Chrysanthemum plant named Libra
A chrysanthemum plant named Libra characterized by its medium sized blooms with white ray florets and a cream center, and prolife branching; natural season flower date August 29-September 4; blooming for a period of 5 weeks.
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Libra is a product of a breeding and selection program for outdoor pot mums (garden mums) which had the objective of creating new chrysanthemum cultivars with a decorative type flower, a natural season flower date around August 29-September 4; blooming for a period of 5 weeks. The new plant of the present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of chrysanthemum plant. Libra is a seedling resulting from a crossing program, set up by a previous breeder, and which records are unknown to the inventor. The new and distinct cultivar was discovered and selected as a flowering plant by Mark Roland Boeder on a cultivated field in Rijsenhout, The Netherlands in 2001. The first act of asexual production of Libra was accomplished when vegetative cuttings were taken from the initial selection in 2001 and propagated further in a controlled environment in Rijsenhout, The Netherlands. The new cultivar has been found to retain its distinctive characteristics through successive propagations.
The present invention of a new and distinct variety of chrysanthemum is shown in the accompanying drawings, the color being as nearly true as possible with color photographs of this type.
The plant shown in the photographic drawings was fifteen (15) weeks old when those photographs were taken.
This new variety of chrysanthemum is of the botanical classification Chrysanthemum morifolium L. The observations and measurements were gathered from plants grown out door in Rijsenhout, The Netherlands under natural day length and temperature and planted in week 23 in 2005. The natural blooming date of this crop was August 29-September 4 (week 35). The average height of the plants was 25-30 cm cm. The plants were pinched once, just after planting. No growth retardants were used. No tests were done on disease or insect resistance or susceptibility. No tests were done on cold or drought tolerance. This new variety produces medium sized blooms with white ray florets blooming for a period of 5 weeks.
From the cultivars known to inventor the most similar existing cultivar in comparison to Libra is ‘Unicorn’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 14,697). When ‘Unicorn’ and Libra are being compared the following differences are noticed: The difference of ‘Unicorn’ and Libra are (1) Flower size and (2) Plant habit. (1) The flowers of ‘Unicorn’ are smaller in size than those of ‘Libra’. (2) The plant form of ‘Unicorn’ is more erect than the ball-shaped form of plants of ‘Libra’.
The following is a description of the plant and characteristics that distinguish Libra as a new and distinct variety.
The color designations are taken from the plant itself. Accordingly, any discrepancies between the color designations and the colors depicted in the photographs are due to photographic tolerances. The color chart used in this description is: The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart, edition 1995.
Claims
1. A new and distinct variety of chrysanthemum plant as described and illustrated.
20070143902 | June 21, 2007 | Boeder |
Type: Grant
Filed: Dec 16, 2005
Date of Patent: Mar 4, 2008
Patent Publication Number: 20070143902
Assignee: Chrysanthemum Breeders Association N.V. (Aalsmeer)
Inventor: Mark Roland Boeder (The Hague)
Primary Examiner: Wendy C. Haas
Assistant Examiner: Georgia Helmer
Attorney: Steptoe & Johnson LLP
Application Number: 11/304,553
International Classification: A01H 5/00 (20060101);