Dark Orange Yocupertino

Chrysanthemum

Variety Description

Varieties used for comparison: 'Yocupertino' (Cupertino) and 'Yoauburn' (Auburn)

Summary: 'Dark Orange Yocupertino' has a smaller flower head diameter than the reference varieties. 'Dark Orange Yocupertino' has a shorter ray floret than 'Yocupertino'. The apex of the ray floret is rounded for 'Dark Orange Yocupertino' while it is pointed for 'Yoauburn'. 'Dark Orange Yocupertino' differs from the reference varieties in the colour on the inner and outer side of the ray floret.

Description:

PLANT: spray flowering type, pot plant, 8 week response group, semi upright bushy growth habit, green stem

LEAF: terminal lobe medium to long in length relative to leaf length, lowest lateral lobe sinus medium in depth with diverging and parallel margins, base truncate, upper side medium to dark green

FLOWER HEAD: semi-double daisy type, medium density of ray florets
RAY FLORETS: ligulate, short corolla tube, moderately ascending to horizontal attitude at basal part, weakly convex in cross section at widest point, straight along longitudinal axis, apex rounded with weakly emarginate and dentate tip, inner side brown red (RHS 179A) aging to orange brown (RHS 169A-B), secondary colour yellow (RHS 12A-B) to orange brown (RHS 169A-B), secondary colour distributed throughout in diffuse stripes, third colour yellow (RHS 6A) located at the base in a solid or nearly solid pattern, outer side yellow (RHS 8A) streaked with orange brown (RHS 179C)
DISC: small diameter relative to head diameter, yellow green before anther dehiscence, no dark spot present at centre before dehiscence, light yellow at anther dehiscence.

Origin & Breeding History: 'Dark Orange Yocupertino' originated from a naturally occurring whole plant mutation of the parent variety 'Yocupertino', discovered and developed by the breeder, Mrs. Wendy Bergman, in December 2004 in Fort Myers, Florida, USA. 'Dark Orange Yocupertino' was selected based on its growth habit, flower production, flower form, flower colour, slow rate of maturation of the disc and excellent post production quality. Asexual reproduction of the variety by vegetative tip cuttings was first conducted in Fort Myers, Florida, USA in March 2005.

Tests & Trials: Trials for 'Dark Orange Yocupertino' were conducted in Leamington, Ontario, in the fall of 2009. Flowering trials were performed under greenhouse conditions similar to those used in commercial chrysanthemum production. Forty unrooted cuttings of both the candidate and reference variety were directly stuck into 15 cm pots, with 4 cuttings per pot, 10 pots per variety, planted on August 24, 2009. Plants were spaced 30 cm apart and pinched once prior to short day treatment. All plants had the center bud removed. Observations and measurements were taken from 10 plants of each variety on November 6, 2009. All colour determinations were made using the 2007 Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Colour Chart.

Comparison tables for 'Dark Orange Yocupertino' with reference varieties 'Yocupertino' and 'Yoauburn'

Flower head diameter (cm)

Ray floret length (cm)

Colour of ray floret (RHS)

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Chrysanthemum: 'Dark Orange Yocupertino' (left) with reference varieties 'Yocupertino' (centre) and 'Yoauburn' (right)

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Chrysanthemum: 'Dark Orange Yocupertino' (left) with reference varieties 'Yocupertino' (centre) and 'Yoauburn' (right)