plant named ‘HF 1118’

Abstract

A new and distinct cultivar of Helleborus plant named ‘HF 1118, characterized by its upright to somewhat outwardly spreading and mounded plant habit; moderately vigorous growth habit; dark green-colored leaflets with lighter green-colored venation; freely flowering habit; purplish red-colored flowers; and good garden performance.

Description

Botanical designation: Helleborus x nigercors X Helleborus x hybridus.

Cultivar denomination: ‘HF 1118’.

STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY INVENTOR/APPLICANT

An European Community Plant Breeder's Rights application for the instant plant was filed by the Inventor/Applicant, Mr. Josef Heuger of Glandorf, Germany, on Jun. 20, 2023, application number 2023/1371. Foreign priority is not claimed to this application.

The Inventor/Applicant asserts that no publications nor advertisements relating to sales, offers for sale or public distribution occurred more than one year prior to the effective filing date of this application. Any information about the claimed plant would have been obtained from a direct or indirect disclosure from the Inventor or Applicant. Inventor/Applicant claims a prior art exception under 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(1) for disclosure and/or sales prior to the filing date but less than one year prior to the effective filing date.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Helleborus plant, botanically known as Helleborus x nigercors X Helleborus x hybridus and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘HF 1118’.

The new Helleborus plant is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Glandorf, Germany. The objective of the breeding program was to create new uniform Helleborus plants with unique and attractive plant habit, leaf and flower coloration and tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses.

The new Helleborus plant originated from a cross-pollination conducted by the Inventor in Glandorf, Germany in December, 2016 of a proprietary selection of Helleborus x nigercors identified as code number P546, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent and a proprietary selection of Helleborus x hybridus identified as code number O1627, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Helleborus plant was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant from within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination grown in a controlled greenhouse environment in Glandorf, Germany in December, 2018.

Asexual reproduction of the new Helleborus plant by in vitro axillary meristem culture in a controlled environment in Glandorf, Germany since April, 2019 has shown that the unique features of this new Helleborus plant are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Plants of the new Helleborus have not been observed under all possible combinations of environmental conditions and cultural practices. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environmental conditions such as temperature 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 ‘HF 1118’. These characteristics in combination distinguish ‘HF 1118’ as a new and distinct Helleborus plant:

• • 1. Upright to somewhat outwardly spreading and mounded plant habit.
  • 2. Moderately vigorous growth habit.
  • 3. Dark green-colored leaflets with lighter green-colored venation.
  • 4. Freely flowering habit.
  • 5. Purplish red-colored flowers.
  • 6. Good garden performance.

Plants of the new Helleborus differ from plants of the female parent selection in the following characteristics:

• • 1. Plants of the new Helleborus are more compact than plants of the female parent selection.
  • 2. Flowers of plants of the new Helleborus are darker purplish red in color than flowers of plants of the female parent selection.

Plants of the new Helleborus differ from plants of the male parent selection in the following characteristics:

• • 1. Leaflets of plants of the new Helleborus are darker green in color than leaflets of plants of the male parent selection.
  • 2. Flowers of plants of the new Helleborus are lighter purplish red in color than flowers of plants of the male parent selection.

Plants of the new Helleborus can also be compared to plants of Helleborus x ericsmithii X Helleborus x hybridus ‘COSEH 4500’, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 28,293. In side-by-side comparisons, plants of the new Helleborus differ primarily from plants of ‘COSEH 4500’ in the following characteristics:

• • 1. Plants of the new Helleborus have smaller flowers than plants of ‘COSEH 4500’.
  • 2. Flowers of plants of the new Helleborus are purplish red in color whereas flowers of plants of ‘COSEH 4500’ are white in color.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS

The accompanying colored photographs illustrate the overall appearance of the new Helleborus plant 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 Helleborus plant.

The photograph at the top of the sheet (FIG. 1) is a side perspective view of a typical flowering plant of ‘HF 1118’ grown in a container.

The photograph at the bottom of the sheet (FIG. 2) is a close-up view of a typical flowering plant of ‘HF 1118’.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

The aforementioned photographs and following observations, measurements and values describe plants grown during the winter in 17-cm containers in a glass-covered greenhouse in Glandorf, Germany and under cultural practices typical of commercial Helleborus production. During the production of the plants, day temperatures ranged from 12 C to 32 C and night temperatures ranged from 5 C to 12 C. Plants were 48 weeks old when the photographs were taken and 14 months old when the description was taken. In the following description, color references are made to The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart, 2015 Edition, except where general terms of ordinary dictionary significance are used.

• Botanical classification: Helleborus x nigercors X Helleborus x hybridus ‘HF 1118’.
• Parentage:
  • • Female, or seed, parent.—Proprietary selection of Helleborus x nigercors identified as code number P546, not patented.
    • Male, or pollen, parent.—Proprietary selection of Helleborus x hybridus identified as code number O1627, not patented.
• Propagation:
  • • Type.—In vitro axillary meristem culture.
    • Time to initiate roots, winter: About 55 days at temperatures about 12 C.
    • Time to produce a rooted young plant, winter.—About 170 days at temperatures ranging from about 4 C to 15 C.
    • Root description.—Thick to thin, fleshy; typically white to brownish in color, actual color of the roots is dependent on substrate composition, water quality, fertilizer type and formulation, substrate temperature and physiological age of roots.
    • Rooting habit.—Low branching; sparse.
• Plant description:
  • • Plant and growth habit.—Herbaceous perennial; upright to somewhat outwardly spreading and mounding plant habit with flowers held above the foliar plane; plant shape, roughly flattened globular; moderately vigorous growth habit and moderate growth rate.
    • Plant height, soil level to top of foliar plane.—About 24 cm.
    • Plant height, soil level to top of flowers.—About 32.8 cm.
    • Plant diameter (area of spread).—About 54.5 cm.
• Leaf description:
  • • Arrangement.—Leaves arranged in a basal rosette; leaves palmately compound with typically five leaflets per leaf.
    • Leaf length.—About 19.2 cm.
    • Leaf width.—About 25 cm.
    • Leaflet length.—About 14.7 cm.
    • Leaflet width.—About 6.6 cm.
    • Leaf shape.—Palmate; roughly reniform in outline.
    • Leaflet shape.—Narrowly ovate, narrowly elliptic or narrowly obovate.
    • Leaflet apex.—Acute.
    • Leaflet base.—Attenuate.
    • Leaflet margin.—Serrate; moderately coarsely undulate.
    • Leaflet texture and luster, upper surface.—Smooth, glabrous; coriaceous and tough; slightly glossy.
    • Leaflet texture and luster, lower surface.—Smooth, glabrous; coriaceous and tough; matte.
    • Leaflet venation pattern.—Pinnate and reticulate.
    • Leaflet color.—Developing leaflets, upper surface: Close to a blend of 137A and NN137B; at the base, close to 183B. Developing leaflets, lower surface: Close to a blend of 146B and 147B; midvein, close to 187A. Fully developed leaflets, upper surface: Slightly darker than NN137A; at the base, slightly tinged with close to N199B; marginal edges, close to 200A; venation, close to 144B. Fully developed leaflets, lower surface: Close to 147B; venation, close to 145A and 145B.
    • Petioles.—Length: About 13.7 cm. Diameter: About 6 mm by 7 mm. Strength: Strong. Texture and luster, upper and lower surfaces: Smooth, glabrous; slightly glossy. Color, upper surface: Close to 144A. Color, lower surface: Close to a blend of 144A and 144B.
• Flower description:
  • • Flower shape and habit.—Single rotate bowl-shaped flowers arranged in panicles; freely flowering habit with about 9 to 48 flowers per inflorescence and about 240 flowers and flower buds per plant; flowers face outwardly to slightly nodding.
    • Fragrance.—None detected.
    • Natural flowering season.—Plants begin flowering about ten months after planting; plants flower naturally from early winter into the late winter in Germany.
    • Flower longevity on the plant.—About ten days; sepals persistent, other flower parts are not persistent.
    • Flower buds.—Length: About 2.5 cm. Diameter: About 1.7 cm. Shape: Broadly ovate. Texture and luster: Smooth, glabrous; slightly glossy. Color: Close to 187C; at the base, tinged with close to 145C.
    • Inflorescence height (including peduncle).—About 33.2 cm.
    • Inflorescence diameter.—About 25.4 cm.
    • Flower diameter.—About 6.8 cm.
    • Flower depth.—About 2.6 cm.
    • Petals.—All petals are transformed into nectaries.
    • Sepals.—Quantity and arrangement: About five, arranged in a single whorl. Length: About 3.7 cm. Width: About 3.85 cm. Shape: Broadly ovate to close to reniform; slightly concave. Apex: Rounded, obtuse. Base: Broadly cuneate. Margin: Entire; not undulate. Texture and luster, upper surface: Smooth, glabrous; matte. Texture and luster, lower surface: Smooth, glabrous; slightly glossy. Color: When opening, upper surface: Close to 59B, 187C and 187D finely flushed with close to 60C. When opening, lower surface: Close to 59A and 59B; venation, close to 187D. Fully opened, upper surface: Close to 59B and 187C finely flushed with close to 60D and 70B; at the base, close to 186D; venation, similar to lamina colors; color does not change with subsequent development. Fully opened, lower surface: Close to 59A, 59B and 187C; at the base, close to 186D; venation, close to 187C and 187D; color does not change with subsequent development.
    • Flower bracts.—Quantity per flower: Typically one or two. Length: About 9 cm. Width: About 4.5 cm. Shape: Narrowly ovate to ovate. Apex: Acute to three-lobed. Base: Truncate to cuneate. Margin: Coarsely serrate; coarsely undulate. Color, upper surface: Slightly darker than a blend of 139A and 147A; towards the base, close to 145A; midvein, occasionally tinged with close to 187A. Color, lower surface: Close to 147B; midvein, close to 146C, occasionally tinged with close to 187B.
    • Peduncles.—Length: About 28.8 cm. Diameter: About 7 mm to 10 mm. Aspect: About 30 degrees from vertical. Strength: Strong. Texture and luster: Smooth, glabrous; moderately glossy. Color: Close to 144A to 144B; slightly to heavily covered with fine dots, close to 183C.
    • Pedicels.—Length: About 3.3 cm. Diameter: About 3 mm. Aspect: About 25 degrees from peduncle axis. Strength: Moderately strong. Texture and luster: Smooth, glabrous; moderately glossy. Color: Close to 145A; heavily covered with fine dots, close to 183A to 183C.
    • Reproductive organs.—Stamens: Quantity per flower: About 75. Filament length: About 1.5 cm. Filament color: Close to 160D. Anther shape: Double and broadly reniform; basifixed. Anther size: About 2 mm by 3 mm. Anther color: Close to 154C. Pollen amount: Sparse to moderate. Pollen color: Close to 4D to lighter than 4D. Pistils: Quantity per flower: About five or six, occasionally, seven. Pistil length: About 8 mm. Stigma diameter: About 0.3 mm. Stigma shape: Club-shaped. Stigma color: Close to 157A. Style length: About 0.75 mm. Style color: Close to 185B. Ovary color: Close to 150B; adaxial rib, close to 185D. Nectaries (transformed petals): Quantity per flower: About 13 or 14. Length: About 9 mm. Diameter: About 3.5 mm. Shape: Tubular, flattened; apices, obtuse. Texture and luster, inner and outer surfaces: Smooth, glabrous; slightly glossy. Color, immature, inner and outer surfaces: Close to 146D; towards the apex, close to 144B; at the base, close to 148A. Color, mature, inner and outer surfaces: Close to 146D; towards the apex, close to 145A; at the base, close to 148A; venation, similar to lamina colors; with subsequent development, color becoming closer to N148A, towards the apex, closer to 153B and at the base, closer to 153A. Seeds and fruits: To date, seed and fruit development have not been observed on plants of the new Helleborus.
• Garden performance: Plants of the new Helleborus have been observed to have good garden performance and to tolerate rain, wind, high temperatures about 35 C and to be suitable for USDA Hardiness Zones 5 through 9.
• Pathogen & pest resistance: To date, plants of the new Helleborus have not been observed to be resistant to pathogens and pests common to Helleborus plants.

Claims

1. A new and distinct Helleborus plant named ‘HF 1118’ as illustrated and described.