Baiful

Hydrangea

Variety Description

Variety used for comparison: 'Annabelle'

Summary: The plants of ‘Baiful' have an upright growth habit and are taller than broad while those of ‘Annabelle' have a semi-upright growth habit and are broader than tall. The stem of ‘Baiful' is very strong and has absent or few lenticels while that of ‘Annabelle' is weak and has a medium number of lenticels. The inflorescence of ‘Baiful' is shorter and larger in diameter than that of ‘Annabelle'.

Description:

PLANT: non-climbing type, upright growth habit, taller than broad

STEM: no fasciation, green with red tones, absent or few lenticels, very strong

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

INFLORESCENCE: globular to conical shape, inconspicuous or slightly conspicuous fertile flowers, medium to dense sterile flowers
STERILE FLOWER: three and four sepals
SEPALS OF STERILE FLOWER: horizontal attitude, pointed apex, absent or weak rugosity, flat in cross-section, weak degree of overlapping, absent or weak undulation, margin incisions absent on all sepals, light yellow (closest to RHS 2D) when newly opened, white (closest to RHS NN155B-C) when fully opened, no secondary colour
PETAL OF FERTILE FLOWER: white

Origin & Breeding History: ‘Baiful' originated from an induced mutation using the mutagen trifluralin on open pollinated seeds of the Hydrangea arborescens variety ‘Bounty' in Cottage Grove, Minnesota, USA in 2015. In 2015, a single unique seedling was selected in Cottage Grove, Minnesota based on its compact growth habit, strong branching, inflorescence type, flowering capacity and colour. Asexual reproduction of ‘Baiful' was first conducted by softwood cuttings in the summer of 2016 in Cottage Grove, Minnesota, USA.

Tests & Trials: The comparative trial for ‘Baiful' 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 variety. All plants were grown from rooted cuttings and transplanted into 13.6 litre containers in the summer of 2024. Observations and measurements were taken from 10 plants, or 10 parts of plants, of each variety on July 25, 2024. All colour determinations were made using the 2015 Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Colour Chart.

Comparison tables for 'Baiful' with reference variety 'Annabelle'

Inflorescence height (cm)

Inflorescence diameter (cm)

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Hydrangea: 'Baiful' (left) with reference variety 'Annabelle' (right)

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Hydrangea: 'Baiful' (left) with reference variety 'Annabelle' (right)

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Hydrangea: 'Baiful' (left) with reference variety 'Annabelle' (right)