Sunbidesupa

Bidens

Variety Description

Variety used for comparison: 'Bidcomtis' (Solaire Yellow)

Summary: 'Sunbidesupa' is a bidens variety which has very compact plants compared to the reference variety 'Bidcomtis'. 'Sunbidesupa' has short peduncles and small leaves, whereas 'Bidcomtis has long peduncles and larger leaves. The flowers of 'Sunbidesupa' have more ray florets than those of 'Bidcomtis' and a larger disc. The ray florets of 'Sunbidesupa' are narrower than the ray florets of 'Bidcomtis'.

Description:

'Sunbidesupa' is a bidens variety with a compact, bushy rounded growth habit. The stems are red brown, with strong anthocyanin colouration and very dense, short hairs. The stems are moderately thick and edged. The leaves of 'Sunbidesupa' are dissected, ovate to rhomboidal in shape, with an acute apex and attenuate base. There is no pubescence on the upper or lower sides. The colour of the leaf is dark green on the upper side and light green on the lower side.

The peduncle of 'Sunbidesupa' is short, with weak anthocyanin colouration and dense, short pubescence. The bracts are linear to lanceolate and have sparse pubescence along the margin. The bracts are dark green and have 3 whorls. 'Sunbidesupa' flower heads have 8 bright yellow ray florets which are overlapping. The ray florets are elliptic in shape, with a dentate tip and weak recurvature. The margin is entire, with no undulation. There is very sparse, short pubescence on the upper side of the ray floret. Disc florets are yellow.

Origin & Breeding History: 'Sunbidesupa' was discovered in October 2000, within a population of seeding progeny from natural crosses of Bidens ferulifolia 'Golden Eye', that were made from April to October 1999 at the Omi R&D Centre of Suntory Flowers Limited. The new variety was selected on the basis of its very compact and unique mounding growth habit, having dense, yellow green foliage and large, vivid yellow flowers. The selected plant was propagated by cuttings and then grown in pots in a greenhouse and in the field from April to November 2001. The botanical characteristics were examined and it was concluded that 'Sunbidesupa' is distinct from other varieties, and it is uniform and stable in its characteristics.

Tests & Trials: Tests and trials for 'Sunbidesupa' were conducted in a polyhouse during the spring/summer of 2005 in St. Thomas, Ontario. The trial included a total of 15 plants of each variety. All plants were grown from rooted cuttings, transplanted into 15 cm pots on April 26, 2005. Observations and measurements were taken from 10 plants of each variety on June 2, 2005. All colour measurements were made using the 2001 RHS Colour Chart.

Comparison tables for 'Sunbidesupa' with reference variety 'Bidcomtis'

Plant height (cm)

Plant width (cm)

Length of leaf blade (excluding petiole) (cm)

Width of leaf blade (cm)

Peduncle length (cm)

Width of ray floret (mm)

Colour of ray floret (RHS)

Diameter of disc (mm)