USCALI51

Calibrachoa

Variety Description

Varieties used for comparison: 'Sunbelkubu' (Million Bells Trailing Blue) and 'KLEC02070' (Minifamous Dark Blue Evolution)

Summary: 'USCALI51' has thicker and longer shoots than 'Sunbelkubu' and 'KLEC02070'. The leaf of 'USCALI51' is slightly larger than 'Sunbelkubu' and 'KLEC02070'. 'USCALI51' has an elliptic shaped leaf while 'Sunbelkubu' has an obovate shaped leaf and 'KLEC02070' has an elliptic to obovate shaped leaf. The sepal of 'USCALI51' is slightly longer and narrower than 'Sunbelkubu' but shorter and narrower than 'KLEC02070'. 'USCALI51' has a lanceolate shaped sepal while in 'Sunbelkubu' it is rhombic, and in 'KLEC02070' it is lanceolate and rhombic. The corolla lobing and undulation of the margin is stronger in 'USCALI51' than 'Sunbelkubu'. 'USCALI51' has stronger undulation of the margin than 'KLEC02070'. The conspicuousness of the veins on the upper side of the corolla lobe in 'USCALI51' is stronger than in 'Sunbelkubu'.

Description:

'USCALI51' is a tall calibrachoa variety with an upright growth habit. The shoots are thick, medium to long in length with a medium to strong intensity of anthocyanin. The leaves are medium green, elliptic in shape with a broadly acute apex. There is no variegation or blistering present on the leaf blade. The sepals are lanceolate in shape with no anthocyanin present. 'USCALI51' produces single, funnelform, purple flowers. The corolla has strong lobing with medium undulation of the margin and strong conspicuousness of the veins. The corolla lobe apex is emarginate. The inside of the corolla tube is yellow and has veins of medium to strong conspicuousness. Anther colour is yellow.

Origin & Breeding History: 'USCALI51' is the product of a planned breeding program conducted by the breeder, Ushio Sakazaki of Hikone Shiga, Japan. The objectives of the program was to create new semi-upright calibrachoa varieties with greater disease resistance and heat tolerance. 'USCALI51' originated from a cross made by the breeder on May 10, 1998 in Shiga, Japan, with the blue seedling selection 'CJ24-7' as the female parent, and the blue seedling selection 'CJ23-5' as the male parent. The F1 seed was collected and sent to Gensingen, Germany for further breeding and selection. 'USCALI51' was selected as a single plant from the resulting progeny on June 15, 1999 in Germany. The selection criteria included semi-upright growth habit, large flower size, superior summer performance, and resistance to Thielaviopsis (a soil fungus).

Tests & Trials: Tests and trials for 'USCALI51' were conducted in a polyhouse during the summer of 2003 in St. Thomas, Ontario. Trials included a total of 18 plants of each variety. Plants were grown from rooted cuttings transplanted into 25cm baskets on April 30, 2003 (week 18). Each basket contained 3 cuttings with a total of six baskets per variety. All colour characteristics were determined using the 2001 RHS colour chart and measured characteristics were based on ten plant measurements.

Comparison tables for 'USCALI51' with reference varieties 'Sunbelkubu' and 'KLEC02070'

Shoot length (cm)

Leaf length (cm)

Leaf width (cm)

Sepal length (mm)

Sepal width (mm)

Colour of corolla (RHS)