Golden Eclipse

Lilac

Variety Description

Variety used for comparison: 'Ivory Silk'

Summary: 'Golden Eclipse' has medium anthocyanin in the young shoot while 'Ivory Silk' has very weak anthocyanin. The one year old shoot of 'Golden Eclipse' has reddish-brown bark on the sunny side while 'Ivory Silk' has greenish-grey bark. 'Golden Eclipse' has variegated leaves while the leaves of 'Ivory Silk' have no variegation.

Description:

'Golden Eclipse' has an upright-bushy growth habit and is medium in height. The density of the crown is medium. The young shoot has medium anthocyanin present and very sparse pubescence. The one year old shoot is reddish-brown in colour on the sunny side and has a medium number of lenticels. The vegetative bud has absent or very sparse pubescence.

The leaf is simple in form and ovate in shape. The tip is acute and the base is rounded in shape. The profile in cross section is slightly convex. The leaf blade is variegated. The main colour of the upper surface is dark green and the variegation is light yellow. The lower leaf surface is light green in colour with greenish-yellow variegation. The leaf blade margin has very weak undulation and no glaucosity or pubescence on the upper and lower surface of the blade. The upper surface has weak to medium glossiness and the leaf texture is leathery.

'Golden Eclipse' blooms late in the season and the flower buds are mainly terminal in position. The panicle has a semi-erect attitude and the florets are single. The floret has four corolla lobes which are flat to reflexed in cross section. The corolla lobe has a rounded tip and the corolla tube is funnel form. The corolla tube is very short (up to one-half the diameter of the corolla). The florets are white in colour. The stamens are the same length as the corolla tube and the anthers are white in colour.

Origin & Breeding History: 'Golden Eclipse' originated from a mutation discovered among a crop of 20,000 seedlings of Syringa reticulata. The variety was discovered in 1995 in St. Catharines, Ontario. The variety is maintained by budding onto the rootstock of Syringa reticulata.

Tests & Trials: Tests and trials for 'Golden Eclipse' were conducted at J.C. Bakker & Sons Ltd., St. Catharines, Ontario in 2001 and 2002. The trial consisted of approximately 5,000 plants of the candidate variety and 25,000 of the reference variety. The trees were spaced 0.50 metres apart.