Annet

Lavender

Variety Description

Variety used for comparison: 'Hidcote Blue'

Summary: At early flowering, the plants of 'Annet' are shorter than those of 'Hidcote Blue'. The foliage on the plants of 'Annet' has a grey tinge of medium intensity while that of 'Hidcote Blue' has a grey tinge of strong intensity. At full flowering, the plants of 'Annet' are medium to dense while those of 'Hidcote Blue' are open to medium density. The leaf of 'Annet' is shorter than that of 'Hidcote Blue'. The flowering stem of 'Annet' is shorter than that of 'Hidcote Blue'. The middle third of the flowering stem of 'Annet' is of medium thickness whereas it is thin for 'Hidcote Blue'. The spike including the first whorl of 'Annet' is shorter than that of 'Hidcote Blue'. The spike length from the second whorl of 'Annet' is short while that of 'Hidcote Blue' is medium to long. The distance between whorls on the spike of 'Annet' is very short while it is short to medium for 'Hidcote Blue'. The outer side of the calyx of 'Annet' is violet with blue violet towards the base while it is blue violet for 'Hidcote Blue'. The inner side of the corolla of 'Annet' is mainly light blue violet while it is lighter blue violet for 'Hidcote Blue'. The plants of 'Annet' begin flowering mid to late season while those of 'Hidcote Blue' begin flowering early to mid-season.

Description:

PLANT: bushy, semi-erect attitude of outer flowering stems at full flowering, medium to dense at full flowering, medium to dense flowering stems
FOLIAGE: medium to dark intensity of green colour, medium intensity of grey tinge

LEAF: no incisions of margin

FLOWERING STEM: medium thickness at middle third (excluding spike), medium intensity of green colour, strong rigidity of basal part, no lateral branching above foliage
SPIKE: short from second whorl, medium number of whorls (excluding first whorl), very short distance between whorls, cylindrical, many flowers, medium to many flowers on apical whorl, no infertile bracts
CALYX: purplish to violet, outer side violet (RHS N81A-B) with blue violet (RHS N87A) towards base, strong pubescence
COROLLA: violet, inner side light blue violet (RHS 85A-B) with lighter blue violet (RHS 85D) from central zone to base
TIME OF BEGINNING OF FLOWERING: mid-season to late

Origin & Breeding History: 'Annet' originated from a controlled cross conducted in June 2009 by the breeder, Lammert Koning, in Nuis, The Netherlands. The cross involved the two proprietary varieties 'Blue Royalty' as the female parent and 'Maxima' as the male parent. A single plant was selected in August 2010 based on its upright growth habit, production and post-production characteristics. The Lavender variety 'Annet' was first propagated by vegetative cuttings in September 2011 in De Lier, The Netherlands.

Tests & Trials: The comparative trial for 'Annet' was conducted in a polyhouse during the spring of 2014 at BioFlora Inc. in St. Thomas, Ontario. The trial included 20 plants each of the candidate and reference variety. All plants were grown from rooted cuttings and transplanted into 12 cm pots on April 29, 2014. Observations and measurements were taken from 10 plants or parts of plants of each variety on June 12, 2014. All colour determinations were made using the 2007 Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Colour Chart.

Comparison tables for 'Annet' with reference variety 'Hidcote Blue'

Plant height (cm)

Leaf length, including petiole (cm)

Flowering stem length, including spike (cm)

Spike length, including first whorl (cm)

Spike length, from second whorl (cm)

Colour of calyx (RHS)

Colour of corolla (RHS)

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Lavender: 'Annet' (left) with reference variety 'Hidcote Blue' (right)

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Lavender: 'Annet' (left) with reference variety 'Hidcote Blue' (right)

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Lavender: 'Annet' (left) with reference variety 'Hidcote Blue' (right)