Saintlouis

Chrysanthemum

Variety Description

Variety used for comparison: 'Yofort Wayne' (Fort Wayne)

Summary: 'Saintlouis' has taller plants than 'Yofort Wayne'. The flower head of 'Saintlouis' is larger in diameter with a larger disc diameter than that of 'Yofort Wayne'. The ray florets of 'Saintlouis' are white with dark red purple over colour from the mid-section to the apex while those of 'Yofort Wayne' are white with lighter red purple over colour from the base to the apex.

Description:

PLANT: year round cultivation for pot production, spray flowering type, 8 week response group, medium height
PRIMARY LATERAL SHOOT: medium to many
STEM: no anthocyanin colouration

LEAF: short to medium length, narrow to medium width, broad wedged base
LATERAL LOBE: mostly converging margins of sinus
LOWER LOBE: medium length, shallow to medium deep sinus

FLOWER HEAD: semi-double, daisy type, bicoloured red purple and white, medium diameter, no bracts among ray florets
RAY FLORET: short to medium length blade with very short corolla tube, straight longitudinal axis of majority, concave in cross-section, notched tip, white with dark red purple over colour from the mid-section to the apex on upper side, white and violet with lighter violet towards apex on lower side
DISC: yellow green before anther dehiscence, yellow after anther dehiscence, medium diameter
DISC FLORET: tubular type, massed in centre of flower head, yellow

Origin & Breeding History: 'Saintlouis' is a product from a planned breeding program conducted by the breeder, Mrs. Wendy R. Bergman, an employee of Yoder Brothers, Inc. in Barberton, Ohio, USA. It originated from a cross made in June 1998 in Salinas, California, USA between a proprietary Chrysanthemum seedling selection designated 'YB-5539' as the female parent and another proprietary Chrysanthemum seedling selection designated 'YB-4690' as the male parent. 'Saintlouis' was selected in March 1999 in Fort Myers, Florida, USA based on its uniform plant growth habit, desirable inflorescence form and floret colours, fast response time and excellent post production longevity.

Tests & Trials: Trials for 'Saintlouis' were conducted in the fall of 2006 at Yoder Canada Ltd. in Leamington, Ontario. They were performed under greenhouse conditions similar to those used in commercial Chrysanthemum production. 40 unrooted cuttings per variety were directly stuck into 15 cm pots with 4 cuttings per pot and 10 pots per variety. The pots were spaced 30 cm apart. The plants were pinched once prior to short day treatment. All plants had the centre bud removed. Measured characteristics were based on measurements taken from 10 plants or parts of plants on November 1, 2006. All colour determinations were made using the 2001 Royal Horticulture Society (RHS) Colour Chart.

Comparison tables for 'Saintlouis' with reference variety 'Yofort Wayne'

Plant height (cm)

Flower head diameter (cm)

Disc diameter (cm)

Ray floret colour (RHS)

Click on image for larger view

Chrysanthemum: 'Saintlouis' (left) with reference variety 'Yofort Wayne' (right)