Hydrangea Carina Stable Pigmentation and Stem Strength
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing Hydrangea macrophylla cultivars lack stable pigmentation and strong stem structure, requiring staking for commercial sale, and exhibit irregular branching and pigmentation patterns that fade with age.
Innovation Solution
The new cultivar 'Carina' features stable pink sepals with white margins, strong upright growth habit, and exceptional branching characteristics, maintained through three generations of asexual reproduction, with improved stem strength and consistent pigmentation across varying environmental conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If existing Hydrangea macrophylla cultivars are grown under soil conditions with pH that produces pink pigmentation, then pink pigmentation is achieved, but the pigmentation pattern is unstable and fades with age
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by selecting and propagating a mutant plant with altered genetic parameters that result in stable pigmentation. The cultivar 'Carina' exhibits consistent pink sepals with white margins across multiple generations and varying soil pH conditions, representing a change in the genetic parameter controlling pigmentation stability compared to the parent 'Orion' variety.
2Productivity
If existing Hydrangea macrophylla cultivars are grown for commercial sale, then they produce inflorescences, but they require staking due to weak stem structure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies self-service by developing a cultivar that inherently provides its own structural support through stronger stems and improved branching characteristics. The 'Carina' cultivar produces multiple lateral shoots when pinched, creating a self-supporting structure that reduces or eliminates the need for external staking, allowing commercial production without additional support structures.
3Ease of operation
If existing Hydrangea macrophylla cultivars are pinched to promote branching, then lateral shoots grow, but the branching characteristics are irregular and pigmentation fades
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies feedback by selecting a mutant plant that exhibits consistent positive response to pinching with regular branching patterns and maintains stable pigmentation throughout the growing season and across generations. The 'Carina' cultivar demonstrates reliable feedback in its growth response, producing predictable multiple lateral shoots with consistent pink and white pigmentation, unlike the irregular response of parent cultivars.
Data Source
AI summary
A new and distinct cultivar of Hydrangea macrophylla (Thunb.) named ‘Carina’ originated as a found plant in a cultivated area of ‘Orion’. The cultivar ‘Carina’ has a R.H.S. 68 A (red-purple group) bi-color pigmentation pattern on its sepals at maturity, with the pigmentation giving way to non-pigmented margins and is distinguished from other similar cultivars of which the inventor is aware by its stable sepal color pattern, its sturdy growth habit, and small leaves. ‘Carina’ has large showy inflorescences, having both sepalous and non-sepalous florets, with the sepalous florets hiding the non-sepalous florets.