Berrylicious

Hibiscus

Variety Description

Variety used for comparison: 'Plum Crazy'

Summary: The plants of 'Berrylicious' are shorter than those of 'Plum Crazy'. The leaf blade of 'Berrylicious' is shorter than that of 'Plum Crazy'. The upper side of the leaf blade of 'Berrylicious' is medium green with absent to very weak anthocyanin colouration while that of 'Plum Crazy' is dark green with strong anthocyanin colouration. The flower of 'Berrylicious' is smaller in diameter than that of 'Plum Crazy'. The petals of 'Berrylicious' are smaller than those of 'Plum Crazy'. The upper side of the petal of 'Berrylicious' is blue pink while that of 'Plum Crazy' is darker blue pink with a purple secondary colour. The eye zone of 'Berrylicious' is purple red to dark brown whereas it is dark brown for 'Plum Crazy'. The stigma pad of 'Berrylicious' is pink to medium red whereas it is dark red for 'Plum Crazy'. The time of beginning of flowering for 'Berrylicious' is mid-season while it is late season for 'Plum Crazy'.

Description:

PLANT: upright and bushy, medium branching
BRANCH: upright attitude, green and red on upper third

LEAF BLADE: upper side is light green, absent or very weak anthocyanin colouration on upper side, no variegation, palmate, cordate base, acute apex, lobing present, moderate undulation of margin, serrate incisions of margin, shallow depth of incisions of margin

FLOWER: single type, purple, medium overlapping of petals
EYE ZONE: type 2, small to medium sized, purple red to dark brown (RHS 63A-N186C)
PETAL: type 3 shape, upper and lower side is blue pink (RHS 186C), absent or very weak serration, weak undulation of margin, no fading of colour
STAMINAL COLUMN: white, identical colour at the base compared to main colour
STIGMA PAD: pink to medium red
TIME OF BEGINNING OF FLOWERING: mid-season to late

Origin & Breeding History: The variety 'Berrylicious' originated from a population of complex hybrid Hibiscus seedlings that resulted from seed collected from open pollinated plants of H. moscheutos, H. coccineus and H. laevis in Zeeland, Michigan, USA. The variety 'Berrylicious' originated from a controlled cross conducted between the proprietary hybrid '05-21-01' (female parent) and the proprietary hybrid '04-18-06' (male pollen parent) on August 6, 2007 in Zeeland, Michigan, USA. The selection was made in August 2009 and was based on heavy substance, large, lavender flowers, good branching and a long flowering season. Further propagation will be done by shoot tip cuttings and tissue culture.

Tests & Trials: Trials for 'Berrylicious' were conducted outside and the plants were moved inside a polyhouse in July during the summer of 2013 at Variety Rights Management in Oxford Station, Ontario. The trial included 15 plants each of the candidate and reference variety. All plants were grown from bare root plants and transplanted into 23 cm pots in early May of 2013. Observations and measurements were taken from 10 plants of each variety in late August of 2013. All colour determinations were made using the 2001 Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Colour Chart.

Comparison tables for 'Berrylicious' with reference variety 'Plum Crazy'

Plant height (cm)

Leaf length (cm)

Flower diameter (cm)

Petal length (cm)

Petal width (cm)

Colour of upper side of petal (RHS)

Click on image for larger view

Hibiscus: 'Berrylicious' (left) with reference variety 'Plum Crazy' (right)