<i>Salvia </i>plant named ‘Snow Kiss’

Abstract

The new and distinct cultivar of perennial Salvia plant named Snow Kiss characterized by its white flower buds and large white flowers with a blush of pale purple densely arranged in verticils. The new plant has a dense habit with stiff, upright, heavily-branched stems showing persistent calyxes, a strong vigorous growth rate and dark olive-green foliage.

Claims

1. The new and distinct perennial Salvia plant named Snow Kiss as herein described and illustrated useful for landscaping as a specimen plant, en masse or as a cut flower.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The photographs of the new plant demonstrate the unique traits and the overall appearance of Salvia Snow Kiss. The colors are as accurate as reasonably possible with color reproductions. Variation in ambient light spectrum, source and direction may cause the appearance of minor variation in color. The plant used in the photographs was a three-year old plant grown in an open, full-sun trial garden at a wholesale perennial nursery in Zeeland, Mich. with supplemental water and fertilizer when needed. Plant growth regulators have been used in greenhouse grown trials only.

(2) FIG. 1 shows the plant habit in full flower in a landscape.

(3) FIG. 2 shows a close-up of the flower scape with the buds, flowers, stems and calyxes.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

(4) The following descriptions and color references except where common dictionary terms are used are based on the 2015 edition of The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart. Salvia Snow Kiss has not been observed under all possible environments. The phenotype may vary slightly with different growing environments such as temperature, light, fertility, soil pH, moisture and plant maturity levels, but without any change in the genotype. The following observations and size descriptions are based on three-year old plants growing in an outdoor full-sun trial garden at a wholesale perennial nursery in Zeeland, Mich. and greenhouse forced two-year old plants. Plants were given supplemental water and fertilizer and plant growth regulators were used for the greenhouse trials only. Botanical classification: Salvia pratensis hybrid (Linnaeus); Parentage: Female or seed parent Pretty in Pink; male or pollen parent unnamed sibling to Pretty in Pink; Plant habit: Winter-hardy herbaceous perennial; multi-stemmed, compact, rounded, with mostly basal foliage, and flowers in several tightly arranged in verticils on branched upright racemes displayed above foliage; in flower with panicles about 55 cm tall and about 60 cm wide at the fullest point; foliage extends up the stems about 26 cm tall from soil and 50 cm wide below flower; Propagation: By basal vegetative shoot cuttings; time to produce a rooted stems about two weeks; Growth rate: Rapid, vigorous, finishing in a 65 mm container in about 7 weeks from rooted cutting, and from 65 mm container to flowering 3.8 liter container in about 8 weeks. Root description: Fine, well-branched; color dependent on age and soil type, from cream to dark tan in color; Foliage: Opposite, simple, rugose, lanceolate; margin crenate and crenulate; glabrous and matte abaxial and adaxial surfaces; acute apex and base cordate to auriculate with lobes frequently overlapping; leaf blades about 14.0 cm long and 6.0 cm across, decreasing in size distally; average about 11.0 cm long and 4.5 cm across; faint sage fragrance; Foliage color: Young adaxial surface between RHS 146A and RHS 146B, abaxial surface nearest RHS 146B; mature adaxial surface between RHS NN137B and NN137A, abaxial surface between RHS 147B and RHS 137B; Venation: Reticulate; impressed on adaxial side and costate on abaxial side; pubescent abaxial, puberulent adaxial; Vein color: Adaxial midrib nearest RHS 145C, primary and secondary veins nearest RHS 145C toward midrib and gradually darkening to between RHS 138A and RHS 138B; abaxial midrib nearest RHS 145C, primary veins nearest RHS 145C and secondary veins nearest RHS 145C gradually darkening to nearest RHS 146C toward leaf margin; Petiole: Concavo-convex; pubescent abaxial and along margin, sparsely puberulent adaxial; to about 8.0 cm long and 5.0 mm wide, average 4.5 cm long and 4.0 mm wide at base; Petiole color: Adaxial and abaxial surfaces nearest 146D; Inflorescence: Verticillate with flowering generally beginning at lower verticils and advancing up the scape, but not all flowers at each verticil opening at the same time giving the effect of a scape being in continuous flower for longer periods; average distance between verticils about 12.0 mm, greater proximally and less distally; attitude with midline projected about 10 degree angle above horizontal and hood petal about 45 degree angle above horizontal; self-cleaning, petals not persistent; flowering beginning late spring for about six weeks with limited repeating if initial scapes removed; Flower longevity: About four days on the plant or as cut flower; Fragrance: None detected under present growing conditions; Flower buds one to two days prior to anthesis: Shape is rounded on top and slightly concave below, with rounded apex; pubescent; about 10.0 mm long, 5.0 mm tall and 3.0 mm wide; Bud color: Exposed dorsal petals nearest RHS NN155D, ventral petals nearest RHS NN155D blushed with nearest RHS N75D; abaxial calyx between RHS 146D and RHS N144A with veins nearest RHS 146C; Flowers: Perfect, bilabiate corolla with arcuate hooded upper lip and tri-lobed lower lip; about 18.0 cm long, 20.0 mm tall and 7.5 mm wide, fused into tube in the proximal 8.0 mm; clustered at verticils; Petals: Bilabiate corolla; upper hood petal arcuate and flattened side to side vertically, lower petal labiate with crenate rounded apex and base fused with labium; Hood (upper) petal: Minutely pubescent abaxial, glabrous adaxial; about 19.0 mm long, 12.0 mm tall and 3.0 mm across; Labium (lower) petal: Consisting of three lobes, two proximal lobes about 3.0 mm long and 2.5 mm wide at base with rounded apex; center lobe with rounded emarginate apex, about 7.0 mm long 10.0 mm wide; center lobe slightly concaved upwards; total labium about 15.0 mm long, 8.0 mm wide at the widest portion across lobes and 5.0 mm tall; Petal color: Abaxial and adaxial hood petal nearest RHS NN155D; lower labium petal abaxial nearest RHS NN155D with center labium lobe lightly blushed with between RHS 76D and RHS N75D in center and lower abaxial tube distal fusion for about 3 mm lightly blushed with between RHS 76D and RHS N75D; abaxial dorsal calyx tube and adaxial calyx tube nearest RHS NN155D; Androecium: Two, fused with labium, contained within hood petal except when triggered by pollinator; Filament.Glabrous, fused about 7.0 mm from base of labium petal; curved around inside of hood petal; about 12.0 mm long and less than 0.5 mm diameter with a 2.0 mm trip mechanism at base; color nearest RHS NN155D with very faint blushing nearest RHS N75D in distal region before anther. Anther.Glabrous, oblong, about 3.0 mm long and 1.0 mm diameter; longitudinal, dorsifixed; color nearest RHS 11C. Pollen.Abundant; globose; less than 0.1 mm circumference; color nearest RHS 12B. Gynoecium: One, curved around inside of hood petal; Style.About 24.0 mm long and less than 0.5 mm diameter; color nearest RHS NN155D and faintly blushed distally about 5.0 mm before stigma split with nearest RHS 77D. Stigma.Bifurcate and curved in the terminal 2.0 mm; apex pointed; color nearest RHS 77A. Ovary.Superior; color more green than RHS 145A and more yellow than RHS 138B. Fruit: Nutlet, one to four per flower; rounded, about 1.5 mm diameter; color darker than RHS 200A; Calyx: Five sepals, three upper and two lower, campanulate, apex acute; fused in basal 4.0 mm; tube about 7.0 mm long and 6.0 mm tall at and 3.0 mm wide at apex; lower set bifurcate in terminal 2.5 mm; upper set of trifurcate in distal 1.0 mm; Calyx color: Variable with light intensity, abaxial between RHS 146D and RHS N144A with veins of nearest RHS 146C; adaxial between RHS N144A and RHS 146C with darker veins of RHS 146B toward apex; Bracts: Each verticil subtended by two opposite nearly lanceolate bracts; apex acuminate, base truncate, margin entire and ciliolate; coarsely wavy to bent downward toward apex; glabrous above and below; bract size up to 12.0 mm long and 7.0 mm wide, decreasing distally; Bract color: Adaxial surface nearest RHS 146B with midrib and base nearest RHS 145C; abaxial between RHS 146C and RHS 146D; Peduncles: Raceme; quadrangular in cross section; about 15 per plant; strong; upright; to about 55 cm tall and 5.0 mm across; puberulent to glandular; branches in lower two to four nodes, upright at 60 degrees above horizontal or greater; branches to about 20.0 cm long and 3.0 mm across; average internode distance about 5.0 cm; Peduncle color: Nearest RHS 146B along longitudinal center and corners nearest RHS N144A; Pedicels: Cylindrical; puberulent to glandular; about 1.5 mm long and 0.5 mm diameter; puberulent to glandular; nearly horizontal at flower anthesis; Pedicel color: Nearest RHS N144A; Disease and pest resistance: Plants of Salvia Snow Kiss perform best with adequate moisture and good drainage and are hardy from USDA zone 3 to 8. Resistant to diseases and pests beyond that common to Salvia has not been noted.