Cherry Cheesecake

Hibiscus

Variety Description

Variety used for comparison: 'Tie Dye'

Summary: The plants of 'Cherry Cheesecake' are shorter than those of 'Tie Dye'. The plants of 'Cherry Cheesecake' have medium density branching while those of 'Tie Dye' have sparse branching. The upper third of the stem of 'Cherry Cheesecake' is greenish brown and red whereas it is red for 'Tie Dye'. The leaf blade of 'Cherry Cheesecake' is narrower than that of 'Tie Dye'. The leaf blade of 'Cherry Cheesecake' is light to medium green with weak anthocyanin colouration and a medium degree of lobing while that of 'Tie Dye' is medium to dark green with medium to strong anthocyanin colouration and a strong degree of lobing. The flower of 'Cherry Cheesecake' is smaller in diameter than that of 'Tie Dye'. The eye zone of 'Cherry Cheesecake' is dark purple red and medium sized whereas it is lighter dark purple red and small sized for 'Tie Dye'. The petals of 'Cherry Cheesecake' are smaller than those of 'Tie Dye'. The upper side of the petal of 'Cherry Cheesecake' is white with purple to blue pink flushed along the center and edge of the margin and veins while that of 'Tie Dye' is primarily blue pink with a white blotch around the eye zone. The staminal column of 'Cherry Cheesecake' is shorter than that of 'Tie Dye'. The time of beginning of flowering for 'Cherry Cheesecake' is mid-season while it is late season for 'Tie Dye'.

Description:

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

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

FLOWER: single type, white or near white, medium overlapping of petals
EYE ZONE: type 1, medium sized, dark purple red (RHS 60A)
PETAL: type 3 shape, main colour of upper and lower side is white (RHS N155B), secondary colour of upper side is purple to blue pink (RHS N74B-C), flushed pattern, absent or very weak serration, weak undulation of margin, no fading of colour
STAMINAL COLUMN: pink and red, identical colour at the base compared to main colour
STIGMA PAD: dark red
TIME OF BEGINNING OF FLOWERING: mid-season to late

Origin & Breeding History: The variety 'Cherry Cheesecake' 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 cross was performed by the breeder in Zeeland, Michigan, USA on August 20, 2009. The female parent is designated as 'F7-152-03' and the male parent is a proprietary seedling identified as '07-155-05'. The seed was collected and sown on November 19, 2009. The selection was made in September 2010 based on flowers with intensely ruffled, heavily overlapped, thick substance petals that do not easily fall part in wind, having a deep magenta eye with matching radiating veins and a perimeter blotch on a creamy white background.

Tests & Trials: Trials for 'Cherry Cheesecake' 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 'Cherry Cheesecake' with reference variety 'Tie Dye'

Plant height (cm)

Leaf width (cm)

Flower diameter (cm)

Petal length (cm)

Petal width (cm)

Colour of upper side of petal (RHS)

Staminal column length (mm)

Click on image for larger view

Hibiscus: 'Cherry Cheesecake' (left) with reference variety 'Tie Dye' (right)