Blue Magic

Gentian

Variety Description

Variety used for comparison: 'Marsha'

Summary: The stems of 'Blue Magic' are a medium thickness while those of 'Marsha' are thick. The leaves of 'Blue Magic' are shorter than those of 'Marsha'. The plants of 'Blue Magic' have a medium flowering time while those of 'Marsha' are late. The corolla of 'Blue Magic' are a lighter violet blue than those of 'Marsha'. The outer side of the corolla tubes of 'Blue Magic' have a green streaked pattern while those of 'Marsha' have a purplish-brown streaked pattern.

Description:

PLANT: erect growth habit
STEM: medium thickness, circular in cross section at mid point, light to medium 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 in lower half only, longest leaf positioned in central third

LEAF: lanceolate and narrow elliptic, folded upwards and straight in cross section, straight in longitudinal section, no twisting, one conspicuous vein, medium green on upper side, no anthocyanin colouration on upper side

INFLORESCENCE: clustered flower distribution, terminal and axillary flower positions, medium number of terminal flowers, few flowers at central flowering node, few to medium number of flowering nodes, medium time of flowering
CALYX: light green, anthocyanin colouration present, funnel-shaped tube, narrow lanceolate lobes
FLOWER: single
COROLLA: funnel-shaped, incurved lobes, inner side of lobes violet blue to light violet blue (RHS 97A-B and 91A-B), inner and outer side of tube light violet blue to violet blue (RHS 91A-B and 97A-B) on upper part, medium density of spots on inner side of lobes, sparse spots on upper part of outer side of tube, green streaked pattern on outer side of tube, five lobes, ovate lobes, acute distal end of lobes, no paracorolla

Origin & Breeding History: 'Blue Magic' originated as a chance seedling discovered by the breeder in a cultivated garden trial at his nursery in Reeuwijk, The Netherlands in the summer of 2006. The parentage of 'Blue Magic' is unknown but given its characteristics and proximity in the same growing area, it is believed that parents are the Gentiana makinoi variety 'Marsha' and an unknown plant of Gentiana scabra. The new variety was selected based on flower colour, plant growth habit, branching characteristics, flowering time and abundance of flowers. Asexual reproduction of 'Blue Magic' was first conducted by in-vitro propagation in 2007, in Rijswijk, The Netherlands.

Tests & Trials: Trials for 'Blue Magic' were conducted in an outdoor trial during the summer of 2012 in St. Thomas, Ontario. The trial included a total of 20 plants of the candidate variety and 15 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 12, 2011. Observations and measurements were taken from 10 plants of the candidate variety on August 10, 2012 and the reference variety on September 17, 2012. All colour determinations were made using the 2007 Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Colour Chart.

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

Leaf length (cm)

Colour of corolla lobes (RHS)

Colour of upper part of corolla tube (RHS)

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

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

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