Flower pigmentation in pelargonium hortorum

Abstract

The present invention relates to novel Pelargonium hortorum-interspecific plants having dark red to burgundy or darker pigmented flower petal, a trailing growth habit, dark leaf color and tolerance to high temperatures, high light and edema. The present invention also relates to methods for creating novel Pelargonium hortorum-interspecific hybrid plants having dark red to burgundy or darker pigmented flower petals, a trailing growth habit and tolerance to high temperatures, high light and edema.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12 / 270,716, which is a nonprovisional and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60 / 988,364, filed Nov. 15, 2007, which is incorporated herein in their entirety by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates to novel zonal geranium plants, Pelargonium hortorum-interspecific, having a trailing habit and dark-red to burgundy pigmented flower petals, a growth habit similar to an ivy geranium, green leaf color, tolerance to high light and temperature and non-sensitivity to edema. The present invention also relates to methods for creating novel Pelargonium hortorum-interspecific plants having pigmented flower petals. The present invention relates to a new and distinctive method of combining Pelargonium plants to produce new, distinct interspecific Pelargonium varieties. All publications cited in this applicat...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

This patent describes a new type of plant called Pelargonium hortorum-interspecific, which has dark red to burgundy flower petals. The invention also includes methods for creating new plants using these interspecific plants as parents in breeding. The invention also includes the creation of new plant parts and tissue cultures from these interspecific plants. The technical effects of this invention include the creation of new and unique plants with dark red to burgundy flower petals, as well as new methods for breeding and creating new plant parts.

Problems solved by technology

While some varieties do occasionally bloom, scented geraniums usually are not grown for their flowers.

The economics of greenhouse space utilization combined with the development of “fast cropping” made the old procedures impractical.

The development of serious systematic diseases almost always lead to the demise of the crop, mainly Xanthomonas campestris pv.

In other cases, barriers to combinability exist between species.

However, these techniques do not overcome the problem of chromosome mismatching and loss of chromosomes during meiosis and mitosis, barriers commonly encountered in interspecific crosses.

Sexual reproduction between individuals with different chromosome numbers, often the case in interspecific crosses, can be problematic.

If the chromosome number of the parents is different, chromosome pairing does not occur correctly.

Finding these 2n-gametes can be very difficult and time-consuming.

The complexity of inheritance influences choice of the breeding method.

Therefore, development of new cultivars is a time-consuming process that requires precise forward planning, efficient use of resources, and a minimum of changes in direction.

A most difficult task is the identification of individuals that are genetically superior, because for most traits the true genotypic value is masked by other confounding plant traits or environmental factors.

Other limitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the specification.

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