Festuca plant named ‘Blue Whiskers’

Abstract

The new and distinct cultivar of ornamental, winter-hardy, blue fescue plant, Festuca glauca Blue Whiskers, with highly-vigorous, clumps of tight, full, rounded habit of strong stems and foliage, consistent flower coverage, intensely silver-blue, linear, evergreen foliage retained throughout the year, upright habit of strong erect stems, long flowering season of large, densely-arranged, lavender-blue flowers on short branched stems.

Claims

1. A new and distinct cultivar of blue fescue plant, Festuca glauca Blue Whiskers 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. The colors are as accurate as reasonably possible with color reproductions. Ambient light spectrum, source and direction may cause the appearance of minor variation in color.

(2) FIG. 1 shows a three-year-old plant of Blue Whiskers in the landscape in early flower.

(3) FIG. 2 shows a comparison of taller one-year-old plant of Blue Whiskers (on the right) and the shorter one-year-old plants of Elijah Blue (on the left).

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

(4) The following is a detailed description of Festuca glauca Blue Whiskers as observed and compared to other cultivars for three years in trial gardens and production fields at a nursery in Zeeland, Mich. The following description is of a three-year-old plant of Blue Whiskers in a full-sun display garden in Zeeland, Mich. with limited supplemental fertilizer and irrigation as needed and without any pinching or plant growth regulators. The new plant has not been observed under all possible environments, and the phenotype may vary slightly with different environmental conditions, such as temperature, light, fertility, moisture and maturity levels, but without any change in the genotype. The color descriptions are in accordance with the 2001 edition of The R.H.S. Colour Chart of The Royal Horticultural Society, London, England, except where common dictionary color terms are used. Plant habit: Winter-hardy herbaceous perennial with dense mounded habit; Plant size: Foliage to about 23.0 cm tall and 42.0 cm across, about 33.0 cm in height with flower stems, width about 45 cm slightly above soil; Root description: Fibrous; color nearest RHS 155D; Propagation: Division; finishing in 3 liter container in about 3 months during summer production; Growth rate: Vigorous; Crop time: Finishing in 3-liter container from a division in about 3 months during summer production; Shoots and branches: Plant shoots developing from base with no branches; about 160 flowering shoots per plant; Leaves: Linear, slightly arching; conduplicate; apex narrowly acute; base decurrent, sheathed; margin entire; surfaces glaucous and glabrous; about four leaves per shoot; persistent and evergreen through winter in Zeeland, Mich.; Leaf size: Average about 17 cm long and 1.0 mm across; Leaf color: Young emerging leaves abaxial and adaxial nearest RHS 138A; older leaves abaxial and adaxial with glaucous covering removed between RHS 137A and RHS 138A; older leaves abaxial and adaxial without glaucous covering removed nearest RHS 122C; Sheath: About 26.0 cm long and 2.0 mm across; color nearest RHS 138D with base nearest RHS 145D; Venation: Parallel; Internode length: Covered with sheath; average about 2.0 mm; Culm: About 10.0 to 12.0 mm long; flattened longitudinally with folds of leaves; Rachis: Lightly branched panicle in lower one-third; terete; stiff; attitude upright and outright; Rachis color: Nearest RHS 122C; Pedicel: Terete, thin, stiff; about 2.0 mm long and 0.5 mm diameter; Pedicel color: Nearest RHS N138C; Spikelet: About 10.0 mm long, about 2.5 mm wide and about 1.5 mm thick; Rachilla: Terete; stiff; color nearest RHS N138C; Awn: Numerous; stiff; color nearest RHS 164C; Glume: Acute apex and truncate base; slightly glabrous and glaucous; about 2.5 mm long and about 1.0 mm across; Glume color: Between RHS 163A and RHS 163B; Fragrance: None detected; Lemma: Slightly glabrous and glaucous; about 2.0 mm long and about 1.5 mm across; Gynoecium: Protruding from lemma; Style.About 3.0 mm long and less than about 0.5 mm wide; color of base white, lighter than RHS 155D and distal about 1.0 mm nearest RHS N77C. Stigma.No yet observed. Androecium: Protruding from lemma; Filaments.Exserted about 1.0 mm outside lemma, thin, flexible; about 0.2 mm in diameter; color nearest RHS 155D. Anther.About 1.5 mm long and 0.5 mm across, versatile; color nearest RHS 161B. Pollen.Abundant on fertile anthers; color nearest RHS 161B. Seeds have not yet been observed; Hardiness to at least U.S.D.A. zones 4 to 8; the new plant is very resistant to drought once established and even tolerant of clay soils if good drainage is provided; Pest and disease resistance: No other susceptibility or resistance to diseases or pests has been observed except that which is common to blue fescue.