4starvan

Argyranthemum

Variety Description

Variety used for comparison: 'Butterfly'

Summary: '4starvan' produces a larger plant than 'Butterfly'. '4starvan' has a larger leaf size and shorter peduncle length than 'Butterfly'. The flowers of '4starvan' are white when fully opened while the flowers of 'Butterfly' are yellow.

Description:

'4starvan' has an upright bushy growth habit with a medium to dense branching habit. The leaf has an attenuate shaped base and cuspidate tip. The leaf is medium green in colour.

'4starvan' has a moderately thick peduncle and semi-double flowers. The longitudinal axis of the ray floret is straight. The ray florets fade from pale yellow when first opened to white when fully opened. 'Vanilla' flowers early in the season and has a long flowering period.

Origin & Breeding History: '4starvan' was discovered as a whole plant mutation of the argyranthemum variety 'Butterfly' in September 2001 at Carleton, Michigan, United States of America. The variety was selected by the breeders due to its growth habit and unique flower characteristics. '4starvan' was first propagated in September 2001 by vegetative tip cuttings.

Tests & Trials: '4starvan' was tested in St. Thomas, Ontario in the winter/spring of 2003. The plants were grown in a polyhouse and included 20 plants of the candidate and reference variety. Unrooted cuttings were stuck in 3 cm cell packs on January 13, 2003 and transplanted into 15 cm pots on March 7, 2003. Measured characteristics were based on ten measurements and colour determinations were made using the 2001 RHS Colour chart.

Comparison tables for '4starvan' with reference variety 'Butterfly'

Plant height (cm)

Plant width (cm)

Leaf blade length (cm)

Leaf blade width (cm)

Peduncle length (cm)

Colour of ray floret (RHS)