Cherry Vanilla

Dianthus

Variety Description

Varieties used for comparison: 'Cranberry Cocktail' and 'Black Cherry Frost'

Summary: The leaves of 'Cherry Vanilla' are grey green with strong glaucosity whereas the leaves of 'Cranberry Cocktail' are medium green with weak glaucosity. The flowers of 'Cherry Vanilla' are smaller than those of 'Cranberry Cocktail' and larger than those of 'Black Cherry Frost'. In lateral view, the upper part of the corolla of 'Cherry Vanilla' is convex whereas that of 'Cranberry Cocktail' is flat convex and that of 'Black Cherry Frost' is flat. The petals of 'Cherry Vanilla' have medium to deep margin incisions whereas those of 'Cranberry Cocktail' are very deep and those of 'Black Cherry Frost' are deep to very deep. The main and secondary colour on the inner side of the petals of 'Cherry Vanilla' differ from those of both reference varieties. The inner side of the petals of 'Cherry Vanilla' have a medium number of stripes whereas those of 'Cranberry Cocktail' have no stripes and those of 'Black Cherry Frost' have many stripes. The inner side of the petals of 'Cherry Vanilla' have a medium sized macule whereas those of 'Cranberry Cocktail' have no macule present. The petals of 'Cherry Vanilla' have a light blue pink tertiary colour in marginated pattern whereas the petals of 'Cranberry Cocktail' have no tertiary colour. The flower of 'Cherry Vanilla' has only two styles whereas that of 'Cranberry Cocktail' has three and four styles.

Description:

PLANT: medium density, flowers positioned moderately above foliage

STEM: internode is thin and circular shaped in cross-section, not hollow

LEAF: linear shape, absent or very weakly recurved, weakly concave in cross-section, grey green upper side, strong glaucosity on upper side, spiny ciliation of margin present

CALYX: cylindrical shape, weak intensity of anthocyanin colouration distributed along margin of lobes
CALYX LOBE: straight along longitudinal axis, medium to long
FLOWER BUD: circular shape, no extrusion of styles
FLOWER: double type, medium number of petals
COROLLA: convex profile of upper part in lateral view, concave to flat profile of lower part in lateral view
PETAL (INNER SIDE): mainly dark purple red (RHS 53A), secondary colour medium red (RHS 46C) to white (RHS N155C), tertiary colour light blue pink (RHS 62C) with marginated pattern, narrow width of differently coloured margin, medium number of stripes, no speckles, no area of flush, medium sized macule
PETAL MARGIN INCISIONS: many, medium to deep
OVARY: obovate shape, slightly ribbed surface
STYLE: only two, medium length, no shoulder
STIGMA: purple

Origin & Breeding History: 'Cherry Vanilla' originated from a cross and recurrent selection conducted by the breeder, Hans Hansen, in Zeeland, Michigan, USA, in the spring/summer of 2012. The cross was made between the female parent variety 'WP Passion' and the male parent variety 'Valda Isolde'. Initial selection of the new variety was made during the summer of 2013 based on flower colour and growth habit. Asexual propagation of 'Cherry Vanilla' by shoot tip cuttings first began in the summer of 2013.

Tests & Trials: The comparative trial for 'Cherry Vanilla' was conducted outdoors during the summer of 2021 at Variety Rights Management in Oxford Station, Ontario. The trial consisted of 20 plants of each variety. Plants were grown individually in 16 cm diameter pots positioned approximately 30 cm apart. Observations and measurements were taking on 10 plants or parts of plants. Colour determinations were made using the 2015 Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Colour Chart.

Comparison tables for 'Cherry Vanilla' with reference varieties 'Cranberry Cocktail' and 'Black Cherry Frost'

Flower diameter (cm)

Corolla height (cm)

Colour of inner side of petal (RHS)

Click on image for larger view

Dianthus: 'Cherry Vanilla' (left) with reference varieties 'Cranberry Cocktail' (centre) and 'Black Cherry Frost' (right)