Amsonia 'String Theory' Plant Breeding for Garden Performance

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing Blue Star plants lack improved garden worthiness, expanded color palettes, and extended flowering periods, with limited winter hardiness and deer resistance.

Innovation Solution

The development of Amsonia 'String Theory', a hybrid Blue Star plant with compact, densely stemmed habit, pale-blue star-shaped flowers, dark green foliage that turns golden-orangish in fall, and white latex sap for deer resistance, resulting from intentional self-pollination of a proprietary Amsonia hubrichtii selection.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If traditional Blue Star plants are used, then they have established growth patterns, but they lack improved garden worthiness, expanded color palettes, and extended flowering periods

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvegarden worthinessVSAvoidbreeding program complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The breeding program systematically changed multiple parameters including flower color (pale-blue), foliage color (dark green turning golden-orangish), plant habit (compact and dense), and flowering period (extended to three to four weeks). These parameter changes created a new cultivar with superior garden worthiness while managing breeding complexity through focused selection criteria

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

2Reliability

If Amsonia hubrichtii is used as parent, then it has established characteristics, but it lacks winter hardiness to USDA zone 4 and deer resistance

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvewinter hardinessVSAvoiddeer and rabbit damage

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The white latex sap, which initially appears as just a plant characteristic, was identified as having defensive value against deer and rabbits. This converts a neutral plant feature into a beneficial defense mechanism, protecting the compact growth habit from being browsed by wildlife while maintaining the genetic lineage from A. hubrichtii

Inventive Principle:

Principle #22Blessing in disguise (Convert harm into benefit)

3Shape

If compact, densely stemmed habit is achieved, then garden performance is enhanced, but flowering period may be reduced

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecompact habitVSAvoidflowering duration

Core Design Contradiction:

ShapeVSDuration of action of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The plant exhibits dynamic characteristics where the compact habit and extended flowering period are maintained through sequential blooming on dense panicles. The structure allows flowers to open in sequence over three to four weeks, maintaining the compact form while extending the functional flowering duration through temporal distribution of blooms

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentUSPP34419P2<i>Amsonia </i>plant named ‘String Theory’

Publication Date: 2022.07.12 WALTERS GARDEN INC

AI summary

A new and distinct Amsonia plant named ‘String Theory’ characterized by winter-hardy, compact, densely-stemmed, clean habit with linear, dark-green foliage that goes dormant in the winter; single, light periwinkle-blue, star-shaped flowers on medium height scapes flowering above the foliage beginning about early-May and effective for about four weeks. The new plant is useful in the landscape as a specimen or en masse and also as a cut flower.