Sunbel 208

Calibrachoa

Variety Description

Variety used for comparison: 'KLECA08170' (MiniFamous Lavender Blue)

Summary: The plants of 'Sunbel 208' are taller than those of 'KLECA08170'. The leaf blade of 'Sunbel 208' is shorter and wider than that of 'KLECA08170'. When newly open, the inner side of the corolla of 'Sunbel 208' is violet to blue violet with violet in the area of transition to the corolla tube whereas it is blue violet with darker blue violet in the area of transition to the corolla tube with dark violet veins for 'KLECA08170'. When fully open, the inner side of the corolla of 'Sunbel 208' is blue violet whereas it is darker blue violet with dark violet veins for 'KLECA08170'.

Description:

PLANT: upright to semi-upright growth habit

LEAF BLADE: broad acute and obtuse apex, no variegation, medium green on upper side

PEDICEL: very weak to weak intensity of anthocyanin colouration
FLOWER: single type, weak to medium degree of lobing
COROLLA: inner side is violet to blue violet (RHS N82A-B) with violet (RHS N82A) at transition to corolla tube when newly open, blue violet (RHS N82B-C) when fully open and blue violet (RHS N82C-D) with violet to blue violet (RHS N82A-B) at the transition to the corolla tube when aged; weak conspicuousness of veins, small and rounded area of violet to blue violet (RHS N82A-B) at transition to corolla tube
COROLLA LOBE: truncate apex
COROLLA TUBE: inner side is light yellow brown (closest to RHS 160B-C) with brighter tones of yellow (RHS 9A) at distal end, grey (closest to RHS N187B) primary veins and light brown (closest to RHS 177C) secondary veins

Origin & Breeding History: 'Sunbel 208' originated from a controlled cross conducted in October 2009 at the Omi Research and Development Center of Suntory Flowers Ltd. in Higashiomi-shi, Shiga, Japan. The cross involved the two proprietary varieties, 'T590-1' as the female parent and '7161-3' as the male parent. Seeds from the pollination were germinated and grown to maturity. A single plant was selected in July 2010 based on its flower colour and growth habit. This plant was further propagated by cuttings and grown in pots in trials conducted between November 2010 and September 2011 to assess its botanical characteristics and confirm that the selection characteristics remained stable. It was later named 'Sunbel 208'.

Tests & Trials: The comparative trial for 'Sunbel 208' was conducted as an outdoor irrigated hanging basket trial during the summer of 2014 at BioFlora Inc. in St. Thomas, Ontario. The trial included 20 plants each of the candidate and reference variety. All plants were grown from rooted cuttings and transplanted into 30 cm hanging baskets on April 18, 2014 and transferred outside on June 10, 2014. Each basket contained 4 cuttings with a total of 5 baskets per variety. Observations and measurements were taken from 10 plants or parts of plants of each variety on July 8, 2014. All colour determinations were made using the 2007 Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Colour Chart.

Comparison tables for 'Sunbel 208' with reference variety 'KLECA08170'

Plant height (cm)

Leaf blade length (cm)

Leaf blade width (cm)

Colour of inner side of corolla when newly open (RHS)

Colour of inner side of corolla when fully open (RHS)

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Calibrachoa: 'Sunbel 208' (left) with reference variety 'KLECA08170' (right)

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Calibrachoa: 'Sunbel 208' (left) with reference variety 'KLECA08170' (right)

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Calibrachoa: 'Sunbel 208' (left) with reference variety 'KLECA08170' (right)