Melody Gipsy

Dahlia

Variety Description

Variety used for comparison: 'Gallery Rembrandt'

Summary: 'Melody Gipsy' has a taller plant height than 'Gallery Rembrandt'. 'Melody Gipsy' has a semi-cactus type flower while 'Gallery Rembrandt' has a decorative type flower. 'Melody Gipsy' has a larger flower diameter and longer ray floret length than 'Gallery Rembrandt'. The flowers of 'Melody Gipsy' are bi coloured while the flowers of 'Gallery Rembrandt' are mono coloured. 'Melody Gipsy' has pink and yellow flowers while 'Gallery Rembrandt' has purple-pink flowers. 'Melody Gipsy' has a longer peduncle length than 'Gallery Rembrandt'.

Description:

'Melody Gipsy' has an upright growth habit. The stems have strong purple anthocyanin colouration. The stems are straight in shape. 'Melody Gipsy' has both simple and compound leaves. The leaf blades are ovate in shape and have serrate margins. The leaves have a leathery texture and weak to medium pubescence on the upper surface. The leaves are medium green in colour. The petioles have medium anthocyanin colouration.

'Melody Gipsy' has a semi-cactus flower type. The flowers are located in the foliage and are weak to moderately angled with the stem. The flowers are yellow and pink in colour. The ray florets have notched tips. The involucral bracts are elliptical in shape and medium green in colour.

Origin & Breeding History: 'Melody Gipsy' originated from a hybridization made in a controlled breeding program at Lisse, The Netherlands in 1996. The female parent was a plant designated Vdw 57 and the male parent was the variety 'Alfred Grille'. The initial selection was made in 1997 and asexual propagation since that time has been through the use of vegetative cuttings.

Tests & Trials: 'Melody Gipsy' was tested in a polyhouse during the summer of 2003 in St. Thomas, Ontario. The trial included 15 plants of the candidate and reference variety. Plants were grown from unrooted cuttings, stuck June 5, 2003, and transplanted into 15cm pots on July 8, 2003. All colour determinations were made using the 2001 RHS colour chart and measured characteristics were based on ten measurements.

Comparison tables for 'Melody Gipsy' with reference variety 'Gallery Rembrandt'

Plant height (cm)

Flower diameter (cm)

Ray floret length (mm)

Primary colour of ray floret (RHS)

Peduncle length (cm)