<i>Coleus </i>plant named ‘UF17-52-25’

Abstract

‘UF17-52-25’ is a new Coleus plant, selected for having a combination of desirable traits that make it well-suited for good performance as an annual plant in the summer landscape. ‘UF17-52-25’ has foliage that is consistent burnt orange with pink mid-veins (in older leaves), surrounded by well-defined light green leaf margins and leaf undersides. This combination of colors and patterns makes it eye-catching. ‘UF17-52-25’ is exceptional because it maintains these colors in a broad range of environmental conditions, and it has received superior ratings in both our sun and shade trials. It is upright in growth habit, but it is more highly branched and uniform in shape than most ruffled-leaf-type plants that have been produced to date. This allows the plant to have high utility for use in any part of the garden landscape.

Claims

1. A new and distinct Coleus scutellarioides plant named ‘UF17-52-25’ as shown and described herein.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

(1) The accompanying photographs (as shown in FIGS. 1-3) illustrate the overall appearance of the new Coleus cultivar ‘UF17-52-25’. These photographs show the colors as true as can be reasonably obtained by conventional photographic procedures. Colors shown in the photographs may differ slightly from the color values cited in the detailed botanical description, which accurately describe the colors of the new Coleus cultivar. FIGS. 2 and 3 were taken from plants grown nine (9) weeks from unrooted cuttings in September-November 2020 in a glass-covered greenhouse in Gainesville, Fla.

(2) FIG. 1 shows the pedigree of the claimed plant;

(3) FIG. 2 shows the growth habit, form, and foliage of the claimed plant; and

(4) FIG. 3 shows a close-up of the foliage of the claimed plant.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE CULTIVAR

(5) The following detailed description sets forth the distinctive characteristics of the new Coleus cultivar ‘UF17-52-25’. Color references are made to The Royal Horticultural Society (R.H.S.) Colour Chart, 2007 (5.sup.th Edition).

DESCRIPTION OF GROWING CONDITIONS

(6) The detailed description was obtained using nine-week-old plants grown from unrooted cuttings in September-November 2020 in a glass-covered greenhouse in Gainesville, Fla. The plants were propagated in mist for ten (10) days after cuttings were stuck, then grown in one-gallon pots for approximately seven and a half additional weeks.

BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

(7) Botanical classification: Family.—Lamiaceae. Botanical name.—Coleus scutellarioides. Common name.—Coleus. Cultivar.—‘UF17-52-25’. Parentage: Female or seed parent.—‘UF16-39-4’. Male or pollen parent.—Unknown. Propagation: Type cuttings.—Vegetative meristems having at least one node. Time to initiate roots.—3-4 days. Time to produce a rooted cutting.—7-10 days. Root description: Callus forms in 2-3 days, roots initiate in 3-4 days, and roots become a highly branched cutting in 7-10 days. Rooting habit.—Fibrous. Plant description: Plant form.—Compact. Growth habit.—Upright, well-branched. Plant height (from top of soil).—28-32 cm. Plant width (horizontal plant diameter).—50-55 cm. Branches.—Quantity per plant: 7-8. Branch color: RHS 143C (light green). Texture: Smooth. Pubescence: Not present. Branch diameter: 0.5-0.7 cm at the base of a 28-cm-long branch. Branch length: 24-26 cm. Internode length: 2-3 cm. Anthocyanin: Not present. Stem description: Square-shaped stem, 0.9 cm in diameter at the soil line. Foliage description: Quantity of leaves per branch.—20-22. Arrangement: Opposite. Fragrance.—Not fragrant. Shape.—Ovate. Length.—10-12 cm. Width.—8-10 cm. Apex.—Broadly acute. Base.—Attenuate. Margin.—Deeply lobed. Leaf texture (both surfaces).—Smooth. Pubescence (both surfaces).—Not present. Venation color.—Upper surface: Proximal (base): RHS 142C (light green). Distal (tip): RHS 60C (deep red purple). Center: RHS 60C (deep red purple); midveins become RHS 61D (pink) as leaves mature. Lower surface: RHS 142C (light green). Venation pattern.—Upper surface: Reticulate. Lower surface: Reticulate. Color, immature leaf.—Upper surface: Base: RHS N170A (medium brown). Center: RHS 63C (medium pink). Margin: RHS N144C (light green). Lower surface: RHS 141D (light green). Color, mature leaf.—Upper surface: Base: RHS N170A (medium brown). Center: RHS 64C (strong purple red). Margin: RHS N144C (light green). Lower surface: Base: RHS 141D (light green). Center: RHS 64A (dark purple). Margin: RHS 141C (medium green). Petiole length.—2-3 cm. Petiole diameter.—0.2-0.3 cm. Petiole color.—RHS 142A (light green). Petiole texture.—Smooth, no pubescence. Flowers and seeds: Flowers and seeds have not been observed. Fruit/seed set: Fruit/seed not observed. Disease and insect resistance: Disease and insect resistance is typical of the species, thus no claims are made of any superior disease or insect resistance with this cultivar. The most common insect pests observed on this plant in Gainesville, Fla. have been long-tailed or citrus mealybugs (Pseudococcus sp.), which occur on older stock plant material held in the greenhouse for over 3-4 months. Impatiens Necrotic Spot Virus (Bunyaviridae) has also been observed in plants confined in greenhouses with mixed crops (peppers) infected with Western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis). The most common pathogen of this species in the U.S. is downy mildew (Perononspora lamii). This pathogen has been observed in stock materials grown closely together in cooler growing seasons.

COMPARISON WITH KNOWN CULTIVARS

(8) Plants of the new Coleus cultivar ‘UF17-52-25’ can be compared to those of ‘UF16-45-18’ (commercial name Stained Glassworks Crown Jewel, not patented). The color of the adaxial surface of mature leaves of ‘UF17-52-25’ is RHS N170A (medium brown) at the leaf base and RHS 64C (strong purple red) in the leaf center, with leaf margins and tip accents colored RHS N144C (light green). In contrast, the color of the adaxial surface of mature leaves of ‘UF16-45-18’ is RHS 183A (dark red) in the center and most of the leaf with leaf margins colored RHS 151C (green yellow).

(9) Plants of the new Coleus cultivar ‘UF17-52-25’ can be compared to those of ‘UF18-62-10’ (patent applied for, U.S. application Ser. No. 17/300,456). The upper surfaces of mature leaves of ‘UF17-52-25’ are medium brown (RHS N170A) with a strong purple red (RHS 64C) center and light green margins (RHS N144C), whereas the upper surfaces of mature leaves of ‘UF18-62-10’ are dark red (RHS 183A) with a red-purple (RHS 63B) center and light green margins (RHS N144C). Also, leaves of ‘UF17-52-25’ are smaller than leaves of ‘UF18-62-10’.