Heuchera Ruby Tuesday Cultivar Breeding for Showy Pale Pink Flowers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current Heuchera cultivars lack a distinct combination of medium-sized, veiled, ruffled leaves with red to bronze-green color and showy pale pink flowers that persist through spring and summer, along with excellent vigor, which are not adequately met by existing varieties like Heuchera 'Marmalade' and 'Lime Rickey'.
Innovation Solution
A new Heuchera cultivar named 'Ruby Tuesday' with medium-sized, veiled, ruffled leaves of red to bronze-green color, larger flowers that are pale pink, and excellent vigor, achieved through asexual propagation using standard micropropagation techniques, ensuring consistent characteristics across progeny.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If Heuchera 'Marmalade' is used, then green-white flowers are produced, but the flowers are not showy and pale pink as desired
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by selecting and breeding plants with specific genetic traits that produce pale pink flowers with superior showiness compared to the green-white flowers of Heuchera 'Marmalade'. The cross-breeding process modifies the color parameters and floral display characteristics to achieve the desired pale pink hue and enhanced showiness.
2Shape
If Heuchera 'Lime Rickey' is used, then unveiled leaves are produced, but the leaves lack the veiled appearance desired in the new cultivar
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by breeding plants that exhibit the veiled leaf characteristic, which is a specific morphological parameter. The selection process focuses on achieving the veiled appearance through genetic inheritance from parent plants, modifying the leaf surface parameter to display the desired veiling effect that was absent in Heuchera 'Lime Rickey'.
3Volume of moving object
If larger plant size is achieved, then more foliage is produced, but the habit becomes less compact and rounded
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by selecting for a specific plant size parameter that achieves a balance between foliage production and habit compactness. The breeding process optimizes the volume parameter to create a medium-sized plant with a compact, rounded habit, avoiding both overly small and excessively large forms while maintaining the desired aesthetic shape.
4Stability of the object's composition
If asexual propagation is used, then genetic consistency is maintained, but propagation time and complexity increase compared to seed propagation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by establishing asexual propagation systems (cuttings and tissue culture) that preserve the desired genetic characteristics of the cultivated Heuchera. This method ensures that the progeny maintain the specific traits of pale pink flowers, veiled leaves, and compact habit without the genetic variation that would occur with seed propagation, thereby maintaining stability in the cultivar's composition.
Data Source
AI summary
A new and distinct Heuchera plant characterized by medium, veiled, ruffled, red to bronze-green leaves, a medium plant size, showy light pink flowers in spring through summer, and excellent vigor.