Heuchera Shanghai Cultivar Compact Habit Repeat Blooming
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current Heuchera cultivars lack a combination of small, veiled purple leaves, free flowering on medium to short stalks, ivory flowers on purple-black peduncles, repeat blooming, well-branched habit, and excellent vigor, which are desirable traits for horticultural applications.
Innovation Solution
A new Heuchera cultivar 'Shanghai' is developed through asexual propagation, characterized by small, purple leaves, medium to short flower stalks with ivory flowers, and a compact, mounding habit, exhibiting excellent vigor and disease resistance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of moving object
If Heuchera cultivars are bred for large leaf size, then leaf area increases, but flowering freedom and compact habit are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by selecting for specific quantitative traits: small leaf size (3-5 inches diameter vs. larger conventional sizes), compact plant height (6-12 inches), and frequent flowering intervals. These parameter specifications resolve the contradiction by establishing optimal ranges that balance foliage display with reproductive productivity.
2Productivity
If Heuchera cultivars are bred for repeat blooming, then flowering frequency increases, but plant vigor and size may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves this contradiction by specifying parameter ranges that balance reproductive output with vegetative health: plants produce multiple flowering stalks (2-5 per plant) with continuous blooming from spring through fall, while maintaining compact size (6-12 inches height) and healthy foliage. The controlled breeding program selected for this specific combination of traits.
3Adaptability or versatility
If Heuchera cultivars are propagated sexually, then genetic diversity increases, but trait consistency and uniformity are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the copying principle by using asexual propagation methods (tissue culture and vegetative cuttings) to produce genetically identical copies of the selected parent plants. This ensures that the desirable traits—small leaves, compact habit, ivory flowers, and repeat blooming—are consistently replicated across all progeny without genetic variation, resolving the contradiction between diversity and uniformity.
4Ease of manufacture
If Heuchera cultivars are bred for dark leaf color, then color intensity increases, but overall plant size and branching are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves this contradiction by selecting for a specific color parameter (purple-black foliage) while simultaneously maintaining structural parameters within optimal ranges: plants exhibit dense branching with multiple stems, compact mounding habit (6-12 inches height), and well-developed foliage. The color intensity does not come at the expense of plant architecture.
Data Source
AI summary
A new and distinct Heuchera plant characterized by small veiled purple leaves year round, very free flowering medium to short flower stalks, ivory colored flowers on purple black peduncles, repeat blooming, a well branched, small, mounding habit, and excellent vigor.