Sweet Caroline Bronze

Sweet Potato

Variety Description

Variety used for comparison: 'Blackie'

Summary: 'Sweet Caroline Bronze' has more densely branched plants than 'Blackie'. 'Sweet Caroline Bronze' has bronze coloured stems while those of 'Blackie' are purple. The colour of the upper side of the leaves for 'Sweet Caroline Bronze' is reddish purple to dark brown while it is dark brown to black for 'Blackie'. The predominant colour of the lower side of the leaves is dark purple red for 'Sweet Caroline Bronze' while it is dark brown for 'Blackie'.

Description:

'Sweet Caroline Bronze' is an annual, ornamental sweet potato variety which is propagated vegetatively. The plants have a mounding / spreading growth habit and are densely branched. The stems are bronze in colour, medium in thickness and smooth. They have very strong anthocyanin colouration, absent to very weak glaucosity and absent to very weak pubescence.

The leaves of 'Sweet Caroline Bronze' are simple type and arranged alternately along the stem. The leaves are palmately lobed with an acute shaped apex and reniform shaped base. The margin of the leaf blade is entire. The leaf blade is reddish purple to dark brown on the upper side and dark purple red on the lower side. There is no variegation. Pubescence of the upper and lower sides of the leaf blade is absent to very sparse. The upper side of the leaf blade has absent to very weak glaucosity and the petioles have very strong anthocyanin colouration.

Origin & Breeding History: 'Sweet Caroline Bronze' originated from a conventional cross between the female parent 'Sulfur' and the male parent designated 'NCSXBR5-18ORN' conducted during the winter of 1999-2000 at the Horticultural Greenhouses of North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.A. The seeds were planted in the spring of 2000 and 'Sweet Caroline Bronze' was selected in July of 2000.

Tests & Trials: The test and trial for 'Sweet Caroline Bronze' was conducted in a polyhouse during the summer of 2005 at Variety Rights Management in Oxford Station, Ontario. The trial included 15 plants of each variety. The plants were grown from rooted cuttings planted in 10 cm square pots spaced 30 cm apart. All colour characteristics were determined using the 2001 Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) colour chart and measured characteristics were based on ten plant measurements.

Comparison tables for 'Sweet Caroline Bronze' with reference variety 'Blackie'

Plant width (cm)

Colour of leaf blade (RHS)