Spangled Star

Dianthus

Variety Description

Variety used for comparison: 'Siskin Clock'

Summary: The plants of 'Spangled Star' have a compact growth habit while those of 'Siskin Clock' are spreading. 'Spangled Star' has taller plants with denser foliage than 'Siskin Clock'. The leaves of 'Spangled Star' are blue green while those of 'Siskin Clock' are gray green. The predominant petal shape is type 4 for 'Spangled Star' while it is type 6 for 'Siskin Clock'. The flower colour for 'Spangled Star' is mainly purple with two pinkish white spots on each petal whereas for 'Siskin Clock', it is mainly pinkish white with purple secondary colour at the base and along the margin of each petal. 'Spangled Star' has shorter styles than 'Siskin Clock'.

Description:

'Spangled Star' is a hardy perennial, evergreen Dianthus variety with a compact, cushion type plant growth habit and medium spread. The plants are tall with dense foliage. Laterals with flower buds are present. The arrangement of individual flowers is both one flowered and clustered. There are no stems without flower buds or flowers. 'Spangled Star' has one internode between the epicalyx and the lowest node with budding or flowering laterals. The arrangement of the totality of flowers on each stem is both domed and cylindrical. The stems are thin to medium in thickness, circular in cross-section and not hollow. The leaves are linear in shape and straight along the longitudinal axis. In cross-section, the upper side of the leaf is weakly concave. The leaves are blue green with a medium waxy layer and entire margin.

'Spangled Star' begins flowering early to mid-season and flowers for a moderate amount of time. The flower buds are cylindrical in shape and the styles are extruded. The flowers are small to medium in diameter and the height of the corolla is short. When viewed from the side, both the upper and lower parts of the corolla are concave to flat. The flowers are single and fragrant.

In relation to the calyx, the outer lobes of the epicalyx are adpressed. Both the inner and outer lobes of the epicalyx are short and have an acute shaped apex. The calyx is long and cylindrical in shape. The longitudinal axis of the lobes of the calyx is flat to convex. The lobes of the calyx are long and short acute in shape with no anthocyanin colouration.

The predominant shape of the petals is type 4. The petals are short to medium in length and narrow to medium in width. The surface of the petals is undulating and the margin is serrate with shallow incisions. The colour distribution on the petals is picotee and spotted. The flower colour for 'Spangled Star' is mainly purple with two pinkish white spots on each petal. The ovary is ellipsoid in shape with a smooth surface and mainly green on the lower part. There are only two styles. They have no shoulder and are white to cream in colour.

Origin & Breeding History: 'Spangled Star' originated from a breeding program which was conducted by John Whetman in Dawlish, Devon, England. The primary focus of this breeding program was to select alpine type Dianthus in a range of unique flower colour patterns. The program began in 1992 after growing and evaluating 80 varieties of Dianthus. 'Spangled Star' was the result of open crosses and back crosses made using an old variety, 'Queen of Henri'. It was selected based on its fragrant flowers, flower and foliage colour, flowering habit and plant growth habit.

Tests & Trials: The test and trial for 'Spangled Star' was conducted in a polyhouse during the summer of 2005 at Variety Rights Management in Oxford Station, Ontario. The trial included 10 plants of each variety. The plants were grown in 15 cm pots spaced 25 cm apart. All colour characteristics were determined using the 2001 Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) colour chart and measured characteristics were based on ten plant measurements.

Comparison table for 'Spangled Star' with reference variety 'Siskin Clock'

Colour of the upper side of the petal blade (RHS)

Click on image for larger view

Dianthus: 'Spangled Star' (left) with reference variety 'Siskin Clock' (right)