameter: About 7 mm. Phyllary color: Close to 141A.

Inflorescence size.—Diameter: About 4.2 cm. Depth (height): About 1.5 cm. Diameter of disc: About 2 mm.

Ray florets.—Shape: Oblong. Length: About 1.9 cm. Width: About 5 mm. Apex: Dentate. Margin: Entire. Texture: Smooth, glabrous. Orientation: Initially upright, then horizontal to slightly downward. Number of ray florets per inflorescence: Typically more than 200. Color: When opening: Apex, close to 185A; mid-section and base, initially greenish to close to 12A. Opened inflorescence: Upper surface: 13A to 13C overlain with 185A, 185A fading with development; margins maintain reddish coloration longer than centers giving a two-tone appearance. Lower surface: Close to 12C to 14C with reddish, 185A, overtones.

Disc florets.—Shape: Tubular, apex dentate. Length: About 4.5 mm. Width: Apex: About 1.5 mm. Base: About 1 mm. Number of disc florets per inflorescence: Typically less than five. Color: Immature: 154A. Mature: Apex: 9A. Mid-section and base: Greenish white.

Peduncle.—Aspect: Flexible, angled about 35° to the stem. Length: First peduncle: About 5.4 cm. Fourth peduncle: About 9.4 cm. Diameter: About 2 mm. Texture: Pubescent. Color: Close to 141A.

Reproductive organs.—Androecium: Present on disc florets only. Anther color: 9A. Pollen: Scarce. Gynoecium: Present on both ray and disc florets.

Disease resistance: Resistance to known Chrysanthemum diseases has not been observed on plants grown under commercial production conditions.

Seed production: Seed production has not been observed.

Claims

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