Audelbley

Aubrieta

Variety Description

Variety used for comparison: 'Purple Cascade'

Summary: 'Audelbley' has weaker anthocyanin colouration of the stems and leaves than 'Purple Cascade'. The upper side of the petal of 'Audelbley' is blue violet while that of 'Purple Cascade' is violet. 'Audelbley' has broader petals with stronger undulation of the margins than 'Purple Cascade'. The petals of 'Audelbley' are overlapping while those of 'Purple Cascade' are free to partially overlapping. 'Audelbley' has a white and yellow eye in the area of transition to the corolla throat whereas 'Purple Cascade' does not.

Description:

PLANT: upright to spreading growth habit, dense branching
STEM: thin, absent or weak anthocyanin colouration
LEAF: alternate arrangement along stem, simple type, no petiole
LEAF BLADE: elliptic, entire to dentate margin, incisions of margin are absent or very shallow, very few incisions of margin, no variegation, medium green on upper side, light green on lower side, mostly absent anthocyanin colouration, medium dense pubescence

PEDICEL: mostly absent anthocyanin colouration
CALYX: medium to strong anthocyanin colouration at base
FLOWER BUD: violet with dark violet apex
FLOWER: 4 petals, when newly open the upper side is violet to blue violet with dark violet veins at base, when fully open the upper side is blue violet fading to lighter blue violet after anther dehiscence with a yellow eye in area of transition to corolla throat, when fully open the lower side is violet
PETAL: very weak reflexing, medium undulation of margin, overlapping arrangment
STAMEN: yellowish green filament, yellow anther
STIGMA: positioned below anthers, green
STYLE: light green

Origin & Breeding History: 'Audelbley' originated from a controlled cross between the female parent designated 'A009' and the male parent designated 'B023' made in May 2001 by the breeder M. Gutter, an employee of Syngenta Seeds B.V. in Enkhuizen, The Netherlands. 'Audelbley' was selected in March 2002 based on its early flowering and compact plant growth habit. Asexual reproduction by cuttings was first conducted in August 2002 in Enkhuizen, The Netherlands.

Tests & Trials: Trials for 'Audelbley' were conducted during the winter of 2008 at BioFlora Inc. in St. Thomas, Ontario. There were 15 plants of each variety. All plants were grown from rooted cuttings and transplanted into 16 cm pots on May 8, 2007. Observations and measurements were taken from 10 plants or parts of plants of each variety on February 29, 2008. All colour determinations were made using the 2001 Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Colour Chart.

Comparison tables for 'Audelbley' with reference variety 'Purple Cascade'

Petal width (cm)

Flower colour (RHS)

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Aubrieta: 'Audelbley' (left) with reference variety 'Purple Cascade' (right)

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Aubrieta: 'Audelbley' (left) with reference variety 'Purple Cascade' (right)