plant named ‘SUNBIDEVB 9’

Abstract

A new and distinct cultivar of Bidens plant named ‘SUNBIDEVB 9’, characterized by its compact, upright to somewhat outwardly spreading and mounding plant habit; vigorous growth habit; freely branching habit; freely flowering habit; year-round flowering habit; large inflorescences with reddish orange-colored ray florets; and good garden performance.

Description

Botanical designation: Bidens ferulifolia.

Cultivar denomination: ‘SUNBIDEVB 9’.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Bidens plant, botanically known as Bidens ferulifolia and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘SUNBIDEVB 9’.

The new Bidens plant is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Fukaya, Saitama, Japan. The objective of the breeding program is to create new compact and mounding Bidens plants with year-round flowering habit and numerous inflorescences with reddish orange-colored ray florets.

The new Bidens plant originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in Fukaya, Saitama, Japan in May, 2019 of a proprietary selection of Bidens ferulifolia identified as code number 1912-2, not patented, as the female, or seed parent with a proprietary selection of Bidens ferulifolia identified as code number 1912-3-1, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Bidens plant was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant from within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled greenhouse environment in Fukaya, Saitama, Japan in March, 2020.

Asexual reproduction of the new Bidens plant by vegetative cuttings in a controlled environment in Fukaya, Saitama, Japan since June, 2020 has shown that the unique features of this new Bidens plant are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Plants of the new Bidens 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 ‘SUNBIDEVB 9’. These characteristics in combination distinguish ‘SUNBIDEVB 9’ as a new and distinct Bidens plant:

• • 1. Compact, upright to somewhat outwardly spreading and mounding plant habit.
  • 2. Vigorous growth habit.
  • 3. Freely branching habit.
  • 4. Freely flowering habit.
  • 5. Year-round flowering habit.
  • 6. Large inflorescences with reddish orange-colored ray florets.
  • 7. Good garden performance.

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

• • 1. Plants of the new Bidens are more mounding than and not as upright as plants of the female parent selection.
  • 2. Plants of the new Bidens flower throughout the year whereas plants of the female parent selection only flower in the summer.
  • 3. Plants of the new Bidens have shorter peduncles than plants of the female parent selection.

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

• • 1. Plants of the new Bidens are more mounding than and not as outwardly spreading as plants of the male parent selection.
  • 2. Plants of the new Bidens flower throughout the year whereas plants of the male parent selection only flower in the summer and winter.
  • 3. Plants of the new Bidens are more high temperature-tolerant than plants of the male parent selection.

Plants of the new Bidens can be compared to plants of Bidens ferulifolia ‘Sunbidevb 2’, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 27,703. In side-by-side comparisons, plants of the new Bidens differ primarily from plants of ‘Sunbidevb 2’ in the following characteristics:

• • 1. Plants of the new Bidens are more upright than and not as outwardly spreading as plants of ‘Sunbidevb 2’.
  • 2. Plants of the new Bidens have shorter and darker green- colored leaves than plants of ‘Sunbidevb 2’.
  • 3. Plants of the new Bidens have larger inflorescences than plants of ‘Sunbidevb 2’.
  • 4. Plants of the new Bidens have reddish orange-colored ray florets whereas plants of ‘Sunbidevb 2’ have yellow orange and bright orange red-colored ray florets.
  • 5. Plants of the new Bidens have shorter peduncles than plants of ‘Sunbidevb 2’.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS

The accompanying photographs illustrate the overall appearance of the new Bidens 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 Bidens plant.

The photograph on the first sheet (FIG. 1) is a side perspective view of a typical flowering plant of ‘SUNBIDEVB 9’ grown in a container.

The photograph on the second sheet (FIG. 2) is a close-up view of typical inflorescences of ‘SUNBIDEVB 9’.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

The aforementioned photographs and following observations and measurements describe plants grown in 18-cm containers during the autumn in an outdoor nursery in Higashiomi, Shiga, Japan and under cultural practices typical of commercial Bidens production. During the production of the plants, day temperatures ranged from 20° C. to 30° C. and night temperatures ranged from 10° C. to 20° C. Plants were three months old when the photographs and description were 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: Bidens ferulifolia ‘SUNBIDEVB 9’.
• Parentage:
  • • Female, or seed, parent.—Proprietary selection of Bidens ferulifolia identified as code number 1912-2, not patented.
    • Male, or pollen, parent.—Proprietary selection of Bidens ferulifolia identified as code number 1912-3-1, not patented.
• Propagation:
  • • Type.—By vegetative cuttings.
    • Time to initiate roots, summer.—About seven days at temperatures ranging from 20° C. to 25° C.
    • Time to initiate roots, winter.—About ten days at temperatures ranging from 12° C. to 15° C.
    • Time to produce a rooted young plant, summer.—About ten days at temperatures ranging from 20° C. to 25° C.
    • Time to produce a rooted young plant, winter.—About two weeks at temperatures ranging from 12° C. to 15° C.
    • Root description.—Fibrous; typically white in color, actual color of the roots is dependent on substrate composition, water quality, fertilizers, substrate temperature and physiological age of roots.
    • Rooting habit.—Freely branching.
• Plant description:
  • • Plant and growth habit.—Compact, upright to somewhat outwardly spreading and mounding plant habit; vigorous growth habit.
    • Branching habit.—Freely branching habit with about six primary lateral branches with secondary lateral branches potentially forming at every node.
    • Plant height.—About 32.5 cm.
    • Plant diameter or spread.—About 44 cm.
    • Lateral branches.—Length: About 20.4 cm. Diameter: About 1.9 mm. Internode length: About 2.3 cm. Strength: Strong. Aspect: Upright to outwardly. Texture: Sparsely pubescent. Color: Close to 144A.
• Leaf description:
  • • Arrangement.—Opposite, simple.
    • Length.—About 2.1 cm.
    • Width.—About 2.6 cm.
    • Shape.—Roughly deltoid; pinnatisect.
    • Apex.—Acute.
    • Base.—Truncate.
    • Margin.—Serrate.
    • Texture, upper and lower surfaces.—Mostly smooth and glabrous to sparsely pubescent.
    • Venation pattern.—Pinnate, reticulate.
    • Color.—Developing leaves, upper and lower surfaces: Close to 137B. Fully expanded leaves, upper surface: Close to 137B; venation, close to 138B. Fully expanded leaves, lower surface: Close to 138B; venation, close to 138B.
    • Petioles.—Length: About 4 mm. Diameter: About 1 mm. Texture, upper and lower surfaces: Sparsely pubescent. Color, upper and lower surfaces: Close to 138B.
• Inflorescence description:
  • • Appearance.—Large single inflorescences with ray and disc florets forming acropetally on a receptacle; upright inflorescences positioned above and beyond the foliar plane on strong peduncles; inflorescences face mostly upright.
    • Flowering habit.—Freely flowering habit with about 107 inflorescences developing per plant.
    • Fragrance.—Fragrant; pleasant.
    • Natural flowering season.—Plants flower year-round in Japan; early flowering habit, plants begin flowering about four weeks after planting rooted young plants.
    • Inflorescence longevity.—Individual inflorescences last about seven to ten days on the plant; inflorescences not persistent.
    • Inflorescence buds.—Height: About 1.2 cm. Diameter: About 7.9 mm. Shape: Ovoid. Color: Close to 166B.
    • Inflorescence size.—Diameter: About 3.9 cm. Depth (height): About 8.6 mm. Disc diameter: About 7.6 mm.
    • Receptacles.—Diameter: About 3.4 mm. Height: About 1.4 cm. Color: Close to 138A.
    • Ray florets.—Number of ray florets per inflorescence: About six to eight arranged in a single whorl. Length: About 2 cm. Width: About 1.2 cm. Shape: Elliptic. Apex: Mostly acute to shallowly emarginate. Base: Obtuse. Margin: Entire. Aspect: Mostly flat and horizontal. Texture, upper and lower surfaces: Smooth, glabrous. Color: When opening, upper surface: Close to N34A; towards the base, close to N34B. When opening, lower surface: Close to 168B. Fully opened, upper surface: Close to 172B; towards the base, close to 13A; venation, close to 172B. Fully opened, lower surface: Close to 168C and 172C; venation, close to 152C.
    • Disc florets.—Number of disc florets per inflorescence: About 49. Shape: Tubular, elongated; apex, five-pointed. Length: About 6.1 mm. Diameter: Distally, about 1.2 mm; proximally, about 0.7 mm. Texture, inner and outer surfaces: Smooth, glabrous. Color, inner and outer surfaces: Close to 151B.
    • Phyllaries.—Quantity per inflorescence: About nine. Length: About 4.4 mm. Width: About 1.3 mm. Shape: Lanceolate. Apex: Acute. Base: Truncate, fused. Margin: Entire. Texture, upper and lower surfaces: Smooth, glabrous to sparsely pubescent. Color, upper surface: Distally, close to 187A; proximally, close to NN137B. Color, lower surface: Close to NN137A.
    • Peduncles.—Length, terminal peduncle: About 5.4 cm. Diameter: About 1.1 mm. Strength: Strong; flexible. Aspect: Upright to outwardly, inflorescences held above and beyond the foliar plane. Texture: Smooth, glabrous. Color: Close to 144A.
    • Reproductive organs.—Androecium: Present on disc florets only. Quantity per disc floret: Five. Filament length: About 3.4 mm. Filament color: Close to 150C. Anther shape: Lanceolate. Anther length: About 1.6 mm. Anther color: Close to N79A. Pollen amount: Moderate. Pollen color: Close to 7A. Gynoecium: Present on ray and disc florets. Pistil length: About 5.6 mm. Style color: Close to 150C. Stigma shape: Bifurcate. Stigma color: Close to 6C. Ovary color: Close to 6C.
    • Seeds.—To date, seed development has not been observed on plants of the new Bidens.
• Pathogen & pest resistance: To date, plants of the new Bidens have not been shown to be resistant to pathogens and pests common to Bidens plants.
• Garden performance: Plants of the new Bidens have exhibited good garden performance and to tolerate rain, wind and temperatures ranging from 5° C. to 35° C.

Claims

1. A new and distinct Bidens plant named ‘SUNBIDEVB 9’ as herein illustrated and described.