Marsha

Gentian

Variety Description

Variety used for comparison: 'Royal Blue'

Summary: The stems of 'Marsha' are shorter than those of 'Royal Blue'. The stems of 'Marsha' have a medium number of side shoots with more than one node while those of 'Royal Blue' have few. The leaves of 'Marsha' are medium to dark green on the upper side while those of 'Royal Blue' are light to medium green. The plants of 'Marsha' flower late while those of 'Royal Blue' flower very late. The plants of 'Marsha' have a medium number of terminal flowers while those of 'Royal Blue' have many. The flower buds of 'Marsha' are violet blue while those of 'Royal Blue' are blue violet. The corolla of 'Marsha' are shorter than those of 'Royal Blue'. The corolla lobes of 'Marsha' differ from those of 'Royal Blue' in the violet blue colour of the inner side.

Description:

PLANT: erect growth habit
STEM: thick, circular in cross section at mid point, light green, anthocyanin colouration present at two thirds from base, many internodes longer than 5 mm, medium length of internodes in central third, side shoots present, medium number of side shoots with more than one node, side shoots with only one node positioned on upper half, largest leaf positioned in central third

LEAF: narrow elliptic, folded upwards in cross section, concave and straight in longitudinal section, no twisting, three conspicuous veins, medium to dark green on upper side, no anthocyanin colouration on upper side

INFLORESCENCE: single and clustered flower distribution, terminal and axillary flower positions, medium number of terminal flowers, late flowering
CALYX: light green colour, anthocyanin colouration present, funnel-shaped tube, narrow lanceolate lobes
FLOWER BUD: violet blue (RHS 94A-B)
FLOWER: single
COROLLA: funnel-shaped, straight lobes, inner side of lobes violet blue (RHS 96C-D to 86C), inner side of tube light violet blue (RHS 97C-D) on upper part with longitudinal stripes of violet blue (RHS 96C-D) and darker blue violet (RHS N89D-90A) stripes between lobes, outer side of tube violet blue (RHS 96B) on upper part, outer side of tube has medium density of spots on upper part, purplish-brown streaked pattern on outer side of tube, five lobes, ovate lobes, broadly acute distal end of lobes, no paracorolla

Origin & Breeding History: 'Marsha' originated as a chance seedling at Kwekerij De Bloezem in Reeuwijk, The Netherlands in 1996. It is suspected that the female parent was the variety 'Royal Blue' due to its proximity to the new variety in the trial. 'Marsha' was initially selected for its growth habit and flower colour.

Tests & Trials: Trials for 'Marsha' were conducted in an outdoor trial during the summer of 2012 in St. Thomas, Ontario. The trial included a total of 15 plants of the candidate variety and 8 plants of the reference variety. All plants were grown from bare-rooted plants, planted into 11 cm pots in April 2011 and transplanted to an outdoor bed on September 17, 2012. All colour determinations were made using the 2007 Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Colour Chart.

Comparison tables for 'Marsha' with reference variety 'Royal Blue'

Stem length (cm)

Colour of flower bud (RHS)

Colour of corolla lobe (RHS)

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Gentian: 'Marsha' (left) with reference variety 'Royal Blue' (right)

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Gentian: 'Marsha' (left) with reference variety 'Royal Blue' (right)

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Gentian: 'Marsha' (left) with reference variety 'Royal Blue' (right)