Hebe Tullyraspb Compact Habit Burgundy Foliage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current Hebe cultivars lack compact growth and vibrant foliage with abundant flowers, failing to meet market demands for visually appealing and space-efficient flowering plants.
Innovation Solution
The development of the 'TULLYRASPB' cultivar, resulting from uncontrolled natural pollination of selected Hebe parent varieties, which exhibits a compact habit, deep burgundy foliage, and profuse deep pink flowers, achieved through asexual propagation using softwood cuttings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If conventional Hebe cultivars are used, then they are easier to grow and maintain, but they lack compact growth habit and vibrant foliage with abundant flowers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-selecting parent plants with desired traits (compact growth, burgundy foliage, pink flowers) before crossing. The breeding program was established in 1998 with specific parent varieties chosen for their complementary characteristics, and the cultivar was selected in 2004 from seedlings that exhibited the target traits, ensuring the propagated plants will maintain the compact habit and vibrant foliage without requiring intervention during growth.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies parameter changes by modifying the genetic parameters of Hebe plants through controlled hybridization. The crossing of specific parent varieties ('Autumn Glory' × 'Mrs. Winder' and other combinations) changed the inheritance parameters for plant size, foliage color, and flower color, producing a new cultivar with superior compactness (15cm height at 15 months) and vibrant burgundy foliage that differs from the parent plants.
2Shape
If Hebe cultivars with abundant flowers and colorful foliage are developed, then visual appeal is improved, but the plants grow larger and occupy more space
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by concentrating the expression of desirable traits in specific parts of the plant. The cultivar exhibits localized intense burgundy coloration in the foliage and concentrated profuse pink flower production in the flowering regions, while maintaining overall compact plant size. This allows the plant to display abundant flowers and vibrant foliage without requiring large overall plant dimensions, achieving both compactness (15cm height) and flower abundance simultaneously.
3Adaptability or versatility
If new Hebe cultivars are bred through controlled crossing, then parentage can be tracked, but the breeding process becomes more complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by focusing the breeding program on a limited set of key traits rather than attempting to optimize all possible characteristics. The breeding focused specifically on compact growth habit, burgundy foliage color, and pink flower color, using a manageable number of parent varieties. This partial focus on essential traits simplified the breeding process while still producing a cultivar with high market adaptability for container and landscape use.
Data Source
AI summary
A new cultivar of Hebe plant named ‘TULLYRASP’ that is characterized by a compact habit with deep burgundy colored foliage and which bears abundant deep pink flowers through summer and fall. In combination these traits set ‘TULLYRASP’ apart from all other varieties of Hebe known to the inventor.