U.S. patent number PP34,502 [Application Number 17/803,301] was granted by the patent office on 2022-08-16 for nepeta plant named `picture purrfect`.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Walters Gardens, Inc. The grantee listed for this patent is Hans A Hansen. Invention is credited to Hans A Hansen.
United States Patent |
PP34,502 |
Hansen |
August 16, 2022 |
Nepeta plant named `Picture Purrfect`
Abstract
The new and distinct hardy perennial plant, Nepeta `Picture
Purrfect`, has a broad, low spreading mound, with compact habit
with mostly upright stems. The foliage is small, serrate and
fragrant. Flowers are a bluish-purple with persistent rosy-purple
calyces and dark purplish-red peduncles. The new plant begins
flowers about two weeks earlier than typical ornamental catnip
cultivars and reblooms after initial flowering. The new plant is
useful in the landscape en masse, as an accent, or in
containers.
Inventors: |
Hansen; Hans A (Zeeland,
MI) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Hansen; Hans A |
Zeeland |
MI |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Walters Gardens, Inc (Zeeland,
MI)
|
Appl.
No.: |
17/803,301 |
Filed: |
April 28, 2022 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
PLT/263.1 |
Current International
Class: |
A01H
5/02 (20180101); A01H 6/50 (20180101) |
Field of
Search: |
;PLT/263.1 |
Primary Examiner: Redden; Karen M
Claims
I claim:
1. A new and distinct hardy perennial Nepeta plant named `Picture
Purrfect` essentially as herein described and illustrated useful
for landscaping as a specimen, en masse, or in a container to bring
color and fragrance to a garden and attract butterflies and
hummingbirds.
Description
Botanical denomination: Nepeta hybrid.
Variety designation: `Picture Purrfect`.
STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES UNDER 37 CFR 1.77(b)(6)
The first public disclosure of the claimed plant, in the form of a
photograph and brief description on a website operated by Walters
Gardens, Inc. on Feb. 1, 2021 followed by the "Walters Gardens
2021-2021 Catalog" initially released on May 21, 2021. The claimed
plant was first sold on Jul. 12, 2021 to Harts Nursery, Jardins
Michel, Exemplar Horticultural, and Walla Walla Nursery, as well as
other nurseries afterward by Walters Gardens, Inc., who obtained
the plant and all information relating from the inventor. No plants
of Nepeta `Picture Purrfect` have been sold in this country or
anywhere in the world, nor has any disclosure of the new plant been
made, more than one year prior to the filing date of this
application, and such sale or disclosure within one year was either
derived directly or indirectly from the inventor.
BACKGROUND AND ORIGIN OF THE PLANT
The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of
Nepeta named `Picture Purrfect`. The new plant was selected as a
single seedling from the progeny of self-pollination cross of the
proprietary, unreleased hybrid known only as 13-13-3 (not
patented). The pollination was directed by the inventor on Jun. 1,
2015, seed was harvested in the summer of 2015, grown out and
evaluated, and a single seedling was selected and assigned the
breeder code 15-16-1 toward the end of the trial period. `Picture
Purrfect` was approved in a final evaluation in the summer of 2019
and slated for later introduction. The new plant was selected based
on the compact habit and repeat blooming following trimming. The
new plant has been asexually propagated first by division in the
late summer of 2017 followed by tip cuttings with the resultant
plants remaining identical to the original plant, stable and true
to type in successive generations.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Nepeta `Picture Purrfect` is different from its parents and all
other Catmint cultivars known to the inventor. The nearest
comparison plants known by the inventor include: `Cat's Meow` U.S.
Plant Pat. No. 24,472, `Cat's Pajamas` U.S. Plant Pat. No. 31,127,
`Novanepjun` U.S. Plant Pat. No. 23,074, more commonly known as
`Junior Walker`, `Kitten Around` U.S. Plant Pat. No. 30,940,
`Purrsian Blue` U.S. Plant Pat. No. 24,788, `Psfike` U.S. Plant
Pat. No. 18,904.
`Cat's Meow` is taller and broader in habit and begins flowering
about one to two weeks later with smaller flowers and darker purple
calyces and darker purple stems. `Cat's Pajama's` is slightly
taller, more rounded in habit and has smaller flowers with lighter
purple calyces and darker purple stems. `Novanepjun` is taller,
flowers about two weeks later with flowers that are smaller and
more purplish in color. `Pursian Blue` has more purplish-blue
flowers that are smaller, begin opening about two weeks later, and
the habit is taller and broader. `Psfike` has smaller flowers and
the habit is not as broad and not as vigorous in growth.
The parent plant is more compact and shorter the flowers are
smaller and the stems less sturdy.
The present invention has not been evaluated under all possible
environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary with changes in
the environment such as light, temperature, water and nutrient
availability, etc. without a change in the genotype of the plant.
Nepeta `Picture Purrfect` is unique from all other catmint known to
the inventor in the following combined traits: 1. The habit is
rounded, very short and compact with mostly upright stems; 2.
Foliage is small with serrate teeth and fragrant; 3. Flowers are
large, bluish-purple with persistent rosy-purple calyces and dark
purplish-red peduncles; 4. Plant blooms about two weeks earlier
than many ornamental catnip cultivars and reblooms after initial
flowering.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The photographs of the new plant Nepeta `Picture Purrfect` are of a
four-year old plant in a full-sun, trial garden in Zeeland, Mich.
and demonstrate the unique aspects of the new plant. The colors are
as accurate as reasonably possible with color reproductions.
Ambient light spectrum, temperature, source and direction may cause
the appearance of minor variation in color.
FIG. 1 shows the overall habit of the new plant.
FIG. 2 shows a close-up of the flowers, buds and stems.
DETAILED PLANT DESCRIPTION
The following descriptions are based on a four-year old plant of
Nepeta `Picture Purrfect` grown in a full-sun trial garden in sandy
loam with supplemental water and fertilizer as needed. The color
references are based on the 2015 edition of The Royal Horticultural
Society Colour Chart except where common dictionary terms are used.
The new plant has not been observed under all possible
environments. The phenotype may vary slightly with different
environmental conditions, such as temperature, light, fertility,
moisture and maturity levels, but without any change in the
genotype. Parentage: Self-pollination of the proprietary hybrid
13-13-3; Plant habit: Herbaceous perennial; multi-stemmed, mounding
to about 34 cm tall and 83 cm wide at the base in flower; Growth:
Rapid; time to initiate roots at 23.degree. C. about one week;
finishing in a standard #1-15 cm container in about 8 to 10 weeks
from rooted 25 mm plug; Root: Fine, freely branching; color between
RHS NN155C and RHS 158D depending on soil type and nutrient
content; Foliage: Opposite; simple; ovate; rugose on both abaxial
and adaxial surfaces; margins crenate with 10 to 13 teeth per side;
micro-puberulent on adaxial and abaxial surfaces; apex acute; base
cordate; blade size to about 38 mm long and 25 mm wide near base,
average about 29 mm long and 18 mm across; Leaf color: Young
expanding adaxial nearest RHS 138A, young expanding abaxial nearest
RHS 138B; mature adaxial nearest RHS 137A, mature abaxial nearest
RHS147B; Foliage fragrance: Foliage and stem herbal fragrance;
Venation: Longitudinal; impressed on adaxial surface and costate on
abaxial surface; Vein color: Adaxial nearest RHS 137A and abaxial
nearest RHS 147C; Petiole: Micro-puberulent adaxial and abaxial;
slightly concavo-convex; to about 4.5 mm long and 1.5 mm across at
base; average about 3.5 mm long and about 1.5 mm across; Petiole
color: Adaxial nearest RHS 146B, abaxial nearest RHS 146C; Stem:
Micro-puberulent; quadrangular; mostly horizontal; about 64.0 cm
long and 3.0 mm across at base; about 40 stems per plant; with
compound branches in proximal nodes; about 6 branches per stem,
branches to about 32.5 cm long and 2.0 mm across at base; Stem
color: Lower portion nearest RHS 146D, upper portion nearest RHS
146B; Internodes: Average about 2.7 cm apart with greatest distance
in the middle of the stem; about 9 to 14 nodes per stem before
flowers; Internode color: Same as surrounding stem; Inflorescence:
Cymosely clustered with many flowers typically branched at
verticillasters in the 16 upper nodes; about 9 to 40 flowers per
node and about 100 to 400 flowers per inflorescence stem or
peduncle; Peduncle: Flowering portion curving upwardly; flowers on
one verticillaster flowering over prolonged period; flower portion
in distal 32 cm and 4,5 cm wide; Peduncle color: Nearest RHS N79A;
Pedicel: Sessile to 1.0 mm long and 0.3 mm diameter; puberulent;
cylindrical; upwardly; Pedicel color: When present nearest RHS
N138C with moderate blush of nearest RHS N77C; Flower bud: Curved
clavate; about 9.0 mm long and 3.5 mm tall and 2.5 mm wide in bulb
portion, 1.5 mm diameter at base; abaxial surface pubescent; Flower
bud color: Petal portion nearest RHS 86D with distal petal margins
nearest RHS 86B; calyx portion nearest RHS 146B with heavy blush of
nearest RHS N79B dorsal side and veins; Flowers: Zygomorphic;
perfect; bilabiate; sympetalous with basal 9.0 mm fused; lips
opening to form about an 80 degree angle to each other; 12.0 mm
long and 8.0 mm tall and 7.0 mm wide; in dense verticillasters;
Upper lip.--With two lobes; puberulent on abaxial surface, glabrous
adaxial; lobes about 2.0 mm long and 2.0 mm wide above fusion;
lobes with rounded apex; total size of lip about 12.0 mm long and
about 5.0 mm wide at fusion. Lower lip.--Consisting of three lobes;
center and largest lobe slightly concave to flattened with rounded
apex and crenate margin having seven indentations of about 1.0 mm
deep in center and the three lateral incisions to about 0.5 mm
deep; two side lobes with rounded apices and entire margin; center
lobe to about 16.0 mm long in total, 7.0 mm long from fusion and up
to 9.0 mm across when flattened; side lobes 2.0 mm long from fusion
and 3.0 mm across; puberulent abaxial center and glabrous near
margin, glabrous adaxial except pubescent tuft of white hairs
nearest NN155D about 1.0 mm long in center. Petal color.--Adaxial
face upper lips nearest RHS N82C; lower lips nearest RHS N87C along
margin with center nearest RHS 84D, and maculate with spots between
about 0.2 mm and 0.3 mm diameter and in color nearest RHS 86A;
adaxial and abaxial corolla tube nearest RHS 84D with spots or
nearest RHS 86A decreasing in concentration and size to about 0.1
mm diameter proximally, and basal 1.0 mm nearest RHS NN155B;
abaxial upper face nearest RHS N82D; abaxial lower lips nearest RHS
N87C; abaxial tube nearest RHS 85C distally and nearest RHS 85D
proximally with the basal 1.0 mm nearest RHS NN155B. Calyx:
Synsepalous; 5-merous fused into tube in basal 4.0 mm and separated
in distal 2.0 mm; about 8.0 mm long and 3.0 mm diameter at apex and
2.0 mm diameter at base; Sepals: Five; acute apex; basal fused;
margin ciliolate; with about 3 conspicuous longitudinal veins;
glabrous adaxial, pubescent abaxial; persistent; about 8.0 mm long
and 1.0 mm across at fusion, fused in basal 6.0 mm and free in
distal 2.0 mm; Sepal color: Adaxial distally between veins nearest
RHS 137A, proximally nearest RHS 138D and veins nearest RHS 137A,
with distal region lightly blushed nearest RHS N79B; abaxial
nearest RHS 146B with heavy blush of nearest RHS N79B dorsal side
and veins; Gynoecium: Single compound ovary with two carpels,
single gynobasic style, and stigma bifid; Style.--About 10.0 mm
long and 0.5 mm diameter; color between RHS 70A and RHS NN155D.
Stigma.--Bifid in distal 1.0 mm to sharply acute apex; color
between RHS 79A and RHS 83A. Ovary.--Four-lobed, each lobe ovoid,
about 1.0 mm long and 0.5 mm across, ovary color between RHS 145A
and RHS N144D. Androecium: Four; Filaments.--Adnate to petals in
basal 8.0 mm, free in distal 5.0 mm; cylindrical; straight; color
between RHS N82C and RHS N82D. Anthers.--Oblong ellipsoidal; 1.0 mm
long and 0.3 mm across; color between RHS N92B and RHS N92C.
Pollen.--Abundant; color nearest RHS 158B. Flowering period: In
Western Michigan beginning early June for six weeks and repeating
into October; individual flowers remain open for about three days;
Flower fragrance: None detected; Flower attitude: Outwardly; Fruit
and seed: Rare, nutlets, flattened, round; about 1.5 mm diameter
and 0.5 mm thick; nearest RHS 200B; Pest and disease
susceptibility: No resistance beyond that which is typical for
Nepeta but typically not prone to browsing by deer or rodents.
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