A chrysanthemum plant named &#8216;AURORA PURPLE&#8217; characterized by its medium sized blooms with purple ray florets and prolific branching; natural season flower date September 4-9; blooming for a period of 5 weeks.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

AURORA PURPLE is a product of a breeding and selection program for outdoor pot mums (garden mums) which had the objective of creating new chrysanthemum cultivars with a daisy type flower, a natural season flower date around September 4-9; blooming for a period of 5 weeks. The new plant of the present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plant. AURORA PURPLE is a seedling resulting from the open pollination among groups of chrysanthemum cultivars maintained under the control of the inventor for breeding purposes. The new and distinct cultivar was discovered and selected as one flowering plant by Rob Noodelijk on a cultivated field in Rijsenhout, Holland in September 1998. The plant has been asexually reproduced by cuttings in greenhouses at Rijsenhout, Holland. The new cultivar has been found to retain its distinctive characteristics through successive propagations.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

This new variety of chrysanthemum is of the botanical classification Chrysanthemum morifolium. The observations and measurements were gathered from plants grown out door in Rijsenhout, Holland under natural day length and temperature and planted week 22 in 1999 and 2000. The natural blooming date of this crop was September 4-9 (week 36). The average height of the plants was 38-42 cms. No growth retardants were used. No tests were done on disease or insects resistance or susceptibility. No tests were done on cold or drought resistance. This new variety produces medium sized blooms with purple ray florets and a yellow disc-florets blooming for a period of 5 weeks.

From the cultivars known to inventor the most similar existing cultivar in comparison to AURORA PURPLE is MAGGIE (pat.pend.). When MAGGIE and AURORA PURPLE are being compared the following differences are noticed: The differences of MAGGIE and AURORA PURPLE are (1) Natural blooming date. AURORA PURPLE flowers earlier. (2) Flower color. AURORA PURPLE has darker flowers.

The following is a description of the plant and characteristics that distinguish AURORA PURPLE as a new and distinct variety.

The color designations are taken from the plant itself. Accordingly, any discrepancies between the color designations and the colors depicted in the photographs are due to photographic tolorances. The color chart used in this description is: The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart, edition 1995.

Table 1: Botanical Description of Cultivar Aurora Purple

Number of blooms per branch . Approx. 4-5 blooms per branch.

Performance on the plant . 5 weeks.

Color of upper surface of the ray - florets . Red-purple 61 A.

Color of the lower surface of the ray - florets . Red-purple 70 B.

Tonality from distance . A garden mum with purple flowers and a yellow disc.

Color of the upper surface of the flowers after aging of the plant . Red-purple 70 B.

Texture . Upper and under side smooth.

Longitudinal axis of majority . Straight.

Length of corolla tube . Short to long, 0.4-1.2 cm.

Shape of tip . Dentate.

Distribution of disc florets . Numerous, clearly visible at all stages of flowering.

Stamen ( present in disc florets only ). Thick, 4 mm in length.

Shape . Grown as a spray-type pot-mum, outdoor mounded and round.

Stem anthocyanin coloration . Present, a thin layer of greyed-red 181 A mainly at the base of the stem.

Length of lateral branch . From top to bottom 14-15 cm.

Branching ( average number of lateral branches ). Mounding and prolific with 9 breaks after pinching.

Natural season blooming date . September 4-9.

Color of mature leaves . Upper side green 147 A. Under side green 147 B.

Color of immature leaves . Upper side green 138 A. Under side green 138 B.

Quantity ( number per lateral branch ). 5-6.

Texture under side . Pubescent.

Shape of the margin . Serrated.

Shape of base of sinus between lateral lobes . Round.

Margin of sinus between lateral lobes . Diverging.

Shape of base . Acute.

TABLE 2 Differences with the comparison varieties (when grown under the same conditions) AURORA PURPLE MAGGIE (pat. pend.) Natural blooming September 4-9 October 7-15 date Color of the Red-purple 61 A Purple 75 A at the tips, upper surface of to purple 75 D at the the ray-florets. middle of the flower