Sunsurf Piusa

Petunia

Variety Description

Variety used for comparison: 'Sunsurfcoparu' (Surfinia Bouquet Hot Pink)

Summary: The leaf blade of 'Sunsurf Piusa' is larger than that of 'Sunsurfcoparu'. The sepal of 'Sunsurf Piusa' is longer than that of 'Sunsurfcoparu'. The flower of 'Sunsurf Piusa' is wider than that of 'Sunsurfcoparu'. The veining on the flower of 'Sunsurf Piusa' is pink with weak conspicuousness while it is greenish with absent or very weak conspicuousness for 'Sunsurfcoparu'. The inner side of the flower of 'Sunsurf Piusa' is deep bright purple when newly opened and fading to a lighter purple as it ages while that of 'Sunsurfcoparu' is purple red when newly opened, fading to purple red to blue pink at maturity and further fading to blue pink. The inner side of the corolla tube of 'Sunsurf Piusa' is white with a light yellow splotch and absent to very weak conspicuousness of veins while the inner side of the corolla tube of 'Sunsurfcoparu' is yellowish white at the base with brighter white at the transition to the corolla lobes and weak conspicuousness of veins. The outer side of the corolla tube of 'Sunsurf Piusa' is white with yellow green to light yellow along the veins while the outer side of the corolla tube of 'Sunsurfcoparu' is light green.

Description:

PLANT: upright

LEAF: ovate, broad acute apex, no variegation, medium green, weak blistering

PEDICEL: absent or very weak intensity of anthocyanin colouration
FLOWER: single, campanulate, weak degree of lobing, absent or very shallow incisions of margin, medium degree of undulation, weak conspicuousness of veins, pink veins, inner side is purple (RHS N74B)
NEWLY OPENED FLOWER: inner side is purple (deeper and brighter than RHS N74A)
AGED FLOWER: inner side is purple (RHS N74B)
COROLLA LOBE: cuspidate apex
COROLLA TUBE: inner side is white (RHS 155B) with a light yellow (RHS 8B) splotch, absent or very weak conspicuousness of veins on inner side, outer side is white (RHS 155B) with yellow green to light yellow (RHS 4C-D) along veins
ANTHER: yellowish white before dehiscence

Origin & Breeding History: 'Sunsurf Piusa' originated from a controlled pollination between the female parent 'Px139-02' and the male parent 'BR-01' in January 2005 at the Omi Research and Development Center of Suntory Flowers Ltd. in Higashiomi-shi, Shiga, Japan. 'Sunsurf Piusa' was selected in November 2007 based on its growth habit, flower size and flower colour.

Tests & Trials: The comparative trial for 'Sunsurf Piusa' was conducted in a polyhouse during the spring of 2014 at BioFlora Inc. in St. Thomas, Ontario. The trial included a total of 20 plants each of the candidate and reference variety. All plants were grown from rooted cuttings and transplanted into 15.2 cm pots on April 11, 2014. Observations and measurements were taken from 10 plants of each variety on May 27, 2014. All colour determinations were made using the 2007 Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Colour Chart.

Comparison tables for 'Sunsurf Piusa' with reference variety 'Sunsurfcoparu'

Leaf length (cm)

Leaf width (cm)

Sepal length (cm)

Flower width (cm)

Colour of inner side of flower (RHS)

Colour of corolla tube (RHS)

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Petunia: 'Sunsurf Piusa' (left) with reference variety 'Sunsurfcoparu' (right)

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Petunia: 'Sunsurf Piusa' (left) with reference variety 'Sunsurfcoparu' (right)

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Petunia: 'Sunsurf Piusa' (left) with reference variety 'Sunsurfcoparu' (right)