Whip Pur

Petunia

Variety Description

Varieties used for comparison: 'Conglow' (Supertunia Mini Purple) and 'Revolution Brilliant Pink Mini' (Surfinia Brilliant Pink Mini)

Summary: 'Whip Pur' has shorter shoots than 'Revolution Brilliant Pink Mini'. The pedicel of 'Whip Pur' is medium in length, whereas 'Revolution Brilliant Pink Mini' has a short pedicel. The flowers of both reference varieties have a more undulating corolla margin than 'Whip Pur'. Although the main colour of the upper side of the corolla is similar, there are differences between the varieties in the colour of the lower side of the corolla. The lower side of 'Whip Pur' is dark red-purple, whereas 'Conglow' is lighter red-purple and 'Revolution Brilliant Pink Mini' is purple-violet. The inner side of the corolla tube of 'Whip Pur' is darker purple than 'Conglow'.

Description:

'Whip Pur' is a petunia variety which has an upright to creeping growth habit. The shoots are thin, short to medium in length and have no anthocyanin colouration. The leaves are short to medium in length and narrow in width. The blade is elliptic in shape, with a narrowly acute apex. The leaf colour is medium green, with no variegation. There is no blistering of the leaf surface. The sepals are narrow and short to medium and are linear in shape with anthocyanin colouration at the base.

'Whip Pur' has single flowers which are funnel shaped and small in diameter. The pedicel is medium in length. Lobing of the corolla is moderate. The flowers of 'Whip Pur' are purple on the upper side of the corolla with weakly conspicuous, purple veins. The corolla lobe has weakly undulating margins and a cuspidate apex. The inner side of the corolla tube is purple in colour with very strongly conspicuous dark purple veins. The anthers are light blue.

Origin & Breeding History: 'Whip Pur' originated from a cross made in September 2000 at Gilroy, California. The female parent was 00-382-4, a proprietary line with purple flowers. The male parent was 00-381-2, a proprietary line with scarlet flowers. The resulting F1 seed was sown in a greenhouse in December 2000. In March 2001, a single plant was selected by the breeder from the F1 progeny, based on flower colour, form and plant habit.

Tests & Trials: Tests and trials for 'Whip Pur' were conducted in a polyhouse during the summer of 2004, in St. Thomas, Ontario. The trial included a total of 15 plants of each variety. All plants were grown from rooted cuttings, planted into 15cm pots on April 21, 2004. Observations and measurements were taken from 10 plants of each variety on June 1, 2004. All colour measurements were made using the RHS Colour Chart 2001.

Comparison tables for 'Whip Pur' with reference varieties 'Conglow' and 'Revolution Brilliant Pink Mini'

Shoot length (cm)

Pedicel length (cm)

Main colour of corolla (RHS)

Main colour of corolla tube (RHS)