ZLENora

Ninebark

Variety Description

Variety used for comparison: 'Dart's Gold'

Summary: The plants of 'ZLENora' are taller and wider than those of 'Dart's Gold'. The branch of 'ZLENora' is soft while that of 'Dart's Gold' is of a medium rigidity. The leaf of 'ZLENora' is smaller than that of 'Dart's Gold'. The base of the leaf of 'ZLENora' is rounded to weakly cordate shaped while that of 'Dart's Gold' is obtuse to rounded. The newly opened leaf of 'ZLENora' has a strong degree of folding while that of 'Dart's Gold' has a medium degree of folding. The upper side of the leaf of 'ZLENora' has a medium degree of glossiness while that of 'Dart's Gold' has weak glossiness. The mid-rib on the lower side of the leaf of 'ZLENora' has weak anthocyanin colouration while that of 'Dart's Gold' has absent or very weak anthocyanin colouration. The inflorescence of 'ZLENora' has a larger diameter than that of 'Dart's Gold'. The corolla of 'ZLENora' has a smaller diameter than that of 'Dart's Gold'. The pedicel of ' ZLENora' is shorter than that of 'Dart's Gold'.

Description:

PLANT: deciduous shrub, bushy (spreading) shape, medium to dense foliage

BRANCH: medium density, semi-erect with slightly weeping attitude, weak rigidity, brown bark
BRANCHLET: medium to dense, light green, medium to strong intensity of anthocyanin colouration

PETIOLE: present
LEAF: opposite arrangement along stem
LEAF BLADE: ovate, acute apex, rounded to weakly cordate base, dentate to serrate margin, lobing ranging from shallow to medium depth, strong folding when newly open
LEAF BLADE (UPPER SIDE): medium degree of glossiness, absent or very weak prominence of midrib, light green (RHS N144A and N144C) when newly opened, medium brown green (more yellow than RHS 138A) when fully opened
LEAF BLADE (LOWER SIDE): prominence of midrib ranging from medium to strong, light green (darker than RHS 145C) when newly opened, weak intensity of anthocyanin colouration on mid-rib,

FLOWER: corymb formation, rotate shape
COROLLA: white (RHS N155B) upper side

SEED POD: red pink

Origin & Breeding History: 'ZLENora' originated from a controlled cross between the female parent ‘Donna May' and the male parent ‘Dart`s Gold' conducted in St. Paul Minnesota in 2011. Twelve F1 seedlings were allowed to open pollinate in June of 2014 and the resulting F2 seeds were sown indoors and selected seedlings grown in containers in 2015. A single F2 seedling was designated 'ZLENora' in 2017 based on flower colour, foliage colour and disease resistance. Asexual reproduction of 'ZLENora' by softwood cuttings was first conducted in 2017 in Cottage Grove, Minnesota, U.S.A.

Tests & Trials: The comparative trial for 'ZLENora' was conducted as an outdoor irrigated container trial during the summer of 2025, at BioFlora Inc. in St. Thomas, Ontario. The trial included a total of 10 plants of each of the candidate variety and reference variety. Observations and measurements were taken from a minimum of 8 plants, or parts of plants, of each variety on July 22, 2025. Mean differences were significant at the 5% confidence probability level based on a paired Student's t-test. All colour determinations were made using the 2015 Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Colour Chart.

Comparison tables for 'ZLENora' with reference variety 'Dart's Gold'

Plant height (cm)

Plant width (cm)

Leaf length (cm)

Leaf width (cm)

Inflorescence diameter (cm)

Corolla diameter (cm)

Pedicel length (cm)

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Ninebark: ‘ZLENora'

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Ninebark: ‘ZLENora'

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Ninebark: ‘ZLENora'