Halo Lilac

Viola

Denomination:	'Halo Lilac'
Botanical Name:	Viola ×wittrockiana
Applicant/Holder:	Ball Horticultural Company 622 Town Road West Chicago, Illinois 60185 United States of America
Breeder:	Troy Thorup, Ball Horticultural Company, Guadalupe, United States of America
Agent in Canada:	BioFlora Inc. 38723 Fingal Line R.R. #1 St. Thomas, Ontario N5P 3S5 Canada Tel: 519-317-7511
Application Date:	2012-01-03
Application Number:	12-7466
Grant of Rights Date:	2014-06-12
Certificate Number:	4837
Date rights surrendered:	2019-06-12

Variety Description

Varieties used for comparison: 'Etain' and 'Halo Sky Blue'

Summary: The leaf blade of 'Halo Lilac' is longer than that of 'Etain'. The petiole of 'Halo Lilac' is shorter than that of both reference varieties. The flower of 'Halo Lilac' is smaller than that of 'Halo Sky Blue'. The lower and lateral petals of 'Halo Lilac' are wider than those of 'Etain'. The upper side of the upper petal of 'Halo Lilac' is light violet blue with a blue violet margin and blue violet streaks whereas the upper petal of 'Etain' is yellow green with a light violet blue margin, and for 'Halo Sky Blue', it is violet blue to light violet blue with light yellow brown at the base and a violet margin. The upper side of the lower petal of 'Halo Lilac' is light yellow green with a blue violet margin whereas the lower petal of 'Etain' is yellow with a light violet blue margin and blue violet along the outer edge, and for 'Halo Sky Blue', it is yellow green with yellow at the base, a violet blue to light violet blue margin and violet along the outer edge. The lower and lateral petals of 'Halo Lilac' have no markings while those of 'Halo Sky Blue' have striped markings.

Description:

PLANT: very upright growth habit

LEAF BLADE: elliptic and ovate, obtuse apex, attenuate to rounded base, crenate margin, medium green on upper side, absent or very sparse pubescence on upper side, medium glossiness of upper side

PEDUNCLE: absent or very sparse pubescence
SEPAL: elliptic, acuminate apex, medium green, absent or very sparse pubescence
UPPER PETAL: main colour of upper side is light violet blue (RHS 92C), margin and streaks are blue violet (RHS 90B)
LATERAL PETAL: no markings
LOWER PETAL: main colour of upper side is yellow green (lighter than RHS 2D), margin is blue violet (RHS N89D), no markings, yellow orange (RHS 14A) spot
THROAT: white hairs present
SPUR: absent or very sparse pubescence, light blue-violet

Origin & Breeding History: 'Halo Lilac' originated from a cross-pollination conducted between the female parent ,'20423-12', and the male parent, '20634-6', in April 2007 in Guadalupe, California, United States. Seeds were germinated and grown to maturity. In September 2007, one plant was selected for its picotee flower colour pattern and full mounded-trailing growth habit. It has been further propagated through vegetative cuttings.

Tests & Trials: Trials for 'Halo Lilac' were conducted in a polyhouse during the spring of 2013 at BioFlora Inc. in St. Thomas, Ontario. The trial included a total of 20 plants each of the candidate and reference varieties. All plants were grown from rooted cuttings and transplanted into 11.5 cm pots on April 16, 2013. Observations and measurements were taken from 10 plants of each variety on May 17, 2013. All colour determinations were made using the 2007 Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Colour Chart.

Comparison tables for 'Halo Lilac' with reference varieties 'Etain' and 'Halo Sky Blue'

Leaf blade length (cm)

	'Halo Lilac'	'Etain'	'Halo Sky Blue'
mean	4.4	3.5	5.2
std. deviation	0.34	0.16	0.27

Petiole length (cm)

	'Halo Lilac'	'Etain'	'Halo Sky Blue'
mean	2.1	3.3	3.5
std. deviation	0.32	0.51	0.37

Flower length (cm)

	'Halo Lilac'	'Etain'	'Halo Sky Blue'
mean	4.6	4.2	5.3
std. deviation	0.18	0.13	0.18

Flower width (cm)

	'Halo Lilac'	'Etain'	'Halo Sky Blue'
mean	4.1	4.0	5.1
std. deviation	0.27	0.31	0.22

Lateral petal width (cm)

	'Halo Lilac'	'Etain'	'Halo Sky Blue'
mean	2.7	2.3	3.1
std. deviation	0.13	0.15	0.18

Lower petal width (cm)

	'Halo Lilac'	'Etain'	'Halo Sky Blue'
mean	3.3	2.6	3.5
std. deviation	0.16	0.10	0.11

Colour of upper side of upper petal (RHS)

	'Halo Lilac'	'Etain'	'Halo Sky Blue'
main	92C	3D	93C-D with 158D at base
secondary	90B margin and streaks	92B margin	N87B margin

Colour of upper side of lower petal (RHS)

	'Halo Lilac'	'Etain'	'Halo Sky Blue'
main	lighter than 2D	5B	150D with 9A-B at base
secondary	N89D margin	92B margin with N88B along outer edge	93C-D margin with N87A along outer edge