Sunbel 871

Calibrachoa

Variety Description

Varieties used for comparison: 'Suncalred' (Million Bells Mounding Red Improved) and 'KLECA07145' (MiniFamous Compact Dark Red)

Summary: The plants of 'Sunbel 871' are taller than those of 'KLECA07145'. The leaf blade of 'Sunbel 871' is shorter than that of 'KLECA07145'. The upper side of the leaf blade of 'Sunbel 871' is dark green while it is medium green for 'Suncalred' and light green for 'KLECA07145'. The corolla of 'Sunbel 871' is wider than that of both reference varieties. The conspicuousness of the veins of the corolla of 'Sunbel 871' is weak to medium while it is very weak to weak for 'Suncalred'. At the transition to the corolla tube, the inner side of the corolla of 'Sunbel 871' has no colour change whereas that of 'Suncalred' has a small rounded area of dark purple red and that of 'KLECA07145' has a small to medium rounded area of darker purple red and brown purple. 'Sunbel 871' has no main colour of the inner side of the corolla tube extending onto the base of the lower corolla lobes whereas 'Suncalred' has a small area of the main colour of the inner side of the corolla tube extending onto the base of the lower corolla lobes. When fully open, the inner side of the corolla of 'Sunbel 871' is dark purple red whereas it is lighter purple red to dark pink red for 'Suncalred'.

Description:

PLANT: upright to semi-upright growth habit

LEAF BLADE: broad acute apex, no variegation, dark green on upper side

PEDICEL: weak to medium intensity of anthocyanin colouration
FLOWER: single type, medium degree of lobing
COROLLA: inner side is dark purple red (darker than RHS 53A) and fades to dark purple red (RHS 53B) when aged, weak to medium conspicuousness of veins, no colour change at transition to corolla tube
COROLLA LOBE: rounded and truncate apex
COROLLA TUBE: inner side is medium brown (closest to RHS 166A) at distal end and yellow (RHS 12A) at base

Origin & Breeding History: 'Sunbel 871' originated from a controlled cross conducted in June 2010 at the Omi Research and Development Center of Suntory Flowers Ltd. in Higashiomi-shi, Shiga, Japan. The cross involved the two proprietary varieties, '10C204' as the female parent and '8739-1' as the male parent. Seeds from the pollination were germinated and grown to maturity. A single plant was selected in August 2011 based on its flower colour and growth habit. The selected plant was further propagated by cuttings and grown in pots in trials conducted between January 2012 and May 2013 to assess its botanical characteristics and confirm that the selection characteristics remained stable. It was later named 'Sunbel 871'.

Tests & Trials: The comparative trial for 'Sunbel 871' 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 varieties. 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 871' with reference varieties 'Suncalred' and 'KLECA07145'

Plant height (cm)

Leaf blade length (cm)

Corolla width (cm)

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

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Calibrachoa: 'Sunbel 871' (left) with reference varieties 'Suncalred' (centre) and 'KLECA07145' (right)

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Calibrachoa: 'Sunbel 871' (left) with reference varieties 'Suncalred' (centre) and 'KLECA07145' (right)

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Calibrachoa: 'Sunbel 871' (left) with reference varieties 'Suncalred' (centre) and 'KLECA07145' (right)