49. Volume 14- Number 1 - IP Australia

PLANT VARIETIES JOURNAL 2001 VOL 14 NO. 1
(average 502mm), width medium (average 42.2mm),
variegation absent, colour yellow-green (RHS 146A-147A)
glossiness medium. Inflorescence: umbel, flower count
high, peduncle length tall, diameter medium, colour yellowgreen
(RHS 146A), speckling present. Flower: mediumlate,
pedicel medium, diameter medium (average 31.4mm),
length medium (average 43.7mm), corolla lobes usually 6,
immature flower bud violet-blue (RHS 94C), mature flower
bud violet-blue (RHS 94B), inner perianth main colour
violet-blue (RHS 94D) with stripe violet-blue (RHS 94B)
with white (RHS 155D) near anterior margin of lobe,
pedicel yellow-green (RHS 146A), pollen greyed-yellow
(RHS 160A), filament, stigma and style violet-blue (RHS
94D) fading to white (RHS 155D) at base, fragrance weak,
infrequent. (Note: all RHS colour chart numbers refer to
1995 edition).
Origin and Breeding Open pollination followed by
seedling selection: seed parent A. inapertus hybrid and
pollen parent un-named A. orientalis. The seed parent was
characterised by deciduous growth habit, fewer flowers per
inflorescence and erect flowers. The pollen parent was the
standard white flowering form characterised by early
flowering, low flower count and evergreen non-variegated
leaves. Open pollinated seed was sown in 1988 and final
selection took place in Taranaki, New Zealand in 1996.
Selection criteria: flower number per inflorescence, colour
and fragrance. Propagation: vegetative divisions and
subsequent micropropagation were found to be uniform and
stable. ‘Blue Brush’ will be commercially propagated by
micropropagation from the original divisions. Breeder:
Vance Hooper, Taranaki, New Zealand.
Choice of Comparators Agapanthus inapertus, A.
orientalis (both blue and white forms), ‘Lavender Haze’ and
‘Glen Avon’ were initially considered as comparators. A.
orientalis white was rejected due to differing flower colour.
A. inapertus was rejected due to deciduous growth habit and
lower flower count A. orientalis standard blue form was
chosen because it is closely related to the original source
material from which the variety was selected and has
similar flower colours. ‘Lavender Haze’ and ‘Glen Avon’
were included as they have the most similar combination of
flower colour, number and growth habit. No other similar
varieties of common knowledge have been identified.
Comparative Trial Location: Glenorie, NSW, Dec 1999-
Dec 2000. Conditions: trial conducted in the open, plants
propagated from divisions, planted into 300mm pots filled
with soilless potting mix (pine bark base), nutrition
maintained with slow release fertilisers, pest and disease
treatments applied as required. Trial design: ten to fifteen
pots of each variety arranged in a completely randomised
design. Measurements: from ten plants at random.
Prior Applications and Sales
Country Year Current Status Name Applied
New Zealand 2000 Applied ‘Blue Brush’
First sold in New Zealand in Nov 1998.
Description: Ian Paananen, Crop & Nursery Services, Central Coast,
NSW.
Agapanthus orientalis
Agapanthus
‘Snow Cloud’ syn Summer Pearl
Application No: 1998/146 Accepted: 7 Sep 1998.
Applicant: Lifetech Laboratories Limited, Auckland,
New Zealand.
Agent: Avondale Nurseries Limited, Glenorie, NSW.
Characteristics (Table 3, Figure 5) Plant: habit erect,
evergreen, height medium-tall. Leaf: upright, distally
arching, length long (average 466mm), width medium
(average 32.8mm), variegation absent, colour yellow-green
(RHS 146A-147A) glossiness medium. Inflorescence:
umbel, flower count high, peduncle length medium-tall,
diameter medium, colour yellow-green (RHS 146A),
speckling absent. Flower: medium-late, pedicel medium,
diameter medium (average 32.5mm), length medium
(average 35.9mm), corolla lobes usually 6, flower bud white
(RHS 155D), inner and outer perianth main colour white
(RHS 155D), stripe absent, pedicel yellow-green (RHS
144A), pollen yellow-orange (RHS 17A), filament, stigma
and style white (RHS 155D), fragrance weak, infrequent.
(Note: all RHS colour chart numbers refer to 1995 edition).
Origin and Breeding Open pollination followed by
seedling selection: seed parent and pollen parent un-named
A. orientalis. The parents were standard white forms
characterised by early flowering, low flower count and
green non-variegated leaves. Open pollinated seed was
sown in 1988 and selection took place in Taranaki, New
Zealand in 1990. Selection criteria: flower number per
inflorescence and fragrance. Propagation: vegetative
divisions and subsequent micropropagation were found to
be uniform and stable. ‘Snow Cloud’ will be commercially
propagated by micropropagation from the original
divisions. Breeder: Vance Hooper, Waitara, New Zealand.
Choice of Comparators Agapanthus orientalis standard
white form was chosen because it is the original source
material from which the variety was selected and has the
most similar combination of flower colour and growth
habit. No other similar varieties of common knowledge
have been identified.
Comparative Trial Location: Glenorie, NSW, Dec 1999-
Dec 2000. Conditions: trial conducted in the open, plants
propagated from divisions, planted into 300mm pots filled
with soilless potting mix (pine bark base), nutrition
maintained with slow release fertilisers, pest and disease
treatments applied as required. Trial design: ten to fifteen
pots of each variety arranged in a completely randomised
design. Measurements: from ten plants at random.
Prior Applications and Sales
Country Year Current Status Name Applied
New Zealand 1997 Granted ‘Snow Cloud’
South Africa 1998 Granted ‘Snow Cloud’
Japan 1998 Applied ‘Snow Cloud’
First sold in New Zealand in Oct 1997. First Australian sale
1999.
Description: Ian Paananen, Crop & Nursery Services, Central Coast,
NSW.
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