Bonmadmerlo

Argyranthemum

Variety Description

Variety used for comparison: 'Supa930' (Fireball Red)

Summary: The plants of 'Bonmadmerlo' are taller than those of 'Supa930'. The upper sides of the leaves of 'Bonmadmerlo' are blue green while those of 'Supa930' are medium green. 'Bonmadmerlo' has medium deep marginal incisions while 'Supa930' has shallow incisions. The flowers of 'Bonmadmerlo' are anemone type while those of 'Supa930' are double. 'Bonmadmerlo' has one coloured ray florets while those of 'Supa930' are two coloured. The upper side of the ray florets of 'Bonmadmerlo' are purple while those of 'Supa930' are purple with blue pink tones on the outer florets and white at the base.

Description:

PLANT: upright to rounded growth habit, tall, medium to dense, stem anthocyanin colouration present

LEAF BLADE: long, narrow to medium width, blue green on upper side
LEAF BLADE LATERAL LOBE: short to medium length, narrow, medium depth of marginal incisions

FLOWER: anemone type, small to medium diameter, early flowering
RAY FLORET: straight curvature of longitudinal axis, short, medium width, one coloured on upper side, purple (RHS 61A) on upper side, blue pink (RHS 186C) with darker tones on lower side
FLORET DISC: large to very large diameter, purple (RHS 61B)

Origin & Breeding History: 'Bonmadmerlo' originated from a cross conducted August 3, 2004 at Yellow Rock, New South Whales, Australia as part of a controlled breeding program. The female parent of 'Bonmadmerlo' is the proprietary Argyranthemum breeding selection designated 04-133 and the male parent is 04-121. The initial selection was made on April 18, 2005. Asexual propagation since that time has been through the use of vegetative cuttings. The variety was selected based on flower form, deep flower colour, number of flowers and time of flowering.

Tests & Trials: Trials for 'Bonmadmerlo' were conducted in a polyhouse during the spring of 2008 in St. Thomas, Ontario. The trial included a total of 15 plants each of the candidate and reference varieties. All plants were grown from rooted cuttings and transplanted into 11 cm pots on March 19, 2008. Observations and measurements were taken from 10 plants of each variety on May 23, 2008. All colour determinations were made using the 2001 Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Colour Chart.

Comparison tables for 'Bonmadmerlo' with reference variety 'Supa930'

Plant height (cm)

Colour of upper side of ray floret (RHS)

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Argyranthemum: 'Bonmadmerlo' (left) with reference variety 'Supa930' (right)

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Argyranthemum: 'Bonmadmerlo' (left) with reference variety 'Supa930' (right)