Heuchera plant named ‘Spearmint’

Abstract

The new and distinct hybrid of Heuchera plant named Spearmint with medium mostly flat foliage with rounded apices and shallowly dissected lobes. The leaf blades are without purplish undertones on top or below and develop a heavy silver overlay covering all but the dark green veins. Branched panicles are deep burgundy displaying two-tone dark pink and light pink calyces with light pinkish petals for about five weeks beginning mid-summer. The new plant is vigorous and produces large clumps with many large leaves.

Claims

1. The new and distinct coral bells plant named Heuchera Spearmint as herein described and illustrated.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The photographs of the new plant demonstrate the overall appearance of the plant including the unique traits of a container-grown plant in a greenhouse in Zeeland, Mich. The colors are as accurate as reasonably possible with color reproductions. Some slight variation of color may occur as a result of lighting quality, intensity, wavelength, and direction or reflection.

(2) FIG. 1 shows a two-year-old plant with peak flowering.

(3) FIG. 2 shows a close-up of a flower panicle with buds and flowers from a two-year-old plant.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

(4) The following description is based on a two-year-old plant growing in a partially shaded greenhouse in Zeeland, Mich., USA. The new plant has not been grown under all possible environments and may phenotypically appear different under different conditions such as light, temperatures, fertilizer, and water, without any difference in genotype. The color descriptions used are from the 2015 edition of The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart except where common dictionary terms are used. Parentage: Female or seed parent was the proprietary, unreleased hybrid known as 12-287-01 comprising crosses with Miracle U.S. Plant Pat. No. 20,274, Ruby Bells (not patented), Mocha U.S. Plant Pat. No. 18,386 and Stainless Steel U.S. Plant Pat. No. 23,349; the male or pollen parent was Coral Forest; Plant habit: Hardy herbaceous perennial with basal rosette of foliage; mounded foliage about 26.0 cm tall and 58.0 cm in diameter with scapes to about 70.0 cm long; with 15 stems per plant to about 5.0 cm long and 1.5 cm diameter at base, about 16 to 20 leaves per stem; Roots: Fibrous, finely branched; Growth rate: Rapid, rooting from cutting in two weeks and finishing in three-liter container in about two and a half months; Foliage: Rounded; apex and lobe apices rounded and minutely apiculate; base cordate with basal lobes frequently overlapping to about 1.0 cm; margins crenate, ciliolate, mucronulate; micro-puberulent adaxial and pubescent abaxial; palmately shallowly lobed with five main lobes dissected less than one-fifth of the way to petiole; lustrous adaxial and matte abaxial; held nearly horizontal; margin nearly flat, not sinuate; Leaf blade size: To about 11.2 cm wide and 11.5 cm long, average about 9.8 cm wide and 9.5 cm long; Leaf color: Spring and young emerging leaves adaxial between RHS 144A and RHS N144D with no silver and dark green marbling surrounding the veins, spring and young emerging leaves abaxial nearest RHS 145A; mature mid-season leaves adaxial nearest blend of RHS 189B and RHS 191A with dark green nearest RHS 136A surrounding the veins and blushed around the margin, abaxial mature mid-season leaves nearest RHS N138C; mid-fall color adaxial variable, nearest RHS 137A surrounding major veins, mixtures of blend of RHS 139D and RHS 194B distally and nearest RHS 194C; mid-fall abaxial blend nearest RHS 194C; Leaf quantity: Dense, about 200 per plant; Veins: Palmate, hirsutulous abaxial and glabrous adaxial; costate abaxial, slightly impressed to nearly flat adaxial; Vein color: Emerging or early spring adaxial nearest RHS 145C with emerging spring abaxial nearest RHS 145D; mid-season and flowering time adaxial nearest RHS 145B in basal region near petiole and distally becoming nearest RHS 136A, mid-season and flowering time abaxial main veins nearest RHS 145C and secondary veins nearest RHS 137A; fall adaxial main veins nearest blend of RHS 146D and RHS 145A, fall abaxial main veins nearest 160D with distal and secondary veins becoming nearest RHS 138A; Petiole: Cylindrical; base amplexicaul; with sparse pubescent hairs to about 2.0 mm long; to about 13.5 cm long and 4.0 mm wide above base stipules, average about 12.0 cm long and about 3.5 mm diameter above stipule; Petiole color: Emerging leaf nearest RHS 145A; flowering season mature leaf nearest RHS 145C proximally and distally nearest RHS 146D; Stipule: Flared at base of petiole; glaucous and glabrous abaxial and adaxial; margin ciliate; to about 14.0 mm long and about 12.0 mm wide at base; with two lateral projections of about 8.0 mm long in distal portion; Stipule color: Young expanding leaf adaxial and abaxial nearest RHS 145C; mature leaf adaxial and abaxial nearest RHS 145D; Peduncle: Panicle; cylindrical; stiff; pubescent; upright; with short branches; to about 70.0 cm long and 4.5 mm diameter at base, average about 64.0 cm tall and 4.0 mm diameter; about 40 per plant with up to about 165 flowers per panicle, average about 145; tightly-branched panicle with up to 16 branches up to 8.0 cm long and 1.0 mm diameter decreasing distally, average 14 branches per panicle; lower branches mostly upright becoming drooping distally; with about three cauline leaves about 3.5 cm apart before flowers and subtending branches; flower density heavy; Cauline leaves: Palmate; incised margins to shallowly lobed; rounded with mucronate apex and lobes and truncate base; to 3.0 cm long and 3.3 cm across, decreasing distally; petiolate; petiole to 1.5 cm long and 2.0 mm across; Cauline leaf color: Same as basal leaves; Flowering longevity: Panicle effective for about four to five weeks; individual flowers about 5 days; self-cleaning; Peduncle color: Nearest RHS 138A proximally and in regions without high light exposure and nearest RHS N187A with undertones of nearest RHS NN137B distally and in regions of high light exposure; Pedicel: Cylindrical, pubescent; about 3.0 mm long and 0.5 mm diameter; attitude outwardly to drooping; Pedicel color: Nearest RHS 187B; Buds one day prior to opening: Ellipsoidal; rounded apex and attenuate base; puberulent to glandular; about 5.0 mm long and 3.5 mm diameter; Bud color one day prior to opening: Distally nearest RHS 53A and proximally nearest RHS 53D; Flower: Perfect; campanulate; actinomorphic; about 8.5 mm long to tip of exserted style and 5.5 mm in diameter at corolla face; Flower attitude: Outwardly to drooping; Calyx: Five, apex rounded, base fused in proximal 4.5 mm to form hypanthium; puberulent to glandular abaxial, glabrous adaxial; about 8.0 mm long and 5.0 mm wide at apex; Sepals: Five; lanceolate; acute apex, fused in basal 4.5 mm; to about 8.0 mm long and 2.5 mm wide at fusion; Sepal color: Abaxial nearest RHS 53B distally and nearest RHS 53D center and toward base with the base nearest RHS 174B, adaxial apex nearest RHS 53B becoming nearest RHS 53D toward base; Petals: Five; oblanceolate to spatulate; subacute apex and attenuate base; entire; glabrous abaxial; micro-puberulent adaxial base; about 3.3 mm long and 1.2 mm wide in middle; Petal color: Abaxial and adaxial nearest RHS 69B; Androecium: Five adnate to adaxial sepal about 1.0 mm above base; Filaments.Five, thin, glabrous; about 2.5 mm long and less than 0.3 mm diameter; color nearest RHS 155B. Anthers.Ellipsoidal, distinct, basifixed, longitudinal; about 0.7 mm long and about 0.5 mm across; color nearest RHS 170B. Pollen.Abundant; color nearest RHS 17B. Gynoecium: One, two-beaked; half-inferior; bifid style with pistil split at ovary; about 7.5 mm long; Style.Bifid; split apart at apex of ovary; exserted; about 5.5 mm long and about 0.5 mm diameter; color nearest RHS 75B. Stigma.Acute apex, about 0.1 mm diameter; color nearest RHS 75A. Ovary.Half-inferior, about 2.0 mm long and 2.0 mm diameter; ellipsoidal to globose, base rounded; color nearest RHS 162D. Fruit: Small two-beaked capsule; about 2.5 mm long and 2.5 mm across; drying to RHS 200C; Seeds: Abundant; slightly flattened ellipsoid; about 0.3 mm long, 0.2 mm across and about 0.1 mm thick; color nearest RHS 200A; Disease and pest tolerance: The new plant grows best with ample moisture and drainage in either part sun or full shade. Cold hardy from USDA zones 4 to 9. Other resistance and tolerance outside of that normal for Heuchera is not known.