Balcabplo

Calibrachoa

Variety Description

Variety used for comparison: 'Cal Pur' (Callie Purple)

Summary: The leaves of 'Balcabplo' are shorter than those of 'Cal Pur'. 'Balcabplo' is light green on the upper side of the leaves while 'Cal Pur' is medium green. The pedicels of 'Balcabplo'are longer than those of 'Cal Pur'. The sepals of 'Balcabplo' have anthocyanin colouration present while those of 'Cal Pur' have none. 'Balcabplo' differs from 'Cal Pur' in the violet colour on the lower side of the corolla. The apex of the corolla lobes of 'Balcabplo' are cuspidate and truncate while those of 'Cal Pur' are emarginate.

Description:

PLANT: trailing growth habit, short to medium height, narrow to medium width

LEAF BLADE: very short to short, elliptic and obovate, narrow acute to broad acute apex, no variegation, light green on upper side, no blistering
PETIOLE: very short to short

SEPAL: very short, narrow, lanceolate and elliptic, no anthocyanin colouration
FLOWER: single, small to medium diameter, salverform, short to medium length pedicel
COROLLA: weak degree of lobing, two coloured on upper side
COROLLA LOBE: violet (RHS N81A) with very small dark violet (RHS N92A) marking on upper side, purple veins, weak to medium conspicuousness of veins on upper side, violet (RHS N81C) on lower side, cuspidate and truncate apex
COROLLA TUBE: very short, yellow (RHS 9A) on inner side, medium conspicuousness of veins on inner side
ANTHER: yellow before pollen dehiscence

Origin & Breeding History: 'Balcabplo' originated from a cross pollination conducted on September 18, 2003 in Elburn, Illinois, USA, as part of a controlled breeding program. The variety was bred using the mass selection breeding method with both the male and female parents being 22 different proprietary mass breeding selections each. The initial selection of 'Balcabplo' was made on August 15, 2005 based on flower colour, flower size, branching habit and plant growth habit. The variety has been maintained since that time through the use of vegetative cuttings.

Tests & Trials: Trials for 'Balcabplo' were conducted in a polyhouse during the spring of 2008 in St. Thomas, Ontario. The trial included a total of 20 plants each of the candidate and reference varieties. All plants were grown from rooted cuttings and transplanted into 30 cm hanging baskets on May 23, 2008. Each basket contained 4 cuttings with a total of 5 baskets per variety. Observations and measurements were taken from 10 plants of each variety on July 23, 2008. All colour determinations were made using the 2001 Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Colour Chart.

Comparison tables for 'Balcabplo' with reference variety 'Cal Pur'

Plant width (cm)

Leaf length (cm)

Petiole length (cm)

Pedicel length (cm)

Sepal length (cm)

Colour of corolla (RHS)

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Calibrachoa: 'Balcabplo' (left) with reference variety 'Cal Pur' (right)

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Calibrachoa: 'Balcabplo' (left) with reference variety 'Cal Pur' (right)