Fisrodark

Pelargonium

Variety Description

Varieties used for comparison: 'Fissamba' (Samba) and 'Fip 553' (Rocky Mountain Red)

Summary: 'Fisrodark' is a larger plant than 'Fissamba' and is smaller but more branched than 'Fip 553'. The peduncle for 'Fisrodark' is longer than that of both reference varieties. 'Fisrodark' has a larger inflorescence, broader upper petal width, and longer pedicel than 'Fissamba' and a larger number of petals per flower than 'Fip 553'.

Description:

'Fisrodark' is a zonal type pelargonium variety. The stem is green in colour, medium to thick and has dense pubescence. The leaf is a type 3 shape with an open to closed base and moderate to strong lobing. The mostly crenate margins have shallow to medium deep incisions and moderate to strong waviness. There is dense pubescence on the upper side of the leaf blade. The colour of the leaf blade is medium green with no variegation. The weakly to moderately conspicuous leaf zone on the upper side of the leaf blade is in a normal position and green in colour. The petiole has dense to very dense pubescence.

'Fisrodark' belongs to the red inflorescence colour group. The peduncle has dense pubescence and absent to very weak intensity of anthocyanin colouration. The flower buds are elliptic in shape. The florets are semi-double to double and red in colour. There are stripe markings which are very weak in conspicuousness on the upper petals and no markings on the lower and inner petals. The petals are overlapping and the width of the upper petals is medium to broad. The petal margins are entire. The white zone at the base of the upper petal is small to medium in size. The pedicel has dense to very dense pubescence and the colour in the middle third is light red. The colour of the sepals is green with red at the base only.

Origin & Breeding History: 'Fisrodark' originated from a hybridization in 1998 between the female parent 'Americana Dark Red', a variety with deep red, semi-double flowers, medium green foliage and vigorous growth habit, and the male parent 'Fisfire', a variety with brilliant, orange red flowers, medium green foliage and moderately compact growth habit. The hybridization was made in Hillscheid, Germany and first selection of the seedlings was conducted in Moncarapacho, Portugal in 1999. Cuttings from the selected seedling were taken back to Hillscheid, Germany for further selection and trial cultivation in 2000. Final selection was based on flower colour in combination with tall plant height and well branched growth habit.

Tests & Trials: Tests and trials for 'Fisrodark' were conducted in a greenhouse during the spring/summer of 2003 at Westcan Greenhouses, Ltd. in Langley, British Columbia. Trials consisted of 15 plants per variety grown from rooted cuttings which had been transplanted into 9 cm pots at week 13 and repotted into 20 cm pots at week 23. The pots were spaced 45cm apart, from the pot center. The plants were grown in a peat:perlite mix (60:40), fertilized with a constant feed of Plant Products 20-5-30 / Calcium and Magnesium, and shaded when light levels were above 5000 foot candles. All colour characteristics were determined using the 2001 Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) colour chart and measured characteristics were based on ten plant measurements.

Comparison tables for 'Fisrodark' with reference varieties 'Fissamba' and 'Fip 553'

Plant height (cm)

Plant width (cm)

Number of branches (cm)

Peduncle length (cm)

Inflorescence diameter (cm)

Number of petals per flower

Pedicel length (cm)

Colour of upper side of the upper petal (RHS)

Colour of upper side of the lower petal (RHS)

Colour of upper side of the inner petal (RHS)