Chrysanthemum plant named ‘Sunny Yoblush’

Abstract

A new and distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plant named ‘Sunny Yoblush’, characterized by its uniform and somewhat outwardly spreading plant habit; strong and freely branching growth habit; dark green-colored foliage; uniform flowering response and habit; can be grown as a disbud-type, spray-type or without bud removal; early flowering habit; large daisy-type inflorescences with elongated oblong-shaped ray florets; bright yellow-colored ray florets; and good postproduction longevity with plants maintaining good substance and color for about three weeks in an interior environment.

Description

Botanical designation: Chrysanthemum×morifolium.

Cultivar denomination: ‘Sunny Yoblush’.

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 ‘Sunny Yoblush’.

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 program is to create or discover new potted Chrysanthemum cultivars that are suitable for year-round production with uniform plant growth habit, good vigor and strong branching habit, numerous inflorescences, desirable inflorescence form and floret colors, fast and uniform flowering response, and good postproduction longevity.

The new Chrysanthemum is a naturally-occurring whole plant mutation of the Chrysanthemum×morifolium cultivar White Blush, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,441. The new Chrysanthemum was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant from within a population of plants of the cultivar White Blush in a controlled environment in Salinas, Calif. on Nov. 10, 2002. The selection of this plant was based on its uniform plant growth habit, good vigor and strong branching habit, desirable inflorescence form and floret colors, fast and uniform flowering response, and good postproduction longevity.

Asexual reproduction of the new Chrysanthemum by vegetative tip cuttings was first conducted in Alva, Fla. in February, 2003. Asexual reproduction by cuttings 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 Sunny Yoblush has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, daylength, and/or light level, without, however, any variance in genotype.

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

• • 1. Uniform and somewhat outwardly spreading plant habit.
  • 2. Strong and freely branching growth habit.
  • 3. Dark green-colored foliage.
  • 4. Uniform flowering response and habit.
  • 5. Can be grown as a disbud-type, spray-type or without bud removal.
  • 6. Early flowering, eight week response time.
  • 7. Large daisy-type inflorescences with elongated oblong-shaped ray florets.
  • 8. Bright yellow-colored ray florets.
  • 9. Good postproduction longevity with plants maintaining good substance and color for about three weeks in an interior environment.

Plants of the new Chrysanthemum can be compared to plants of the parent, the cultivar White Blush. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum differ from plants of the cultivar White Blush primarily in ray floret coloration as plants of the cultivar White Blush have white-colored ray florets.

Plants of the new Chrysanthemum can be compared to plants of the cultivar Yellow Blush, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,455. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Alva, Fla., plants of the new Chrysanthemum differed from plants of the cultivar Yellow Blush in the following characteristics:

• • 1. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum were taller than plants of the cultivar Yellow Blush.
  • 2. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum flowered about three to four days earlier than plants of the cultivar Yellow Blush.
  • 3. Ray florets of plants of the new Chrysanthemum were lighter in color than ray florets of plants of the cultivar Yellow Blush.

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 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 typical flowering plants of ‘Sunny Yoblush’ grown as disbud-types.

The photograph on the second sheet comprises a close-up view of typical inflorescences of ‘Sunny Yoblush’ grown as disbud-types.

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, following observations and measurements describe plants grown and flowered during the spring in Salinas, Calif., in a fiberglass-covered greenhouse and under conditions which approximate those generally used in commercial potted Chrysanthemum production. During the production of these plants, the following conditions were measured: day temperatures, 21 to 27° C.; night temperatures, 17 to 19° C.; and light levels, 5,000 to 6,000 foot-candles. Four unrooted cuttings were directly stuck in 15-cm containers, exposed to long day/short night conditions, and pinched once about two weeks later. At the time of the pinch, the photoinductive short day/long night treatments were initiated. Plants used for the description were grown as disbud-types. Measurements and numerical values represent averages of typical flowering plants.

• Botanical classification: Chrysanthemum×morifolium cultivar Sunny Yoblush.
• Commercial classification: Daisy-type potted Chrysanthemum.
• Parentage: Naturally-occurring whole plant mutation of the Chrysanthemum×morifolium cultivar White Blush, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,441.
• Propagation:
  • • Type.—Terminal tip cuttings.
    • Time to initiate roots.—About four days at 21° C.
    • Time to produce a rooted cutting.—About ten days at 21° C.
    • Root description.—Fibrous; white, close to 155D, in color.
    • Rooting habit.—Freely branching; moderately dense.
• Plant description:
  • • Appearance.—Herbaceous daisy-type potted Chrysanthemum that can be grown as a disbud-type, spray-type or without bud removal. Upright with lateral branches somewhat outwardly spreading; uniformly mounded crown. Strong and freely branching growth habit; about three to four lateral branches develop after removal of terminal apex (pinching); dense and full plants.
    • Plant height.—About 25 cm.
    • Plant width.—About 43 cm.
    • Lateral branches (peduncles).—Length: About 19 cm. Diameter: About 4 mm. Internode length: About 1.3 cm. Strength: Strong. Texture: Pubescent. Color: 146A.
    • Foliage description.—Arrangement: Alternate; simple. Length: About 7 cm. Width: About 5.2 cm. Apex: Mucronate. Base: Truncate with attenuate tendencies. Margin: Palmately lobed, sinuses between lateral lobes parallel to divergent. Texture, upper and lower surfaces: Pubescent. Color: Developing and fully expanded foliage, upper surface: Close to 147A. Developing and fully expanded foliage, lower surface: More green than 147B. Venation, upper surface: Close to 147A. Venation, lower surface: Close to 147B. Petiole length: About 2.4 cm. Petiole diameter: About 3 mm. Petiole texture, upper and lower surfaces: Pubescent. Petiole color, upper surface: Close to 147A. Petiole color, lower surface: Close to 146A.
• Inflorescence description:
  • • Appearance.—Daisy-type inflorescence form with elongated oblong-shaped ray florets. Inflorescences borne on terminals above foliage. Disk and ray florets develop acropetally on a capitulum. Inflorescences not fragrant.
    • Flowering response.—Under natural conditions, plants 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). Uniform and early flowering habit; plants exposed to two weeks of long day/short night conditions followed by photoinductive short day/long night conditions flower about eight weeks later.
    • Postproduction longevity.—Inflorescences maintain good color and substance for about three weeks in an interior environment.
    • Quantity of inflorescences.—Grown as a disbud-type, only one inflorescence is allowed to develop per lateral branch.
    • Inflorescence bud.—Height: About 8 mm. Diameter: About 1 cm. Shape: Oblate. Color: Close to 147A.
    • Inflorescence diameter.—Large, about 9.8 cm.
    • Inflorescence height.—About 1.9 cm.
    • Diameter of disc.—About 2.2 cm.
    • Receptacle diameter.—About 1.1 cm.
    • Receptacle height.—About 9 mm.
    • Ray florets.—Length: About 4.9 cm. Width: About 1.1 cm. Corolla tube length: About 4 mm. Shape: Elongate oblong. Apex: Emarginate. Base: Fused into a corolla tube. Margin: Entire. Orientation: Initially upright to eventually reflexed. Texture, upper and lower surfaces: Smooth, glabrous; satiny. Number of ray florets per inflorescence: About 22 arranged in a single whorl. Color: When opening and fully opened, upper surface: Close to 6A. When opening and fully opened, lower surface: Close to 6B to 6C.
    • Disc florets.—Arrangement: Massed at center of receptacle. Length: About 9 mm. Diameter, apex: About 3 mm. Diameter, base: About 2.5 mm. Shape: Tubular; elongated. Apex: Five-pointed. Number of disc florets per inflorescence: About 162. Color: Immature: Close to 154A. Mature, apex: Close to 12A. Mature, mid-section: Close to 144A. Mature, base: Close to 155D.
    • Phyllaries.—Quantity per inflorescence: About 18 arranged in two to three whorls. Length: About 1.1 cm. Width: About 5 mm. Shape: Lanceolate. Apex: Acute. Base: Truncate. Margin: Entire. Texture, upper surface: Waxy, smooth. Texture, lower surface: Pubescent. Color, upper surface: Close to 146A. Color, lower surface: Close to 147A.
    • Reproductive organs.—Androecium: Present on disc florets only. Anther length: Less than 1 mm. Anther color: Close to 15A. Pollen amount: None observed. Gynoecium: Present on both ray and disc florets. Style length: About 5 mm. Style color: Close to 154D. 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 greenhouse conditions.

Claims

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