US-PP37420-P2 - Hydrangea plant named ‘BAICZ10’

Abstract

A new cultivar of Hydrangea arborescens plant named ‘BAICZ10’ that is characterized by its strong branches that resist lodging, its symmetrical and dense plant habit, its mophead medium-sized inflorescences with medium-sized sterile flowers, its inflorescences borne around the overall perimeter of the plant, its bright and vibrant rosy-pink sterile sepal color upon opening with sepal color transitioning sequentially to pink, a greyed-red color with a green background, green, and finally tan by the end of the growing season, and its dark green foliage color over a broad range of soil conditions.

Inventors

• David Charles Zlesak
• Gail Katherine Soens

Assignees

• BAILEY NURSERIES

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20250815

Claims (1)

1. 1 . A new and distinct cultivar of Hydrangea plant named ‘BAICZ10’ substantially as herein illustrated and described.

Description

Botanical classification: Hydrangea arborescens. Varietal denomination: ‘BAICZ10’. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Hydrangea arborescens and will be referred to hereafter by its cultivar name, ‘BAICZ10’. ‘BAICZ10’ represents a new smooth Hydrangea, a perennial shrub grown for landscape use. ‘BAICZ10’ was derived from an ongoing breeding program by the inventors in Cottage Grove, Minnesota. The goal of the breeding program is to create new cultivars of Hydrangea with strong stems, abundant blooms, compact and dense plant habits, good winter hardiness, uniform plant habit, resistance to foliar diseases, and ease of propagation and production. ‘BAICZ10’ originated from the cross pollination of two proprietary, non-patented, pink-flowered selections in 2019. ‘BAICZ10’ germinated in the greenhouse early February 2020 and was identified by April 2020 as having a desirable plant habit relative to its siblings, selected, and transplanted to a larger container. The original plant of ‘BAICZ10’ continued to be retained through additional cycles of selection due to its desirable plant habit and was field planted in July 2020. Asexual propagation of the new cultivar was first accomplished by softwood stem cuttings by one of the inventors in summer of 2022 in Cottage Grove, Minnesota. Asexual propagation by softwood and semi-hardwood stem cuttings has determined that the characteristics of the new cultivar are stable and are reproduced true to type in successive clonal generations. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The following traits have been repeatedly observed and represent the characteristics of the new cultivar. These attributes in combination distinguish ‘BAICZ10’ as a unique cultivar of Hydrangea arborescens. 1. ‘BAICZ10’ exhibits strong branches that resist lodging.2. ‘BAICZ10’ exhibits a symmetrical and dense plant habit.3. ‘BAICZ10’ exhibits mophead medium-sized inflorescences with medium-sized sterile flowers.4. ‘BAICZ10’ exhibits inflorescences borne around the overall perimeter of the plant.5. ‘BAICZ10’ exhibits a bright and vibrant rosy-pink sepal color upon opening with sepal color transitioning sequentially to pink, a greyed-red color with a green background, green, and finally tan by the end of the growing season.6. ‘BAICZ10’ exhibits dark green foliage color over a broad range of soil conditions. The maternal parent of ‘BAICZ10’ differs from ‘BAICZ10’ in that ‘BAICZ10’ has more intensely pink-colored blooms as they open, sepals that age with a reddish-colored overlay on the sepals versus green, and that ‘BAICZ10’ starts to flower a little bit later than its maternal parent in the landscape in Cottage Grove, Minnesota. The specific paternal parent of ‘BAICZ10’ is not known. Two similar and proprietary, non-patented pink-flowered selections were used as male parents on different inflorescences of the maternal parent plant. Seed was bulked from the two crosses that shared the same maternal parent to create the seedling population from which ‘BAICZ10’ was selected. ‘BAICZ10’ has more intense pink colored flowers upon opening than either of the two genotypes that were used as males to generate the population. ‘BAICZ10’ is most similar to Hydrangea arborescens cultivars ‘NCHA3’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 28,317) and ‘NCHA4’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 28,280). ‘NCHA3’ and ‘NCHA4’ are similar to ‘BAICZ10’ in having flowers that open pink in color. ‘BAICZ10’ has a brighter, more vibrant opening pink flower color, sterile florets that age with more red tones, and grows into a larger plant in USDA cold hardiness zone 4 than both ‘NCHA3’ and ‘NCHA4’. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying color photographs illustrate the overall appearance and distinct characteristics of the new Hydrangea. The photographs were taken of a plant five years in age as grown outdoors in a trial plot in Cottage Grove, Minnesota. The photograph in FIG. 1 provides a view of inflorescences of ‘BAICZ10’ with brightly colored and expanding sepals of the sterile florets. The photograph in FIG. 2 provides a view of a whole plant of ‘BAICZ10’ coming into full flower. The photograph in FIG. 3 provides a view of aging inflorescences displaying a reddish overlay of color on the sepals of ‘BAICZ10’. The colors in the photographs are as close as possible with the photographic and printing technology utilized and the color values cited in the detailed botanical description accurately describe the colors of the new Hydrangea. BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE PLANT The following is a detailed description of plants two years in age in 2-gallon containers in June 2025 in Cottage Grove, Minnesota, unless otherwise noted. The phenotype of the new cultivar may vary with variations in environmental, climatic, and cultural conditions, as it has not been tested under all possible environmental conditions. The color determination is in accordance with The 2015 Colour Chart of The Royal Horticultural Society, Lond