Crop Information
'Pink Champagne', 'Andraecola-1', and 'Andraecola-2' Anthurium

By: H. Kamemoto, A. R. Kuehnle, J. T. Kunisaki, M. Aragaki, J. S. Lichty and T. D. Amore

Department of Horticulture, University of Hawaii, College of
Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources

Taken From Horticulture Digest, January 1995, No. 104,
pages 4-6.

'Pink Champagne', 'Andraecola-1', and 'Andraecola-2' Anthurium

In 1991 we released two cultivars, 'Misty Pink' and 'Pink Elf', that originated from a cross between 711-13 (Anthurium andraeanum 'Uni-wai' x A. lindenianum) and the miniature lavendar species, A. amnicola (Acc. 417). Like most hybrids of A. amnicola, the two cultivars were heavy producers of relatively small pink flowers.
'Pink Champagne', 'Andraecola-l', and Andraecola-2' are also hybrids involving A. amnicola. The small pink and red flowers of these cultivars should provide additional novel anthu-rium flowers for the commercial cut flower trade.

'Pink Champagne' (UH1149)
This cultivar originated from a cross made on April 30, 1983 between 'Anuenue' and A. amnicola. The seedling, UH 1149, was selected on May 21, 1987. Its characteristics are shown in Table 1. It was placed in tissue culture for advance test-ing in 1989. Plantlets were transported to the University Experiment Station in Hilo in 1991, and plants in individual pots were transferred to cooperating growers for advanced testing in 1993. A few flowering plants observed earlier at two locations showed promising results, therefore, UH1149 was named
'Pink Champagne'.
An attribute of 'Pink Champagne' is the at-tractive pink flowers that are broader than 'Misty Pink'. The vase life of about 20 days (in an air-conditioned room at about 70°F) is acceptable for a hybrid of A. amnicola. It gives a high yield of about 8.2 flowers per flowering stem per year. A weakness might be the relatively long inter-nodes probably inherited from the 'Anuenue' parent.

'Andraecola-l' (UH1208) and 'Andraecola-2' (UH1228)
'Andraecola-l' and 'Andraecola-2' are siblings from a cross made on October 26, 1983 between A. andraeanum (Acc. 481), collected by Dr. Michael Madison in Ecuador, and A. amnicola (Acc. 417). UH1208 was selected on November 30, 1988 and UH1228 on April 4, 1989. After several years of observation and evaluation at the Mauka Manoa Campus, we concluded that both should be elevated to advanced testing. We, therefore, placed both in tissue culture in 1993. We named them 'Andraecola-l' and 'Andraecola-2' combining Andrae from A. andraeanum and cola from A. amnicola.
The characteristics of both 'Andraecola-l' and 'Andraecola-2' are similar, and so only those of 'Andraecola-l' are presented in Table 1. The ma-jor differences between the two are as follow: 'Andraecola- 1 ' produces much longer flower stems, but the spathe size is slightly smaller. Spathe color and shape are similar. Both produce over 8 flowers per flowering plant stem per year. The vase life of about 21 days for both is slightly better than that of 'Pink Champagne'. The bright red spathes of 'Andraecola-l' and 'Andraecola-2' are unique among A. amnicola hybrids.

Table 1. Characteristics of 'Pink Champagne' and 'Andraecola-l '

Characteristics 'Pink Champagne' 'Andraecola-l'

Spathe
Size and Shape 4 1/2" long, 3 1/2" wide 4 1/4"long, 3 1/2" wide

Color Dark pink (RHSCC*51B) Light red (RHSCC 47A)

Position About 135° from stem About 90° from stem

Spadix
Size 2 l/4" long, 3/8" in diameter 2" long, 3/8" in diameter

Shape Upright Upright

Color Pink Red

Anthracnose Resistant Resistant

Flower Stem 18" long, 1/4" in diameter, 27" long, 1/4" in diameter,
erect erect

Leaf

Blade 10" long, 6 1/2" wide 12" long, 7" wide

Petiole 10" long, 1/4" in diameter 14" long, 3/16" in diameter

Yield 8.2 flowers per year 8.9 flowers per year

Vase Life 20 days 21 days

Internode Length Long Short

Sucker Production Moderate Moderate

Bacterial Blight Moderate tolerance Moderate tolerance

*Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart