Baldescarim

Pelargonium

Variety Description

Varieties used for comparison: 'Fislet' (Rocky Mountain Scarlet) and 'KLEP03106' (Sunrise Red)

Summary: 'Baldescarim' has a wider leaf blade than 'KLEP03106'. 'Baldescarim' has an open leaf blade base while 'Fislet' has a closed to partly overlapping base and 'KLEP03106' has a wide open base. 'Baldescarim' has a more conspicuous leaf zone than 'KLEP03106'. 'Baldescarim' has a higher number of petals than the reference varieties. 'Baldescarim' has a slightly darker red upper petal than 'Fislet'.

Description:

'Baldescarim' has an intermediate growth habit with medium to tall plant height and medium plant width. The stems are green in colour, medium to thick and have dense pubescence. The leaf blade is short to medium in length and wide in width. The leaf base is open and the margin is bicrenate. The margin incisions are shallow in depth. There are a medium number of leaf lobes which are shallow to medium in depth. The leaf blade margin has weak to medium waviness. The upper side of the leaf blade has dense pubescence and is light green in colour with no variegation. The zone on the upper side is very strong in conspicuousness, reddish brown in colour and in the normal position. The petiole is medium in length and has dense pubescence.

The inflorescence of 'Baldescarim' is in the red colour group. The inflorescence is medium to large in diameter. The peduncle is medium in length, has dense pubescence and has very weak anthocyanin colouration. The buds are elliptic in shape. The florets are semi-double and medium in diameter. The petal margins are entire and the lower petal width is medium to broad. The lower petals have no markings present and have a very small white zone at the base. The upper petals have weakly conspicuous striped markings present and a very small white spot at the base. The pedicel is medium in length, has dense pubescence, is medium red in the middle third and has no swelling present. The sepal has medium to dense pubescence and is green in colour with red streaks at the base.

Origin & Breeding History: 'Baldescarim' originated in a controlled breeding program during January 2001 at Arroyo Grande, California, USA. The female parent was the variety 'Fislet', characterized by its large umbels and lightly zoned foliage. The male parent was the variety 'Fisfire', characterized by its small umbels and medium zoned foliage. The initial selection was made in July 2002 and asexual propagation has been conducted through the use of vegetative cuttings.

Tests & Trials: 'Baldescarim' was tested in a polyhouse during the spring of 2005, in St. Thomas, Ontario. The trial included 15 plants of the candidate and reference varieties. All plants were grown from rooted cuttings planted into 15 cm pots on April 21, 2005. All colour measurements were made using the RHS Colour Chart 2001. Measured characteristics were based on ten plant measurements.

Comparison tables for 'Baldescarim' with reference varieties 'Fislet' and 'KLEP03106'

Leaf blade width (cm)

Number of petals

Colour of upper side of lower petal (RHS)

Colour of upper side of upper petal (RHS)

Colour of upper side of inner petal (RHS)

Colour of lower side (RHS)