Geranium named Americana Pink

A new Geranium plant particularly distinguished by its abundant foliage and its large semi-double pink colored flowers. The flower clusters consist of about forty florets each of which has a diameter of about 4.5 centimeters; the plant being free flowering and fast-rooting. The plant is quite spectacular in the balance of inflorescence to plant mass, with the relatively short peduncles placing the unusually large, colorful umbels just atop the foilage.

BACKGROUND 
The present invention comprises a new and distinct geranium cultivar, 
botanically known as Pelargonium hortorum Bailey. The new cultivar is 
propagated from a seedling resulting from the cross of a seed parent 
"Casino" (patent pending) and the pollen parent "Blues" (U.S. Plant Pat. 
No. 5,373). 
This new geranium cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program 
intended to create new plants with pink colored flowers in semi-double 
flower form, green foliage, vigorous growth and superior cutting 
productivity. 
The new cultivar was created in 1988 in Gilroy, Calif. and has been 
repeatedly asexually reproduced by cuttings in Gilroy, Calif. and 
Guatemala over a two year period. It has also been trialed at Okemos, 
Mich. It has been found to retain its distinctive characteristics through 
successive propagations; and this novelty appears to be firmly fixed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW CULTIVARS 
The following detailed descriptions set forth the distinctive 
characteristics of this new geranium. The data which defines these 
characteristics were collected from asexual reproductions carried out in 
Gilroy, Calif. The plant history was taken on 20 week old plants, 
blossomed under natural light in a greenhouse and color readings were 
taken in the greenhouse on May 29, 1990 at 2:00 P.M. under ambient light. 
Color references are primarily to The R.H.S. Colour Chart of The Royal 
Horticultural Society of London, England. 
THE PLANT 
Classification: 
Botanical.--Pelargonium hortorum Bailey. 
Commercial.--Zonal geranium. 
Form: Intermediate height bush form. 
Height: Nine to eleven cm., as a 51/2 inch pot plant, excluding blooms. 
Growth: Vigorous growth; free flowering and fast-rooting. 
Strength: Sturdy not susceptible to wind or rain damage. Good shipping 
ability as rooted or unrooted cuttings. 
Foliage: Abundant quantity. 
Leaves.--Size: Diameter about 6 cm. Shape: Rounded cordate with occasional 
upfolding between veins. Margin: Irregularly crenate. Texture: Leathery 
and pubescent on both surfaces, especially along veins. Ribs and veins: 
Distinctly palmate, 3 to 4 cm. long. Color: Upper side: Green. Underside: 
Lighter green color. Ribs and veins not prominently different from upper 
surface. 
Petioles.--About 3.8 to 6.0 cm. in length. 
THE BUD 
Size: 
Diameter.--About 7 mm. 
Length.--About 1.7 cm. to 2.0 cm. at time of bud opening. 
Shape: Pointed ovoid. 
Color: When sepals first divide, RHS 66-D. 
Sepals: Five in number, flat behind petals. Pointed linear lanceolate, RHS 
67-C/D in an open flower. 
THE FLOWER 
Blooming habit: Continuous throughout the year. 
Size: Approximately 4.5 cm. diameter, 1.3 cm. deep, irregularly radially 
symmetrical. 
Form: Cup-shaped when bloom first opens, later flattening to shallow cup 
shape with maturity. 
Petals: Five to six imbricate outer petals, 2.2-2.5 cm. wide and 
approximately 2.4 cm. long, 2 to 4 inner smaller petaloids of varying 
shape. Both the outer petals and inner petaloids are pink, RHS 67-C/D. 
Veins are not distinctly darker than interveinal regions. Color changing 
little with age. Underside of petals lighter and veins darker than 
interveinal regions. Petals and petaloids soft and satiny. Petal and 
petaloid coloration includes splashes of white or lighter pink shades 
radiating from the basal portions of the two top outer petals of most 
florets: where veining is of conspicuously darker coloration than 
interveinal areas. Whiter portions of such petals normally is confined to 
about the lower 1/3 central portion of the top two petals of florets, and 
is diffused gradually with a progressively more intense pink blush toward 
petal margins. The reverse surfaces of the petals and petaloids may 
include white shadings or lighter, faded pink shadings, which vary in 
intensity, and may starkly contrast with a generally solid and uniform 
pink of the top surfaces. Except for the two top petals, the remaining 
petals and petaloids generally appear solid in pink coloration rendering 
an overall lively pink and pink-white character to the massive 
mound-shaped umbels. 
Pedicel: Approximately 3 cm. in length. 
Persistence: Nonshattering flower. 
INFLORESCENSE 
Type: An umbel composed of approximately 40 flowers, erect or laterally 
ascending. 
Peduncle: Approximately 5-8 cm. in length, mostly 8 cm; green in color. The 
peduncles are naturally short, not having been treated with growth 
regulators. 
REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS 
Stamens: 
Anthers.--Eight to ten positioned below the mature stigma, dull red prior 
to anthesis. 
Filaments.--White from base turning red near the point of connection to the 
anther. 
Pollen.--Orange in color. 
Pistil: 
Number.--One. 
Length.--Approximately 7 mm. 
Stigma.--Five (sometimes six) linear lobes of near equal length, curling 
back toward ovary, purplish-red. 
Style.--Length: about 3-3.5 mm. color: purplish red. 
Ovaries.--At anthesis, densely pubescent with white hairs, oblong. Green 
drying to a light brown at maturity. 
Fruit.--Partially fertile.