Veronica plant named ‘Purpleicious’

A new and distinct cultivar of Veronica plant named ‘Purpleicious’, characterized by its upright, compact and sturdy plant habit; freely basal branching habit; dense and bushy plant form; long flower racemes; freely flowering habit; and purple violet-colored flowers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar ofVeronicaplant, botanically known asVeronica hybrida,and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name ‘Purpleicious’.

The newVeronicais a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Haarlem, The Netherlands. The objective of the breeding program was to create sturdy newVeronicacultivars with numerous flowers with attractive coloration.

The newVeronicaoriginated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in July, 1998 of a proprietaryVeronica longifolia×Veronica spicataselection, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with a proprietaryVeronica spicata×Veronica longifoliaselection, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The newVeronicawas discovered and selected by the Inventor during the summer of 2000 as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled environment in Haarlem, The Netherlands.

Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by cuttings since 2001 in Haarlem, The Netherlands, has shown that the unique features of this newVeronicaare stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Plants of the cultivar Purpleicious have not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature and light intensity without, however, any variance in genotype.

The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of ‘Purpleicious’. These characteristics in combination distinguish ‘Purpleicious’ as a new and distinctVeronicacultivar:1. Upright, compact and sturdy plant habit.2. Freely basal branching habit, dense and bushy plant form.3. Long flower racemes.4. Freely flowering habit.5. Purple violet-colored flowers.

Plants of the newVeronicacan be compared to the parent selections. Compared to plants of the parent selections, plants of the newVeronicaare more compact, are sturdier, have shorter flower racemes and have more distinct flower coloration.

Plants of the newVeronicacan be compared to plants of theVeronicacultivar Sunny Border Blue, not patented. Plants of the newVeronicadiffer from plants of the cultivar Sunny Border Blue in the following characteristics:1. Plants of the newVeronicaare more compact and sturdier than plants of the cultivar Sunny Border Blue.2. Plants of the newVeronicahave longer flower racemes than plants of the cultivar Sunny Border Blue.3. Plants of the newVeronicahave purple violet-colored flowers whereas plants of the cultivar Sunny Border Blue have blue violet-colored flowers.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION