<i>Coleus </i>plant named ‘UF19-7-4’

Abstract

A new and distinct cultivar of Coleus (Coleus scutellarioides) plant named ‘UF19-7-4’, that was selected because of it has uniform lance-shaped dark yellowish green foliage having a creamy yellow center pattern and a vigorous growth rate. Due to its superior vigor and lateral branching, ‘UF19-7-4’ does not have to be pinched during production. ‘UF19-7-4’ has not been observed to produce flowers in any trial conducted. ‘UF19-7-4’ has long season performance in the landscape until late Fall. ‘UF19-7-4’ maintains its unique leaf coloration in a broad range of environmental conditions, and it has received superior ratings in both our sun and shade trials. It has a compact and upright growth habit, but it is more highly branched and uniform in shape than most ruffled leaf type Coleus plants that have been produced to date, making the plant suitable for use in any part of the garden landscape.

Claims

1. A new and distinct Coleus scutellarioides plant named ‘UF19-7-4’ as shown and described herein.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

(1) This new Coleus cultivar ‘UF19-7-4’ is illustrated by the accompanying photographs, which show the plant's form and foliage. The colors shown are as true as can be reasonably obtained by conventional photographic procedures. FIGS. 2 and 3 were taken from plants grown nine weeks from unrooted cuttings in September-November 2021 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 view 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 cultivar ‘UF19-7-4’. Foliage color was determined using The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart (Royal Horticultural Society, 2007) under full sun conditions in the middle of the day in a glass-covered greenhouse. Coleus leaves are rarely one solid color but encompass hues, shades and tints, and color patterns differ from one genotype to another due to varying levels of variegation.

DESCRIPTION OF GROWING CONDITIONS

(6) The detailed description was obtained using nine-week-old plants (from the time the cutting was harvested and stuck) of the new cultivar ‘UF19-7-4’ pinched once at four weeks after stick and grown in a poly-covered greenhouse in September-November 2021 in Gainesville, Fla.

BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

(7) Botanical classification: Family.—Lamiaceae. Botanical name.—Coleus scutellarioides. Common name.—Coleus. Cultivar.—‘UF19-7-4’. Parentage: Female or seed parent.—‘UF18-5-13’. Male or pollen parent.—Unknown. Propagation: Type cuttings.—Vegetative meristem tip cuttings having at least 1 node. Time to initiate roots.—3-4 days. Time to produce a rooted cutting.—7-10 days. Roots: Root description.—Callus forms in 2-3 days, roots initiate in 3-4 days and become a highly branched cutting in 7-10 days. Rooting habit.—Fibrous. Plant description: Growth habit.—Compact and upright. Plant height (from top of soil).—50-55 cm. Plant width (horizontal plant diameter).—70-75 cm. Branches: Quantity per plant.—9-10. Branch color.—RHS 143A (strong yellow green). Texture.—Smooth. Pubescence.—Not present. Stem description.—Square-shaped stem, 1.2 cm in diameter at the soil line. Branch diameter.—0.8-0.9 cm at the base of a 53 cm long branch. Branch length.—50-55 cm. Internode length.—6-6.5 cm. Anthocyanin.—Not present. Foliage description: Quantity of leaves per branch.—22-24. Arrangement.—Opposite. Fragrance.—Not fragrant. Shape.—Ovate. Length.—12-13 cm. Width.—7-9 cm. Apex.—Broadly acuminate. Base.—Attenuate. Margin.—Lobed. Leaf texture.—Top: Pulverulent. Bottom: Smooth. Pubescence.—Not present. Venation color.—Upper surface: RHS 141D (strong yellow green). Lower surface: RHS 141C (strong yellowish green). Venation pattern.—Upper surface: Reticulate. Lower surface: Reticulate. Color, immature leaf.—Upper surface, main: RHS 141B (deep yellowish green). Upper surface, center pattern: RHS 150D (light yellow green). Lower surface, main: RHS 139B (moderate yellowish green). Lower surface, center pattern: RHS 150D (light yellow green). Color, mature leaf.—Upper surface, main: RHS 141B (deep yellowish green). Upper surface, center pattern: RHS 150D (light yellow green). Lower surface, main: RHS 139B (moderate yellowish green). Lower surface, center pattern: RHS 150D (light yellow green). Petiole length.—4-5 cm. Petiole diameter.—0.2-0.3 cm. Petiole color.—RHS 143A (strong yellow green). Petiole texture.—Smooth, no pubescence. Flowers and seeds: Flowers and seeds have not been observed to date during formal trials in Gainesville, Fla. 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 (Pernonspora 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 ‘UF19-7-4’ can be compared to those of ‘UF15-4-43’ (sold commercially under the trade name LE FREAK™, U.S. Plant Pat. No. 33,345). The center color on the upper surface of mature leaves of ‘UF19-7-4’ is RHS 150D (light yellow green). In contrast, the center color on the upper surface of mature leaves of ‘UF15-4-43’ is RHS 187A (dark reddish brown). Additionally, ‘UF19-7-4’ has a compact and spreading growth habit, whereas ‘UF15-4-43’ has a spreading growth habit.