Niagara

Pearlbush

Variety Description

Variety used for comparison: 'The Bride'

Summary: The plants of 'Niagara' are broad upright while those of 'The Bride' are spreading to drooping. The plants of 'Niagara' are taller than those of 'The Bride'. In spring, the shoots of 'Niagara' are shorter than those of 'The Bride'. The shoots and stems of 'Niagara' are thick while those of 'The Bride' are thin to medium thickness. The bud of 'Niagara' is medium size, whitish green, and conical with a pointed apex while the bud of 'The Bride' is small in size, whitish yellow, and rounded with a rounded apex. The leaf blade of 'Niagara' is longer than that of 'The Bride'. The leaf blade of 'Niagara' is obovate with an acute to cuspidate apex while that of 'The Bride' is elliptic with an obtuse apex and mucronate tip. The inflorescence of 'Niagara' is longer and larger in diameter than that of 'The Bride'. The flower of 'Niagara' is larger in diameter than that of 'The Bride'.

Description:

PLANT: broad upright growth habit, medium density of branching
SHOOT/STEM: light to medium green, weak to medium anthocyanin colouration, thick, absent or very sparse pubescence, rounded shape in cross section, smooth to rough texture of bark, absent or very weak glaucosity (waxy bloom), no lenticels, no thorns/spines

BUD: medium size, whitish green, conical shape, pointed apex, sparse pubescence, small scale size

LEAD BLADE: obovate, acute to cuspidate apex, cuneate base, mostly entire margin, may have crenate incisions on the apical quarter only, no lobing, sparse pubescence on upper side, medium pubescence on lower side, medium green on upper side (in spring), dark green on upper side (mid-season), no variegation on upper side, no anthocyanin colouration on the veins on lower side, absent or very weak rugosity, weak to medium waviness of margin
PETIOLE: weak anthocyanin colouration on upper side

INFLORESCENCE: raceme
COROLLA: five petals, white (RHS NN155B) on upper and lower side

FRUIT: medium size
FRUIT SKIN: absent or very sparse pubescence, brown when mature, absent or very weak glaucosity
SEED: medium size, red brown when mature

Origin & Breeding History: 'Niagara' originated from a controlled pollination between the female parent variety Exochorda ×macrantha 'The Bride' and pollen from an unnamed male parent variety Exochorda racemosa conducted in 1994 in Boskoop, The Netherlands. The new variety was selected in Boskoop in 1997 based on plant habit, abundant large flowers and good production and propagation characteristics.

Tests & Trials: Trials for 'Niagara' were conducted in an outdoor container trial during the spring/summer of 2013 at BioFlora Inc. in St. Thomas, Ontario. The trial included a total of 15 shrubs each of the candidate and reference varieties. The candidate variety was grown from 'quick turn' liners planted into 13.2 litre containers in June 2011, while the reference variety was grown from 5.7 cm liners planted into 13.2 litre containers in the fall of 2011. The plants were overwintered in a polyhouse and moved outdoors during the spring of 2012 and 2013 to a drip irrigated field area and arranged in rows with approximately 1 m spacing between plants. Observations and measurements on flower and bud characteristics were taken from 10 plants of each variety on April 30, 2013 and the remaining plant characteristics were observed on June 11, 2013. All colour determinations were made using the 2007 Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Colour Chart.

Comparison tables for 'Niagara' with reference variety 'The Bride'

Plant height (cm)

Shoot length in spring (cm)

Leaf blade length (cm)

Inflorescence length (cm)

Inflorescence diameter (cm)

Flower diameter (cm)

Click on image for larger view

Pearlbush: 'Niagara' (left) with reference variety 'The Bride' (right)

Click on image for larger view

Pearlbush: 'Niagara' (left) with reference variety 'The Bride' (right)

Click on image for larger view

Pearlbush: 'Niagara' (left) with reference variety 'The Bride' (right)