Agave 'Kara's Stripes' Variegation Color Shift
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a lack of a distinct, visually appealing variegated Agave attenuata cultivar that is drought-tolerant and suitable for container gardening, with existing variegated forms exhibiting harsh visual effects due to white and green coloration.
Innovation Solution
The development of 'KARA'S STRIPES', a naturally occurring branch sport of Agave attenuata, characterized by pale blue-green leaves with broad cream-yellow stripes, which is drought-tolerant, spineless, and exhibits a soft, appealing visual effect, meeting specific cultural and hardiness requirements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If white and green color variegation is used in Agave attenuata, then variegation is achieved, but the visual effect becomes harsh
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies color changes by selecting for a specific color combination in the variegated foliage - pale blue-green with cream-yellow stripes instead of the conventional white and green combination. This color substitution resolves the technical contradiction by maintaining the variegation pattern while eliminating the harsh visual effect, as the softer cream-yellow and pale blue-green tones create a more appealing aesthetic.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the color parameters of the leaf variegation from white-green to pale blue-green-cream-yellow. This parameter change in the color spectrum transforms the visual perception from harsh to soft and appealing, while preserving the variegated pattern that distinguishes the cultivar.
2Shape
If Agave attenuata is grown for foliage rather than flower, then foliage characteristics are emphasized, but flowering time is extended beyond ten years
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by intentionally delaying or preventing flowering to extend the foliage-displaying phase. The cultivar is selected and propagated to maintain the vegetative state with distinctive variegated foliage for an extended period (over ten years), sacrificing the flowering function to maximize the ornamental foliage value.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses preliminary action by selecting and propagating plants that exhibit the desired foliage characteristics before flowering occurs. The variegated foliage traits are established and stabilized through asexual propagation during the vegetative phase, ensuring the foliage characteristics are preserved before the plant would naturally progress to flowering.
3Stability of the object's composition
If Agave attenuata is propagated asexually by division of offsets, then true-to-type variegation is maintained, but propagation time requires two months for root development
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies self-service by utilizing the plant's natural offsetting capability for propagation. The offsets naturally form on the parent plant and can be separated and rooted with minimal intervention. This self-propagating mechanism maintains the variegated traits true-to-type while reducing the need for complex propagation procedures, though the two-month root development period remains a natural constraint of the species.
Data Source
AI summary
A new cultivar of Agave plant named ‘KARA'S STRIPES’ that is characterized by clumping habit and variegated foliage that is pale blue-green with broad cream-yellow stripes. In combination these traits set ‘KARA'S STRIPES’ apart from all other existing varieties of Agave known to the inventor.