David Carroll

Holly

Variety Description

Variety used for comparison: 'Blue Princess'

Summary: The plants of 'David Carroll' have a bushy rounded growth habit with a medium to high degree of branching while the plants of 'Blue Princess' have an upright growth habit with a low to medium degree of branching. The plants of 'David Carroll' are smaller than those of 'Blue Princess'. The stem colour for 'David Carroll' is red brown while the stem colour for 'Blue Princess' is dark purple. The leaf blade is shorter for 'David Carroll' than for 'Blue Princess'. The upper side of the newly opened leaf blade of 'David Carroll' is yellow whereas the newly opened leaf blade of 'Blue Princess' is dark green with light green tones. The degree of glossiness on the upper side of the leaf blade of 'David Carroll' is weak whereas the degree of glossiness on the upper side of the leaf blade is strong for 'Blue Princess'. The petiole length is shorter and the flower diameter is smaller for 'David Carroll' than for 'Blue Princess'. The berry is shorter for 'David Carroll' than for 'Blue Princess'.

Description:

PLANT: female, evergreen type, bushy rounded growth habit, medium to high degree of branching, medium density of foliage

BRANCH: semi-erect attitude, thin to medium thickness
STEM: medium thickness, strong intensity of anthocyanin colouration, smooth shape, no twisting, red brown (RHS 166A)

LEAF BLADE: elliptic shape, acute apex, obtuse base, serrate margin with short spines, medium undulation of margin, medium length spines, leathery texture
LEAF: simple type, alternate arrangement along stem
LEAF BLADE (UPPER SIDE): weak degree of glossiness, yellow (RHS 7A-B) when newly open, dark green (RHS N137B) at maturity, variegation of yellow and green when transitioning between newly open and maturity stages
LEAF BLADE (LOWER SIDE): light green (RHS 146C) at maturity
PETIOLE: present

FLOWER: present, white (RHS NN155A) with white (RHS 155A) at tip of petal

BERRY: few in number, red (RHS 45B)

Origin & Breeding History: 'David Carroll' was bred and developed by David Woods Carroll, an employee of Carroll Nurseries in Cochranton, Pennsylvania, USA. It originated from a naturally occurring branch mutation of the variety 'Blue Princess', discovered in November of 2003 in Wayne Township, Crawford County, Pennsylvania, USA. 'David Carroll' was selected based on criteria for growth habit, winter hardiness, foliage colour and variegation. Asexual reproduction of 'David Carroll' was first conducted by hardwood cuttings, in December 2003, at Carroll Nurseries in Cochranton, Pennsylvania, USA.

Tests & Trials: The comparative trial for 'David Carroll' was conducted as an outdoor irrigated container trial, during the summer of 2016, at BioFlora Inc., in St. Thomas, ON. The trial included a total of 12 plants each of the candidate and reference variety. There were 5 pollinator plants in the trial. The plants were grown from 11.5 cm liners, and transplanted into 8.8 litre containers on July 16, 2015. The plants were overwintered in an above zero heated polyhouse. The observations and measurements were taken from 10 plants or 10 plant parts of each variety on August 17, 2016. The fruit characteristics were measured on October 3, 2016. All colour determinations were made using the 2007 Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Colour Chart.

Comparison tables for 'David Carroll' with reference variety 'Blue Princess'

Plant height (cm)

Plant width (cm)

Stem colour (RHS)

Leaf length (cm)

Colour of upper side of leaf blade (RHS)

Petiole length (cm)

Flower diameter (cm)

Berry height (mm)

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Holly: 'David Carroll' (left) with reference variety 'Blue Princess' (right)

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Holly: 'David Carroll' (left) with reference variety 'Blue Princess' (right)