Chrysanthemum plant named Red Cumbia

#The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum, botanically known as Dendranthema grandiflora, and referred to by the cultivar name Red Cumbia.

#Red Cumbia, identified as 3500 (87-505E01), is a product of a mutation induction program. The new cultivar was discovered and selected by Cornelis P. VandenBerg on Nov. 28, 1990, in a controlled environment in Salinas, Calif., as one flowering plant within a flowering block established as rooted cuttings from stock plants which had been exposed as unrooted cuttings to an X-ray source of 2000 rads in Fort Myers, Fla., on May 31, 1990.

#The irradiated parent cultivar was the cultivar identified as Cumbia, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 8,113, and described as a spray cut mum with flat capitulum form; daisy capitulum type; dark red-purple ray floret color; diameter across face of capitulum of 95 to 108 mm when fully opened; flowering response period of 50 to 57 days after start of short days in Salinas, Calif., and 65 to 72 days in Bogota, Colombia; plant height of 89 to 119 cm when grown in Salinas with 3 to 11 long days prior to start of short days, and 107 to 132 cm when grown in Bogota with 7 to 17 long days prior to start of short days; and excellent tolerance to low night temperatures for bud initiation and flower development. The foregoing description of Cumbia has a somewhat wider range of measurements than the description of Cumbia in the noted plant patent. This is based on continued flowering trials of Cumbia after preparing and filling the patent application for Cumbia.

#The accompanying color photographic drawing is a front view of a single stem cut spray mum of Red Cumbia, with the colors being as nearly true as possible with illustrations of this type.

#Of the commercial cultivars known to the inventor, the most similar in comparison to Red Cumbia is the parent cultivar Cumbia. All traits of Red Cumbia are similar to those of Cumbia, except for the ray floret color, the flowering response and the plant height. The ray floret color of Red Cumbia is a dark red, while the ray floret color of Cumbia is described as a dark red-purple. In most of the flowering trials the response of Red Cumbia has been 2 to 4 days slower than the response of Cumbia, and Red Cumbia is 5 to 10 cm shorter than Cumbia when grown side by side.

#In the following descrition color references are made to The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart. The actual color of the ray florets of Red Cumbia is not precisely represented in The RHS Colour Chart, and the values given are those believed to be closest to the actual color of Red Cumbia. The color values were determined on plant material grown as a single stem spray cut mum in Salinas, Calif. on Dec. 30, 1991.

#Classification: