Chrysanthemum plant named `Yotaffy`

A distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plant named `Yotaffy`, characterized by its uniformly mounded plant habit; freely branching growth habit; uniform flowering; decorative-type inflorescences that are about 3.3 cm in diameter; attractive golden yellow ray florets; numerous inflorescences per plant; and excellent garden performance.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
 The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of
 Chrysanthemum plant, botanically known as Dendranthema grandiflora and
 hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name Yotaffy.
 The new cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by
 the Inventor in Salinas, Calif. and Alva, Fla. The objective of the
 breeding program is to create new garden-type Chrysanthemum cultivars
 having inflorescences with desirable inflorescence forms, attractive
 floret colors and good garden performance.
 The new cultivar originated from a cross made by the Inventor in Salinas,
 Calif., in December, 1995, of the Dendranthema grandiflora cultivar
 Ginger, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 6,403, as the female, or seed,
 parent with an unidentified proprietary seedling selection as the male, or
 pollen, parent.
 The cultivar Yotaffy was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a
 flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled
 environment in Alva, Fla. in November, 1996. The selection of this plant
 was based on its desirable inflorescence form, attractive ray floret color
 and excellent garden performance.
 Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal cuttings taken in a
 controlled environment in Alva, Fla. has shown that the unique features of
 this new Chrysanthemum are stable and reproduced true to type in
 successive generations.
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
 The cultivar Yotaffy has not been observed under all possible environmental
 conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variation in environment
 such as temperature, daylength 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 `Yotaffy`. These characteristics in
 combination distinguish `Yotaffy` as a new and distinct cultivar:
 1. Uniformly mounded plant habit.
 2. Freely branching, dense, full plants.
 3. Uniform flowering.
 4. Decorative-type inflorescences that are about 3.3 cm in diameter.
 5. Attractive golden yellow ray florets.
 6. Numerous inflorescences per plant.
 7. Excellent garden performance with the blooms lasting at least three
 weeks.
 Compared to plants of the parent cultivar, Ginger, plants of the new
 Chrysanthemum flower more uniformly, are more flexible and less
 susceptible to breakage, and flower about 17 to 18 days later under
 natural season conditions.
 Plants of the new Chrysanthemum are similar to the cultivar Viking,
 disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 5,326. However in side-by-side
 comparisons under commercial practice, plants of the new Chrysanthemum
 differ from plants of the cultivar Viking in the following
 characteristics:
 1. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum are more freely branching and denser
 than plants of the cultivar Viking.
 2. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum have smaller leaves but more leaves than
 plants of the cultivar Viking.
 3. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum have smaller inflorescences but are more
 freely flowering than plants of the cultivar Viking.
 4. Ray floret of plants of the new Chrysanthemum is lighter than ray floret
 color of the cultivar Viking.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION
 In the following description, color references are made to The Royal
 Horticultural Society Colour Chart except where general terms of ordinary
 dictionary significance are used. The following observations and
 measurements describe plants grown in Pendleton, S.C., under conditions
 which approximate those generally used in commercial garden Chrysanthemum
 production. One rooted cutting was planted in a 15-cm container on Jul.
 26, 1999 and plants were grown under natural season conditions. Plants
 were not pinched, that is, the terminal apex was not removed to enhance
 branching. Measurements and numerical values represent averages for
 typical flowering plants.
 Botanical classification: Dendranthema grandiflora cultivar Yotaffy.
 Commercial classification: Decorative-type garden chrysanthemum.
 Parentage:
 Female parent.--Dendranthema grandiflora cultivar Ginger, disclosed in U.S.
 Plant Pat. No. 6,403.
 Male parent.--Unidentified proprietary seedling selection.
 Propagation:
 Type.--Terminal tip cuttings.
 Time to rooting.--Seven to ten days with soil temperatures of 21.degree. C.
 Rooting habit.--Fine, fibrous and well-branched.
 Plant description:
 Appearance.--Perennial herbaceous decorative-type garden Chrysanthemum.
 Inverted triangle; mounded plant form. Stems initially upright, then
 outwardly spreading giving a uniformly mounded appearance to the plant.
 Freely branching with lateral branches potentially developing at every
 node.
 Plant height.--About 31 cm.
 Plant spread.--About 38 cm.
 Stems.--Texture: Pubescent. Color: 146A.
 Foliage description.--Leaf arrangement: Alternate. Length: About 4.7 cm.
 Width: About 3.8 cm. Apex: Cuspidate. Base: Truncate. Margin: Palmately
 lobed, sinuses divergent. Texture: Upper surface sparsely pubescent; lower
 surface moderately pubescent. Veins prominent on lower surface. Petiole
 length: About 1.4 cm. Petiole diameter: About 3 mm. Color: Young foliage
 upper surface: 147A. Young foliage lower surface: 147B. Mature foliage
 upper surface: 147A. Mature foliage lower surface: 147B. Venation upper
 surface: 147A to 147B. Venation lower surface: 147B.
 Inflorescence description:
 Appearance.--Decorative-type inflorescence form with oblong-shaped ray
 florets. Inflorescences borne on terminals above foliage, arising from
 leaf axils. Disk and ray florets arranged acropetally on a capitulum.
 About 196 inflorescences per plant.
 Flowering response.--Under natural season conditions, plants flower in the
 autumn about 77 days after planting.
 Inflorescence bud.--Height: About 5 mm. Diameter: About 6 mm. Color:
 Between 143A and 146A.
 Inflorescence size.--Diameter: About 3.3 cm. Depth (height): About 1 cm.
 Diameter of disc: About 3 mm.
 Ray florets.--Shape: Oblong, concave. Length: About 1.5 cm. Width: About 3
 mm. Apex: Minutely dentate. Margin: Entire. Texture: Smooth, glabrous,
 satiny. Orientation: Initially upright, then perpendicular to the
 peduncle. Number of ray florets per inflorescence: About 140. Color: When
 opening, upper surface: More intense than 12A. When opening, lower
 surface: Slightly lighter than 12A. Opened inflorescence, upper surface:
 More intense than 12A. Opened inflorescence, lower surface: Close to 11A.
 Disc florets.--Shape: Tubular, apex dentate. Length: About 5 mm. Width:
 Apex: About 1.5 mm. Base: About 1 mm. Number of disc florets per
 inflorescence: About 22. Color: Immature: Close to 154A. Mature: Apex:
 14A. Mid-section: Light greenish white. Base: White.
 Peduncle.--Aspect: Flexible, angled about 55.degree. to the stem. Length:
 First peduncle: About 6 cm. Fourth peduncle: About 8.6 cm. Diameter: About
 2 mm. Texture: Pubescent. Color: 146A.
 Reproductive organs.--Androecium: Present on disc florets only. Anther
 color: 14A. Pollen: Scarce. Pollen color: 14A. Gynoecium: Present on both
 ray and disc florets.
 Seed.--Seed production has not been observed.
 Disease resistance: Plants of the new Chrysanthemum have not been shown to
 be resistant to pathogens common to Chrysanthemums.