‘Fimmsunpur’ Chrysanthemum Has Early Cerise Pink Ray Florets in August

Summary: ‘Fimmsunpur’ chrysanthemum, a new cultivar by British chrysanthemum breeder Peter Wain, opens early cerise pink ray florets by mid to late August.

top perspective view of 3.5-month-old ‘Fimmsunpur’ plant, grown during summer and autumn in 19-centimeter (7.48-inch) container in glass-covered greenhouse at Fides B.V., De Lier, Netherlands; image included in patent application, filed Oct. 11, 2014, with United States Patent and Trademark Office: Peter Wain, Public Domain, via U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

‘Fimmsunpur’ chrysanthemum, a newly cultivated variety of Chrysanthemum x morifolium (synonym: Chrysanthemum x grandifolium) by British chrysanthemum breeder Peter Wain, has dark green leaves and cerise pink ray florets that open early, by mid to late August.

On Oct. 11, 2014, Peter Wain filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to patent his invention, a chrysanthemum plant named ‘Fimmsunpur.’ He listed Fides B.V. of De Lier, South Holland province, midwestern Netherlands, as assignee. Primary examiner June Hwu reviewed the patent application. On Aug. 23, 2016, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted patent PP27,091 for a chrysanthemum plant named ‘Fimmsunpur.’

Wain’s invention originates in a planned cross-pollination program conducted January 2010 at Locks Heath, a suburb of Fareham, southern Hampshire county, southern England. Cross-pollination involved proprietary selections of female and male Chrysanthemum x morifolium plants as seed and pollen parents, respectively.

In September 2010 the inventor discovered and selected a single flowering plant, now known as ‘Fimmsunpur,’ from the progeny of the common garden chrysanthemums (Chrysanthemum x morifolium). Propagation by terminal vegetative cuttings, first conducted in December 2010, yielded successive generations with stable, truly reproduced features of ‘Fimmsunpur.’

A comparison of ‘Fimmsunpur’ with the program’s proprietary parent selection reveals differences. ‘Fimmsunpur’ has slightly larger inflorescences than selected female plants. The newly cultivated variety undergoes an earlier flowering season than selected male plants. The coloring of the invention’s ray florets also differs from the pink color displayed by both female and male Chrysanthemum x morifolium plants.

Peter Wain’s application describes 12-week-old plants. His description of ‘Fimmsunpur’ chrysanthemum is based upon plants grown during winter in 14-centimeter (5.51-inch) containers. Production occurred in a glass-covered greenhouse in Locks Heath. Day and night temperatures during production ranged from 17 to 21 degrees Celsius (62.6 to 69.8 degrees Fahrenheit).

A chrysanthemum plant named ‘Fimmsunpur’ presents a compact, dense, uniformly mounded appearance. Upright to outwardly spreading stems have numerous lateral branches. Plant height reaches about 19 centimeters (7.48 inches). ‘Fimmsunpur’ spreads to a width of about 23 centimeters (9.05 inches).

Leaves form an alternate arrangement along stems. Palmately lobed, roughly ovate (Latin: ovatus, “egg-shaped”) leaves comprise three to five lobes with slightly dentate, or toothed, margins.

Leaf length measures about 4 centimeters (1.57 inches). Leaf width measures about 3.4 centimeters (1.33 inches).

Upper surfaces of leaves are slightly wavy, with a fine downy surface, described botanically as pubescent. Lower surfaces are finely pubescent with prominent veins.

Upper surfaces of fully expanded leaves are dark green (Royal Horticultural Society color 137A), with brown green (RHS 146B) ventation. Lower surfaces of fully expanded leaves are brown green (RHS 147C) with brown green (RHS 147C) veins.

‘Fimmsunpur’ features an early season flowering that begins in mid to late August in the United Kingdom. A freely flowering habit is characterized by the development of about 91 inflorescences per plant. Inflorescences, which are persistent, each last about three to five weeks.

Flowers actually comprise individual flowers, known as florets. The dense, terminal cluster of florets form a head, known as a capitulum.

Ray florets have a ligulate, or strap-like, to slightly spatulate, or spatula-like, shape. No disc florets are noticeable. The National Chrysanthemum Society, USA, notes that all chrysanthemum classes have both disc and ray florets. Disc florets, however, are not apparent in many of the 13 classes.

About 163 ray florets are arranged in about eight whorls. Floret margins are smooth, described as entire, and surfaces also are smooth.

Upper surfaces of fully opened flowers are purple (RHS 60C), becoming purple red (RHS 60D) with development. Lower surfaces of fully opened flowers are blue pink (RHS 186C), becoming blue pink (RHS 186D) with development.

A chrysanthemum plant named ‘Fimmsunpur’ exhibits good garden performance, with a temperature tolerance ranging from about 0 to about 35 degrees Celsius (32 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit).

‘Fimmsunpur’ demonstrates garden amiability with an early season flowering habit of showy, cerise pink ray florets atop a compact, densely mounded shape.

‘Fimmsunpur’ is the varietal denomination for a newly cultivated variety of Chrysanthemum x morifolium, an important chrysanthemum hybrid; colorful array of cultivated varieties of Chrysanthemum x morifolium, Dompierre-sur-Mer, Charente Maritime department, southwestern France: Jebulon, Public Domain (CC0 1.0), via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

top perspective view of 3.5-month-old ‘Fimmsunpur’ plant, grown during summer and autumn in 19-centimeter (7.48-inch) container in glass-covered greenhouse at Fides B.V., De Lier, Netherlands; image included in patent application, filed Oct. 11, 2014, with United States Patent and Trademark Office: Peter Wain, Public Domain, via U.S. Patent and Trademark Office @ http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?PageNum=0&docid=PP027091

‘Fimmsunpur’ is the varietal denomination for a newly cultivated variety of Chrysanthemum x morifolium, an important chrysanthemum hybrid; colorful array of cultivated varieties of Chrysanthemum x morifolium, Dompierre-sur-Mer, Charente Maritime department, southwestern France: Jebulon, Public Domain (CC0 1.0), via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chrysanthemum_%C3%97_morifolium_Dompierre_1.jpg?uselang=fr

For further information:

“Chrysanthemum.” New World Encyclopedia.
Available @ http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Chrysanthemum

“Chrysanthemum Classifications.” New York Botanical Garden Mertz LibGuides > Plant & Gardening Help > Chrysanthemum History and Flower Form.
Available @ http://libguides.nybg.org/content.php?pid=671296&sid=5780887

“Chrysanthemum Plant Named ‘Fimmsunpur.’” United States Patent and Trademark Office > Program in Word (PIW). Aug. 23, 2016.
Available @ http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?PageNum=0&docid=PP027091

"History of the Chrysanthemum." National Chrysanthemum Society USA.
Available @ http://www.mums.org/history-of-the-chrysanthemum/

International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants. “Document TGP/14: Glossary of Technical, Botanical and Statistical Terms Used in UPOV Documents.” UPOV (Union Internationale Pour la Protection des Obtentions Végétales). Dec. 9, 2006.
Available @ http://www.upov.org/edocs/mdocs/upov/en/tc_edc/2007/tgp_14_draft_1_section_2_3_2.pdf