NCHP1

Hydrangea

Variety Description

Varieties used for comparison: 'ILVOBO' (Bobo) and 'Limelight'

Summary: The leaf blade of ‘NCHP1' is larger than that of ‘ILVOBO'. The leaf blade tip of ‘NCHP1' is medium to long while that of ‘ILVOBO' is short. The sterile flowers of the inflorescence of ‘NCHP1' are of sparse to medium density while those of ‘ILVOBO' are medium to dense and those of ‘Limelight' are dense. The calyx of the sterile flower of ‘NCHP1' is larger in diameter than that of both reference varieties. The incisions along the sepal margin of the sterile flower of ‘NCHP1' are present on some sepals while they are absent on all sepals for that of the reference varieties.

Description:

PLANT: non-climbing type, upright and semi-upright growth habit, as tall as broad

STEM: no fasciation, brown, shoot mostly green, medium number of small to medium sized whitish lenticels that become tan with age

PETIOLE: red
LEAF BLADE: no lobing, ovate shape, medium to long tip, obtuse base, shallow margin incisions, absent or very weak intensity of anthocyanin colouration, no variegation, medium green, no secondary colour, absent or weak glossiness of upper side, weak rugosity, concave to flat in cross-section

INFLORESCENCE: globular to conical shape, slightly conspicuous to moderately conspicuous fertile flowers, sparse to medium density sterile flowers
STERILE FLOWER: four and five sepals
SEPALS OF STERILE FLOWER: horizontal attitude, rounded apex, absent or weak rugosity, flat in cross-section, absent or very weak overlapping, absent or weak undulation, shallow margin incisions present on some sepals, light yellow (RHS 4C) when newly opened, white (RHS NN155B) when fully opened, no secondary colour

Origin & Breeding History: ‘NCHP1' originated from a controlled cross that occurred between the female parent proprietary selection ‘H2008-081-010' and the male parent variety ‘Phantom' in Mills River, North Carolina, USA in the summer of 2012. In the summer of 2015, a single unique seedling was selected from the resulting progeny in Mills River, North Carolina based on its compact, rounded growth habit, stem thickness, sterile flower size and colour and blooming capacity. Asexual reproduction of ‘NCHP1' was first conducted by softwood cuttings in July 2015 in Mills River, North Carolina, USA.

Tests & Trials: The comparative trial for ‘NCHP1' was conducted in a polyhouse during the summer of 2024 at BioFlora, Inc. in St. Thomas, Ontario. The trial included 10 shrubs each of the candidate and reference varieties. All plants were grown from rooted cuttings and transplanted into 13.6 litre containers in the summer of 2023. Observations and measurements were taken from 10 plants, or 10 parts of plants, of each variety on August 1, 2024. All colour determinations were made using the 2015 Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Colour Chart.

Comparison tables for 'NCHP1' with reference varieties 'ILVOBO' and 'Limelight'

Leaf blade length (cm)

Leaf blade width (cm)

Diameter of calyx of sterile flower (mm)

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Hydrangea: 'NCHP1' (left) with reference varieties 'ILVOBO' (centre) and 'Limelight' (right)

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Hydrangea: 'NCHP1' (left) with reference varieties 'ILVOBO' (centre) and 'Limelight' (right)

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Hydrangea: 'NCHP1' (left) with reference varieties 'ILVOBO' (centre) and 'Limelight' (right)