Patent Application
20250241215
Genus and species: Caladium x hortulanum.
Cultivar denomination: ‘UF-15-30’.
The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Caladium, botanically known as Caladium x hortulanum, and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘UF-15-30’. Caladium plants are tuberous-rooted plants and typically have attractive heart-shaped or arrow-shaped leaves on long stalks rising directly from the tubers. Foliage may grow in a variety of colors and variegation patterns, and many species have been developed for aesthetic coloration, good container and landscape growth, drought tolerance, pest resistance, and other desirable characteristics.
Plant Breeder's Rights for this cultivar have not been applied for.
The new Caladium cultivar ‘UF-15-30’ has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype of the new cultivar may vary with variations in environment and cultural practices such as temperature, light intensity, fertilization, irrigation, and application of plant growth regulators without any change in genotype.
The objective of the breeding program that produced the present cultivar was to develop cultivars that have novel foliar characteristics, produce multiple brightly colored leaves, have good tuber yield potential, and perform well in containers and the landscape. The present Caladium cultivar originated from a cross-pollination made in July 2012 in Wimauma, Florida between the Caladium x hortulanum cultivar ‘Florida Sweetheart’ (expired U.S. Plant Pat. No. 8,256), as the female or seed parent, and the Caladium x hortulanum cultivar ‘UF 67’ (unpatented), as the male or pollen parent. The new Caladium cultivar was discovered and selected by the inventor as a single plant within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in Wimauma, Florida in September 2014.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar ‘UF-15-30’ by tuber divisions has been performed annually since April 2015. The unique features of this new Caladium cultivar are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.
The new cultivar ‘UF-15-30’ has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature and light intensity, without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of ‘UF-15-30’. These characteristics in combination distinguish ‘UF-15-30’ as a new and distinct cultivar of Caladium:
Plant of the new Caladium cultivar ‘UF-15-30’ differ from plants of the female parent, ‘Florida Sweetheart’, in the following characteristics:
Plants of the new Caladium cultivar ‘UF-15-30’ differ from plants of the male parent, ‘UF 67’, in the following characteristics:
Plants of the new Caladium ‘UF-15-30’ can also be compared to plants of the commercial cultivar ‘UF 44-4’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 24,680). Plants of ‘UF-15-30’ differ primarily from plants of ‘UF 44-4’ in plant height, leaf color, petiole color and petiole strength. Plants of ‘UF 44-4’ are shorter and more compact; leaves ‘UF 44-4’ have a large bright red center extending to the margin; leaves ‘UF 44-4’ are more undulate; and petioles of ‘UF 44-4’ are greyed-red at the proximal end.
Plants of ‘UF-15-30’ can also be compared to plants of the commercial cultivar ‘Florida Red Ruffles’ (expired U.S. Plant Pat. No. 13,136). Plants of ‘UF-15-30’ differ primarily from plants of ‘Florida Red Ruffles’ in leaf color and leaf shape. Leaves of ‘Florida Red Ruffles’ are more elongated and more undulate and have a red to dark red center extending from the base to the tip.
The accompanying photographs (as shown in
In the following description, color references are made to The Royal Horticultural Society (R.H.S.) Colour Chart, 1986 Edition, except where general terms of ordinary dictionary significance are used.
The aforementioned photographs and the following observations and measurements describe plants grown in 15-cm containers in Wimauma, Florida during the summer in a polypropylene-covered shade house and plants grown in an outdoor nursery in ground beds in Wimauma, Florida during the late summer. All plants were grown under conditions and practices that approximate those generally used in commercial Caladium production.
During the production of the plants, day temperatures ranged from about 26° C. to 35° C., night temperatures ranged from about 18° C. to 26° C. and light levels ranged from 2400 to 3840 foot-candles in the greenhouse to 8300 foot-candles for plants grown in the outdoor nursery. Plants grown in the greenhouse were 3 months old from tubers when the photographs and the detailed description were taken. Plants grown in the outdoor nursery were about 4 months old from tubers when the photographs and the detailed description were taken.
‘UF-15-30’ was also evaluated for tuber production and plant performance at the Wimauma, Florida in 2018 and 2020 and compared to plants of several other lance or strap-leaved cultivars including ‘Fairytale Princess’ (expired U.S. Pat. No. 25,612), ‘Red Hot’ (expired U.S. Pat. No. 25,598), ‘Sizzle’ (U.S. Pat. No. 26,591), ‘Florida Red Ruffles’ (expired U.S. Pat. No. 13,136), and ‘Florida Sweetheart’ (expired U.S. Pat. No. 8,526). The soil was an EauGallie fine sand with approximately 1% organic matter and a pH of 6.2. Caladium plants were grown in the open field using a plastic mulched, raised bed system. Field plots were organized in a randomized complete block design consisting of three replications. Each plot was 1.2 m2 and contained 30 Caladium propagules.
In the 2018 season, ground beds (81 cm wide, 20 cm high) were fumigated on February 13 with Pic-Clor 60 (39.0% 1,3-dichloropropene, 59.6% chloropicrin) at 448 kg·ha−1 and Prowl® H2O. Caladium seed tubers were treated in hot water (50° C.) for 30 minutes. Seed tuber pieces were dusted with RootShield® Plus WP and planted manually on April 27 with approximately 25.4 cm between-row spacing and approximately 15.2 cm in-row spacing. Fifty pounds of granular nitrogen (50 N) per acre was incorporated into the soil prior to bedding. Two drip tapes were buried under the plastic mulch along the raised beds, which provided the irrigation water and fertilization. Fertigation began on May 29, injecting a commercial liquid fertilizer (5N-0.87P-6.64 K) at the rate of 0.454 kg of nitrogen an acre a day, and stopped on October 31. New crop tubers were dug and washed on December 17 and air-dried for approximately 50 days inside a greenhouse. Dried tubers from each experimental field plot were weighed, graded, and counted on Feb. 6, 2019.
For the 2019 evaluation, beds were fumigated on February 24 with Pic-Clor 60® at 448 kg·ha−1. Caladium seed pieces were planted on April 4. Fifty pounds of granular nitrogen (50 N) per acre was incorporated into the soil prior to bedding. Fertigation began on June 1 by injecting a commercial liquid fertilizer (5N-0.87P-6.64 K) at 0.454 kg of nitrogen an acre a day. The fertilization rate was increased to 0.908 kg of nitrogen an acre a day on July 24 and ended on October 31. Tubers were dug and washed on December 9 and dried in the greenhouse for approximately 45 days.
In the 2020 season, ground beds were fumigated on February 12 with Pic-Clor 60 at 448 kg·ha−1. Caladium seed tubers were treated in hot water (50° C.) for 30 minutes. Seed tuber pieces were dusted with RootShield® Plus WP and planted manually on April 15 with the same in-row and between-row spacing as in 2018. Two drip tapes were buried under the plastic mulch along the raised beds to provide the irrigation water and fertilization. Fertigation began on May 28, injecting a commercial liquid fertilizer (5N-0.87P-6.64 K) at the rate of 0.454 kg of nitrogen an acre a day, and ended on October 30. Tubers were dug and washed on December 1 and 2, dried in the greenhouse for approximately 63 days, and weighed, graded, and counted on Feb. 3, 2021.
In 2018, ‘UF-15-30’ produced significantly larger and more tubers than ‘Fairytale Princess’ or ‘Red Hot’. In 2020, ‘UF-15-30’ was comparable to ‘Florida Red Ruffles’, ‘Florida Sweetheart’, and ‘Sizzle’ in tuber weight, marketable tubers, and production index (Table 1).
‘UF-15-30’ was evaluated for plant growth, leaf color display, sunburn tolerance, and leaf health in the same field plots that were used for evaluating tuber production potential. A scale of 1 to 5 was used for rating plant growth, with 1 being very poor (few leaves and lack of vigor) and 5 being excellent (full plants, numerous leaves). A scale of 1 to 5 was used for rating leaf color display, with 1 being very poor (dull or bleached, lack of color display) and 5 being excellent (bright, very attractive). Sunburn tolerance was evaluated on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being very susceptible to sunburn (leaves having numerous sun-damaged areas or holes) and 5 being resistant to sunburn (no visible sun-damaged areas). Leaf health was evaluated on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being numerous diseased spots and completely unsightly and 5 being healthy and free of visible leaf spot disease.
In both years, ‘UF-15-30’ received higher leaf color scores than ‘Florida Sweetheart’ in five out of seven evaluations. ‘UF-15-30’ showed excellent sunburn tolerance in both 2019 and 2020, with a score of 3.3 to 4.5 (Table 2). These scores were higher than the scores ‘Florida Sweetheart’ received (2.0 to 4.2).
‘UF-15-30’ was also evaluated and compared to ‘Florida Sweetheart’ for suitability for container plant production. The evaluation was conducted in 2022 by forcing tubers in 12.7-cm containers (diameter). Number 1-sized tubers (intact and de-eyed) were planted on Mar. 11, 2022. The experiment was arranged in a randomized complete block design with eight replicates. Containerized Caladium plants were evaluated on May 31 and June 1 2022, approximately 11 weeks after planting the tubers. ‘Florida Sweetheart’ was included as a commercial check. In this evaluation and when planted intact without tuber de-eyeing, ‘UF-15-30’ had significantly more leaves than ‘Florida Sweetheart’ (24.9 vs. 15.6) (Table 3).
This Application is related to and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/623,981 filed on Jan. 23, 2024, entitled CALADIUM CULTIVARS, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63623981 | Jan 2024 | US |
