Cante Fir09

Pelargonium

Variety Description

Variety used for comparison: 'Cante Dereds' (Caliente Deep Red)

Summary: 'Cante Fir09' has a partly to strongly overlapping leaf blade base while 'Cante Dereds' has an open base. 'Cante Fir09' has a larger inflorescence and floret diameter than 'Cante Dereds'. 'Cante Fir09' has strong to very strong anthocyanin colouration in the peduncle while 'Cante Dereds' has absent to very weak anthocyanin. 'Cante Fir09' has a wider upper and lower petal width and a longer pedicel than 'Cante Dereds'. 'Cante Fir09' has more conspicuous markings on the upper petal than 'Cante Dereds'. 'Cante Fir09' has dark red to purple colour on the middle third of the pedicel while 'Cante Dereds' has green and medium red colour. 'Cante Fir09' has a red and green sepal while 'Cante Dereds' has a green sepal.

Description:

PLANT: intermediate to spreading growth habit, 4-5 branches
STEM: green, medium thickness, medium to dense pubescence

LEAF BLADE: partly to strongly overlapping base
LEAF MARGIN: crenate, weak lobing, shallow incisions, weak waviness
UPPER SIDE OF BLADE: medium to dark green, medium to dense pubescence, no variegation, no zone
PETIOLE: dense pubescence

INFLORESCENCE: red colour group
PEDUNCLE: moderate pubescence, strong to very strong anthocyanin colouration
FLORET: narrow elliptic bud, single, entire petal margin
UPPER PETAL: upper side red with purple red at base, brown purple striped markings on upper side, markings weak to medium in conspicuousness, very small white basal zone, lower side dark pink red
LOWER PETAL: upper side red with purple red at base, no markings, small white basal zone, lower side dark pink red
PEDICEL: sparse to medium pubescence, dark red to purple in middle third, no swelling
SEPAL: sparse to medium pubescence, red and green

Origin & Breeding History: 'Cante Fir09' originated from a cross made in May 2004 in Gilroy, California, USA. The female parent was a dark red flowered proprietary line designated 9618-1 and the male parent was a red flowered proprietary line designated 9906-7. The resultant seed were sown in October 2004. The new variety was selected as a single seedling in January 2005, based on criteria for flower colour and plant habit. Asexual reproduction of the variety was first conducted in January 2005 in Gilroy, California, USA.

Tests & Trials: Trials for 'Cante Fir09' were conducted in a polyhouse in St. Thomas, Ontario, during the summer of 2008. The trials consisted of 15 plants of each variety. All plants were grown from rooted cuttings and transplanted into 15 cm pots on May 20, 2008. Observations and measurements were taken from 10 plants of each variety on September 17, 2008. All colour measurements were made using the 2001 Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Colour Chart.

Comparison tables for 'Cante Fir09' with reference variety 'Cante Dereds'

Inflorescence diameter (cm)

Floret diameter (cm)

Upper petal width (cm)

Lower petal width (cm)

Pedicel length (cm)

Click on image for larger view

Pelargonium: 'Cante Fir09' (left) with reference variety 'Cante Dereds' (right)

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Pelargonium: 'Cante Fir09' (left) with reference variety 'Cante Dereds' (right)