Yochatham

Chrysanthemum

Variety Description

Variety used for comparison: 'Yopresidio'

Summary: The leaves of 'Yochatham' are shorter than those of 'Yopresidio'. 'Yochatham' has smaller flower heads than 'Yopresidio'. The ray florets of 'Yochatham' are all ligulate while the outer ray florets of 'Yopresidio' are ligulate and the inner ray florets are incurved. 'Yochatham' is violet with mottled blue pink on the upper side of newly opened ray florets while 'Yopresidio' is light blue violet with very lightly mottled violet.

Description:

PLANT: year round cultivation for pot production, pinched type, spray flowering type, 8 week response group
STEM: green

LEAF: wedged to truncate base, parallel to converging margins of sinus between lateral lobes, medium green

INFLORESCENCE: corymbiform
FLOWER HEAD: decorative double type, self coloured, pink colour group, light intensity of colour, dense ray florets
RAY FLORET: ligulate, straight longitudinal axis of majority, flat in cross section, mostly emarginate tip, violet with mottled blue pink on upper side when newly opened, violet (RHS 75C) with mottled violet (RHS 75A-B) on upper side when fully opened, violet (RHS 75B-C) on lower side when newly opened, violet (RHS 75C-D) on lower side when fully opened
DISC: yellow-green before anther dehiscence, medium yellow at anther dehiscence
DISC FLORETS: enlarged tubular type, small mass at center

Origin & Breeding History: 'Yochatham' originated from a cross pollination made in February 2000 in Salinas California, United States between the female parent, proprietary seedling selection YB-A0517, and the male parent, proprietary seedling selection YB-6474. The new variety was the product of a planned breeding program conducted by the breeder Mrs. Wendy Bergman. 'Yochatham' was discovered and selected by the breeder as a single flowering plant in December 2001. Selection of 'Yochatham' was based on plant growth habit, inflorescence form, floret colours, response time and postproduction longevity. Asexual reproduction of the variety by vegetative tip cuttings was first conducted in Fort Myers, Florida, United States in March 2002.

Tests & Trials: Trials for 'Yochatham' were conducted in Leamington, Ontario, in the fall of 2008. Flowering trials were performed under greenhouse conditions similar to those used in commercial chrysanthemum production. Forty cuttings per pot, 10 pots per variety planted on August 11, 2008. Plants were spaced 30 cm apart and pinched once prior to short day treatment. All plants had the center bud removed. Observations and measurements were taken from 10 plants of each variety on November 3, 2008. All colour determinations were made using the 2001 Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Colour Chart.

Comparison tables for 'Yochatham' with reference variety 'Yopresidio'

Leaf length (cm)

Flower head diameter (cm)

Ray floret length (cm)

Colour of upper side of ray florets (RHS)

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Chrysanthemum: 'Yochatham' (left) with reference variety 'Yopresidio' (right)

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Chrysanthemum: 'Yochatham' (left) with reference variety 'Yopresidio' (right)