Weigela plant - geenaltan

#My invention relates to a new, distinctive, and useful variety of Weigela which originated under cultivation in my nursery at Boskoop, The Netherlands. The new variety was selected from among seven volunteer seedlings found in an area where plants of Weigela florida Eva Rathke were being grown. Accordingly, it is assumed that the seed parent of the new variety is Weigela florida Eva Rathke. While the pollen parent of the new variety is unknown, it also was likely to be the Eva Rathke variety.

#My interest in developing a new form of Weigela was based on the need for a more dwarf from of the plant, as all common Weigelas currently available in the trade tend to become too large, especially for today's smaller landscapes. The seven volunteer seedlings were discovered by me during the Spring of 1975 and were observed for three full seasons. In the Summer of 1978 one of these seedlings, bearing the desired dwarf characteristics, was selected and propagated by me. The resulting plants of this propagation were then observed for four years. During this time my belief that the present invention would remain dwarf was confirmed, since it did not exceed a height of more than approximately 70 cm. The new variety exhibits a combination of advantageous characteristics which distinguish it from all other forms of Weigela of which I am aware. For instance, plants of Weigela florida Eva Supreme, while smaller than Weigela florida Eva Rathke, are known to achieve a height of 5 feet.

#The new and distinct variety of the present invention exhibits:

#The accompanying photograph shows a typical specimen of my new variety of Weigela as depicted in color as nearly true as it is reasonably possible to make the same in a color illustration of this character. It is apparent that the photograph tends to be slightly underexposed and that foliage of other plants such as Yucca filamentosa is visible in the background. The specimen illustrated was being grown out-of-doors during mid-June at Boskoop, The Netherlands.

#The present photograph is substantially the same as that which appeared on the cover of The Complete Garden Catalog dated Spring 1983 which was distributed by The Wayside Gardens Co. of Hodges, S.C. 29695. That catalog through error specified the illustrated variety to be the Eva Supreme variety when it was in fact the Geenaltan variety of the present application.

#The plants described were two year old plants growing out-of-doors in containers in a soilless growing medium at West Grove, Pa.

#The chard utilized in the identification of the colors is that of The Royal Horticultural Society (R.H.S. Colour Chart).

#Parentage: The seed parent is believed to be the Eva Rathke variety of Weigela florida. The pollen parent is unknown.