Sunny Elite Reagan

Chrysanthemum

Variety Description

Varieties used for comparison: 'Sunny Reagan', 'Speed Sunny Reagan' and 'Rgn Elite Geel'

Summary: 'Sunny Elite Reagan' differs from 'Sunny Reagan' and 'Speed Sunny Reagan' in the reflexing of the ray florets. In 'Sunny Elite Reagan' the ray florets are weakly to very weakly reflexed just at the tip, whereas in 'Sunny Reagan' and 'Speed Sunny Reagan' the reflexing of the ray floret is weak to medium at the tip. The peduncle of 'Sunny Elite Reagan' is very long, whereas the peduncle of 'Rgn Elite Geel' is long. The response time of 'Sunny Elite Reagan' is 7 weeks, while the response time of 'Sunny Reagan' is 8 weeks.

Description:

'Sunny Elite Reagan' is a spray type chrysanthemum variety which has medium plant height and stem internodes which are short to medium in length. The stems are thin to medium in diameter and yellow green in colour. There is stem anthocyanin along the ribs. The lateral shoots of 'Sunny Elite Reagan' have a medium attachment to the stem and the angle between the lateral and the stem is medium. The peduncle is thick and very long and the stipules are medium in size. 'Sunny Elite Reagan' has medium to long leaves which are medium in width, medium in thickness, fleshy in texture, with medium serration. The lower leaf lobe is medium to long with a round base of the sinus and a claw is present. The margins of the sinus are converging. The leaf base is rounded in shape and the apex is mucronate.

'Sunny Elite Reagan' has a corymbiform type of inflorescence, with a high number of flower heads. The flower heads are semi-doubles with a medium diameter and a low number of rows of ray florets. There are five or fewer rows of involucral bracts and none among the florets. The ray florets reflex very weakly to weakly towards to the tip and the corolla tube of the ray floret is very short to short. In cross section the corolla tube is convex, with no keel. The outer ray florets are short to medium in length and broad in width. There are a low to medium number of ray florets which are yellow (RHS 6C and 7D) on the outer side. On the inner side the ray florets are between yellow RHS 5A and 5B. The disc is medium to large in diameter. Before anther dehiscence the disc is green and after anther dehiscence it is yellow. The disc florets are clearly visible at all stages of flower head development and are medium to long in length and tubular in shape. The receptacle has a small to medium diameter and its shape is raised conical.

Origin & Breeding History: The mutation breeding of 'Sunny Elite Reagan' was conducted at Chrysanthemum Breeders Association N.V., The Netherlands. The variety was discovered as a whole plant mutation of the parent variety 96.4020 in a greenhouse in 1998. The selection was asexually propagated by cuttings. A clonal testing program was conducted in order to evaluate uniformity, stability and distinctness and commercial value.

Tests & Trials: The detailed description is based on the Report of Technical Examination, purchased from the Plant Variety Rights Office, United Kingdom. The trials were conducted by the National Institute of Agricultural Botany, in Cambridge, United Kingdom in 2000. The reference number was AFP 15/5815.