HBA901

Hydrangea

Variety Description

Variety used for comparison: 'Renate Steiniger'

Summary: 'HBA901' has stronger stems and stronger intensity of colouration of the large calyx than 'Renate Steiniger'. The leaf blades of 'HBA901' are ovate to almost round with a round shaped base while those of 'Renate Steiniger' are elliptic to obovate with a wedge shaped base. When fully open, the large calyx of 'HBA901' is blue pink with a lighter margin while that of 'Renate Steiniger' is blue pink with darker tones and a blue pink to violet margin. The degree of overlapping of the large calyx sepals is strong for 'HBA901' while it is weak to moderate for 'Renate Steiniger'. 'HBA901' has no incisions of the margin of the large calyx sepals whereas 'Renate Steiniger' has a few crenate incisions on all large calyx sepals.

Description:

PLANT: upright growth habit, pot culture
STEM: strong to very strong strength

LEAF BLADE: dark green on upper side, no variegation, no glossiness on upper side, ovate to almost round, acute apex, round shaped base, no lobing, medium incisions of margin

INFLORESCENCE: flowers with small calyx are inconspicuous, globular, very dense sterile flowers with large calyx
LARGE CALYX: medium to strong colour intensity, light purple red when newly open, blue pink with lighter margin when fully open, 4 sepals
LARGE CALYX SEPALS: strong degree of overlapping, no incisions of margin

Origin & Breeding History: 'HBA901' resulted from a breeding program with the objective of creating new Hydrangea varieties with attractive flower colour and no vernalization requirement. It originated from a cross between the female parent '91014' and the male parent '91025' which was conducted by the breeder, Peter Hempel, in Billerbeck, Germany, in July 1991. 'HBA901' was selected by the breeder in July 1993 based on flower colour and strong stems. Both the selection and first reproduction by vegetative cuttings in July 1993 took place in Billerbeck, Germany.

Tests & Trials: Trials for 'HBA901' were conducted during the summer of 2007 in a polyhouse at BioFlora Inc. in St. Thomas, Ontario. There were 12 plants each of the candidate and reference varieties. The plants were grown from unrooted cuttings which were transplanted to 15 cm pots in August 2006. Measured characteristics were based on measurements taken from 10 plants or parts of plants on June 29, 2007. All colour determinations were made using the 2001 Royal Horticulture Society (RHS) Colour Chart.

Comparison table for 'HBA901' with reference variety 'Renate Steiniger'

Colour of large calyx (RHS)

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Hydrangea: 'HBA901' (left) with reference variety 'Renate Steiniger' (right)

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Hydrangea: 'HBA901' (left) with reference variety 'Renate Steiniger' (right)