Dolce Vita

Blue Honeysuckle

Variety Description

Variety used for comparison: 'Borealis'

Summary: The plants of 'Dolce Vita' have strong vigour whereas the plants of 'Borealis' have medium vigour. The one-year-old shoot of 'Dolce Vita' has lenticels whereas the shoot of 'Borealis' does not. The shoot tip of 'Dolce Vita' has dense pubescence whereas the shoot tip of 'Borealis' has sparse pubescence. The bud burst of 'Dolce Vita' occurs very early in the season whereas the bud burst of 'Borealis' occurs early in the season. The leaf blade of 'Dolce Vita' is smaller than that of 'Borealis'. The leaf blade of 'Dolce Vita' is strongly elongated while that of 'Borealis' is moderately elongated. The upper side of the leaf blade of 'Dolce Vita' has absent or very sparse pubescence while that of 'Borealis' has medium density pubescence. The lower side of the leaf blade of 'Dolce Vita' has absent or very sparse pubescence while that of 'Borealis' has dense pubescence. The sepal of 'Dolce Vita' is short while the sepal of 'Borealis' is medium length. The fruit of 'Dolce Vita' begin ripening very early in the season whereas the fruit of 'Borealis' begin ripening early in the season. The fruit of 'Dolce Vita' are narrower than the fruit of 'Borealis'. In lateral view, the fruit of 'Dolce Vita' are narrow oblong while the fruit of 'Borealis' are broad oblong.

Description:

PLANT: strong vigour, semi-upright growth habit, rounded, strong degree of branching, very early season bud burst
ONE-YEAR OLD SHOOT: lenticels present, absent or very sparse pubescence, red brown bark, strong development of adventitious buds
SHOOT TIP: dense pubescence, absent or weak glossiness of bark, very strong intensity of anthocyanin colouration

YOUNG LEAF: weak pubescence at base
LEAF BLADE: very elongated (length to width ratio 3:1), acute apex, absent or very sparse pubescence on upper and lower side, light green on upper side in spring, medium to dark green on upper side in summer
STEM-CLASPING LEAF: large, very strong intensity of anthocyanin colouration

TIME OF BEGINNING OF FLOWERING: very early season
SEPAL: short, narrow
FLOWER: sparse pubescence on corolla tube, upwards attitude, style longer than anther

TIME OF BEGINNING OF FRUIT RIPENING: very early season
FRUIT: broad elliptic in cross-section, narrow oblong in lateral view, calyx end is rounded, medium sized eye opening, surface is intermediate (between smooth and rough), no tufts of hairs at apex
FRUIT SKIN: strong bloom, dark intensity of blue colour

Origin & Breeding History: 'Dolce Vita' originated from a cross made in May 1998 in Vlckov, the Czech Republic. The cross was made between two unnamed seedlings. 'Dolce Vita' was selected in June 2001 for its fast growth, early fruit production, large sweet tasting fruit, good garden performance, good characteristics for mechanical harvesting and good resistance to diseases and pests. 'Dolce Vita' was first propagated by softwood cuttings in June 2010 in Vlckov, the Czech Republic.

Tests & Trials: The comparative trial for 'Dolce Vita' was conducted in the field and examined during the summer of 2018 at BioFlora Inc. in St. Thomas, Ontario. The trial included a total of 15 plants of the candidate variety and 7 plants of the reference variety. All plants were grown from rooted cuttings and transplanted in the field on June 9, 2016. Observations and measurements were taken from 10 plants, or parts of plants, of each variety at various times throughout the summer of 2018. All colour determinations were made using the 2007 Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Colour Chart.

Comparison tables for 'Dolce Vita' with reference variety 'Borealis'

Leaf blade length (cm)

Leaf blade width (cm)

Fruit width (mm)

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Blue Honeysuckle: 'Dolce Vita' (left) with reference variety 'Borealis' (right)

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Blue Honeysuckle: 'Dolce Vita' (left) with reference variety 'Borealis' (right)