USTUN3003

Petunia

Variety Description

Variety used for comparison: 'DRAY306' (Ray Bordeaux)

Summary: The plants of 'USTUN3003' are taller with longer shoots than those of 'DRAY306'. The sepal of 'USTUN3003' is longer than that of 'DRAY306'. The corolla of 'USTUN3003' is narrower than the corolla of 'DRAY306'. The degree of lobing on the corolla of 'USTUN3003' is weak while it is medium for 'DRAY306'. When newly opened, the inner side of the corolla of 'USTUN3003' is dark purple red with purple along the margin and brown purple to dark purple red veins while that of 'DRAY306' is medium brown with dark purple red tones and brown purple along the margin. The corolla lobe of 'USTUN3003' has a cuspidate apex while that of 'DRAY306' has a truncate apex. The main colour of the inner side of the corolla tube is brown purple to dark brown for 'USTUN3003' while it is yellow with green brown veins for 'DRAY306'.

Description:

PLANT: upright growth habit
SHOOT: medium to thick on lower third

LEAF BLADE: ovate and elliptic shape, broad acute apex, no variegation, medium green on upper side, absent or weak blistering

PEDICEL: absent or very weak anthocyanin colouration
FLOWER: single type, salverform shape
COROLLA: weak degree of lobing, shallow incisions of margin, weak degree of undulation, weak conspicuousness of veins, red veins, when newly opened inner side is mainly dark purple red (RHS 60B) with purple (RHS 71A) along margin and brown purple to dark purple red (RHS 187A-B) veins, when fully opened inner side is mainly dark purple red (RHS 60A) with greyed darker purple red (closest to RHS 185A) veins
COROLLA LOBE: cuspidate apex
COROLLA TUBE (INNER SIDE): brown purple (closest to RHS 187A) to dark brown (RHS 200A), absent or very weak conspicuousness of veins
COROLLA TUBE (OUTER SIDE): brown purple (RHS 187A) with light green (RHS N144D) primary veins
ANTHER: yellow to yellow-green before dehiscence

Origin & Breeding History: 'USTUN3003' originated from a controlled cross conducted by the breeder, Ushio Sakazaki, in Higashiomi, Shiga, Japan on May 11, 2010. The cross was made between the female parent 'Black Velvet' and the male parent 'Supertunia Fuchsia'. The new plant was selected from the resulting progeny on May 13, 2011 in Bonsall, California, USA. 'USTUN3003' was selected based on its plant vigour, small to medium flower size, dark reddish-black flower colour, long flowering period and disease tolerance. This variety was first propagated by vegetative tip cuttings on May 16, 2011 in Bonsall, California, USA.

Tests & Trials: The comparative trial for 'USTUN3003' was conducted in a polyhouse during the spring of 2015 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 each one was transplanted into a 15 cm pot on April 13, 2015. Observations and measurements were taken from 10 plants or parts of plants of each variety on May 21, 2015. All colour determinations were made using the 2007 Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Colour Chart.

Comparison tables for 'USTUN3003' with reference variety 'DRAY306'

Plant height (cm)

Shoot length (cm)

Sepal length (cm)

Flower width (cm)

Colour of inner side of corolla, when newly opened (RHS)

Colour of corolla tube (RHS)

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Petunia: 'USTUN3003' (left) with reference variety 'DRAY306' (right)

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Petunia: 'USTUN3003' (left) with reference variety 'DRAY306' (right)

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Petunia: 'USTUN3003' (left) with reference variety 'DRAY306' (right)