Chrysanthemum plant named ‘Zanmublast’

A chrysanthemum plant named ‘Zanmublast’ characterized by its medium sized blooms with orange ray florets and prolific branching; natural season flower date October 5; blooming for a period of 4 weeks.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar ofchrysanthemumplant, botanically known asChrysanthemum×morifoliumRamat., commercially known as a garden mum, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar denomination ‘Zanmublast’. ‘Zanmublast’ is a product of a breeding and selection program for outdoor pot mums (garden mums) which had the objective of creating new cultivars with a double type inflorescence, a natural season flowering date around October 5, blooming for a period of 4 weeks. ‘Zanmublast’ is a seedling resulting from a cross of the female parent id 9376 with the male parent id 17772. Plants of the new cultivar ‘Zanmublast’ differ from plants of the female parent in plant vigor. The plants of the seedling are more vigorous than those of the female parent. Plants of the new cultivar ‘Zanmublast’ differ from plants of the male parent in plant shape. The plants of the seedling are more ball-shaped than those of the male parent.

The new and distinct cultivar was discovered and selected as a flowering plant by Wilhelmus Bernardus Blom on a cultivated field in Rijsenhout, The Netherlands in 2005. The first act of asexual production of ‘Zanmublast’ was accomplished when vegetative cuttings from the initial selection in 2005 were propagated further in a controlled environment in Rijsenhout, The Netherlands. The new cultivar has been found to retain its distinctive characteristics through successive propagations.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The observations and measurements were gathered from plants grown out door in Rijsenhout, The Netherlands under natural day length and temperature and planted in week 23 in 2009. The natural blooming date of this crop was October 5. The average height of the plants was 30 cm. No growth retardants were used. No tests were done on disease or insect resistance or susceptibility. No tests were done on cold or drought tolerance. This new variety produces medium sized blooms with orange ray florets blooming for a period of 4 weeks.

From the cultivars known to inventor the most similar existing cultivar in comparison to ‘Zanmublast’ is ‘Zanmufay’ (U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/591,868). When ‘Zanmufay’ and ‘Zanmublast’ are being compared the following differences are noticed. (1) Natural season flowering date. And (2) Plant vigor. (1) Plants of ‘Zanmublast’ flower earlier than those of ‘Zanmufay’. (2) Plants of ‘Zanmublast’ are more vigorous than those of ‘Zanmufay’.

The following is a description of the plant and characteristics that distinguish ‘Zanmublast’ 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 tolerances. The color chart used in this description is: The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart, edition 2001.

TABLE 2Differences with the comparison variety (when grown side to side)‘Zanmublast’‘Zanmufay’Natural season flowering dateweek 41-45week 42-46Plant width50 cm45 cm