Balspunlu

Petunia

Variety Description

Variety used for comparison: 'Whip Bule' (Whispers Blue)

Summary: The growth habit of 'Balspunlu' is upright while it is semi-upright to creeping for 'Whip Bule'. The shoots and leaves of 'Balspunlu' are shorter than those of 'Whip Bule'. The shoots of 'Balspunlu' are thin while those of 'Whip Bule' are medium thickness. The leaves of 'Balspunlu' have a narrow acute apex while those of 'Whip Bule' have a broad acute apex. The corolla lobes of 'Balspunlu' have strong undulation of the margin while those of 'Whip Bule' have weak to medium undulation. The corolla tube of 'Balspunlu' has weak conspicuousness of veins on the inner side while that of 'Whip Bule' has medium conspicuousness.

Description:

PLANT: upright growth habit, thin shoots

LEAF: ovate and elliptic, narrow acute apex, no variegation, light to medium green on upper side

SEPAL: linear, no anthocyanin colouration
FLOWER: single, salverform, purple veins
COROLLA LOBE: one colour on upper side, upper side is dark violet (much darker than RHS 86A) when newly opened, upper side is dark violet (RHS 86A, but brighter) when fully opened aging to blue violet (RHS 86B-D), medium conspicuousness of veins on upper side, strong undulation of margin
COROLLA TUBE: violet (RHS 77A) on inner side, weak conspicuousness of black (RHS 202A) veins on inner side
ANTHERS: violet before dehiscence

Origin & Breeding History: 'Balspunlu' originated from a cross pollination conducted in June 2006 at Arroyo Grande, California, United States of America as part of a controlled breeding program. The female parent is the proprietary breeding selection designated 4118-2 and the male parent is the proprietary breeding selection designated 3130-2-2. The initial selection was made in May 2007 based on flower size, branching characteristics and compact growth habit. Asexual propagation since that time has been through the use of vegetative cuttings.

Tests & Trials: Trials for 'Balspunlu' were conducted in a polyhouse during the spring of 2012 at BioFlora Inc. in St. Thomas, Ontario. The trial included 20 plants each of the candidate and reference varieties. All plants were grown from rooted cuttings and transplanted into 15 cm pots on April 19, 2012 for the candidate variety and April 25, 2012 for the reference variety. Observations and measurements were taken from 10 plants of each variety on May 28, 2012. All colour determinations were made using the 2007 Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Colour Chart.

Comparison tables for 'Balspunlu' with reference variety 'Whip Bule'

Shoot length (cm)

Leaf length (cm)

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Petunia: 'Balspunlu' (left) with reference variety 'Whip Bule' (right)

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Petunia: 'Balspunlu' (left) with reference variety 'Whip Bule' (right)

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Petunia: 'Balspunlu' (left) with reference variety 'Whip Bule' (right)