Symphoricarpos albus cultivar xe2x80x98Scarlet Pearlxe2x80x99.
The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Symphoricarpos plant, botanically known as Symphoricarpos albus, commercially used as cut stems with fruits, and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Scarlet Pearlxe2x80x99.
The new Symphoricarpos is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Wageningen, The Netherlands. The objective of the breeding program was to develop cut Symphoricarpos cultivars with attractive fruit coloration.
The new cultivar originated from a cross made by the Inventor in 1994 of two unidentified proprietary seedling selections, not patented. The cultivar xe2x80x98Scarlet Pearlxe2x80x99 was discovered and selected by the Inventor in 1994 as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Asexual reproduction of the new Symphoricarpos by terminal cuttings taken at Boskoop, The Netherlands, has shown that the unique features of this new Symphoricarpos are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generation of asexual reproduction.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Scarlet Pearlxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Scarlet Pearlxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Upright and outwardly spreading plant habit.
2. Dark green leaves.
3. Large red purple-colored fruits.
4. Good postproduction longevity.
Plants of the new Symphoricarpos differ from plants of the parent seedling selections primarily in growth habit and fruit coloration.
Plants of the new Symphoricarpos can be compared to plants of the Symphoricarpos cultivar xe2x80x98Mother of Pearlxe2x80x99, not patented. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Boskoop, The Netherlands, plants of the new Symphoricarpos differed from plants of the cultivar xe2x80x98Mother of Pearlxe2x80x99 in the following characteristics:
1. Plant of the new Symphoricarpos were more freely branching than plants of the cultivar xe2x80x98Mother of Pearlxe2x80x99.
2. Plants of the new Symphoricarpos had darker green-colored leaves than plants of the cultivar xe2x80x98Mother of Pearlxe2x80x99.
3. Plants of the new Symphoricarpos were more freely flowering than plants of the cultivar xe2x80x98Mother of Pearlxe2x80x99.
4. Fruits of plants of the new Symphoricarpos were darker pink in color than fruits of plants of the cultivar xe2x80x98Mother of Pearlxe2x80x99.