Paint the Town Magenta

Dianthus

Variety Description

Varieties used for comparison: 'Witch Doctor' and 'Paint the Town Fuchsia'

Summary: The plants of 'Paint the Town Magenta' are taller than the plants of 'Witch Doctor' and 'Paint the Town Fuchsia'. The flowers of 'Paint the Town Magenta' are positioned far above the foliage whereas the flowers of 'Witch Doctor' and 'Paint the Town Fuchsia' are positioned moderately above the foliage. The leaf of 'Paint the Town Magenta' is longer than the leaf of both reference varieties and broader than the leaf of 'Witch Doctor'. The upper side of the leaf of 'Paint the Town Magenta' is gray green with a strong degree of glaucosity whereas the leaf of 'Witch Doctor' is medium green with a weak degree of glaucosity. The flower bud of 'Paint the Town Magenta' does not have extruded styles whereas the flower bud of 'Paint the Town Fuchsia' does have extruded styles. The intensity of anthocyanin colouration of the calyx of 'Paint the Town Magenta' is absent or very weak whereas the intensity is strong for 'Paint the Town Fuchsia'. The incisions of the petal margin of 'Paint the Town Magenta' are deep whereas the incisions of the petal margin of 'Paint the Town Fuchsia' are shallow to medium depth. The petal of 'Paint the Town Magenta' is shorter than the petal of 'Witch Doctor'. The inner side of the petal of 'Paint the Town Magenta' is purple red fading to between blue pink and purple with age whereas the petal of 'Witch Doctor' is purple fading to blue pink with age and the petal of 'Paint the Town Fuchsia' is violet fading to lighter violet with age.

Description:

PLANT: dense, flowers positioned far above foliage
STEM: second internode below flower is thin and circular shape in cross-section, not hollow

LEAF: linear shape, absent or very weakly recurved, weakly concave in cross-section, gray green upper side, strong degree of glaucosity on upper side, spiny ciliation of margin present

CALYX: medium length, medium width, cylindrical form, no anthocyanin colouration
CALYX LOBE: straight along longitudinal axis, medium length
FLOWER BUD: elliptic shape, extrusion of styles absent
FLOWER: single type
COROLLA: profile of upper part in lateral view is flat convex, profile of lower part in lateral view is flat
PETAL (INNER SIDE): purple red (RHS N66B) fading to between blue pink (RHS 67B) and purple (RHS 71C) with age, differently coloured margin absent, no tertiary colour, no stripes, no speckles, no area of flush, no macule
PETAL MARGIN INCISIONS: many, deep
OVARY: elliptic shape, smooth surface
STYLE: only two, medium length, no shoulder
STIGMA: white with purple flush

Origin & Breeding History: 'Paint the Town Magenta' originated from a controlled cross monitored by Mr. Hans Hansen on June 4, 2012, in Zeeland, Michigan, USA, between the Dianthus variety 'Neon Star', as the female parent, and the variety 'Kahori', as the male parent. The cross was made as part of a breeding program with the goal of producing Dianthus varieties with different flower colours and improved plant growth habit. From the resulting progeny, 'Paint the Town Magenta' was selected in the spring of 2013 for its dark red petals with contrasting dark red bands and very deep serrations of the margin, good flower coverage, repeat flowering, flowers producing fragrance, high heat tolerance, and floriferous, vigorous and compact plant growth habit with finely textured gray-green foliage. 'Paint the Town Magenta' was first propagated asexually using stem cuttings in 2013.

Tests & Trials: The comparative trial for 'Paint the Town Magenta' was conducted outdoors during the summer of 2017 at Variety Rights Management, in Oxford Station, Ontario. The trial included a total of 15 plants each of the candidate and reference varieties. All plants were grown as 1 plant per 16 cm pot and the pots were spaced 40 cm apart. The observations and measurements were taken from 10 plants, or 10 parts of plants, of each variety. All colour determinations were made using the 2015 Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Colour Chart.

Comparison tables for 'Paint the Town Magenta' with reference varieties 'Witch Doctor' and 'Paint the Town Fuchsia'

Plant height (cm)

Leaf length (mm)

Leaf width (mm)

Petal length (cm)

Colour of petal (RHS)

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Dianthus: 'Paint the Town Magenta' (top right) with reference varieties 'Paint the Town Fuchsia' (top left) and 'Witch Doctor' (bottom)

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Dianthus: 'Paint the Town Magenta' (top right) with reference varieties 'Paint the Town Fuchsia' (top left) and 'Witch Doctor' (bottom)