1. Freising-Weihenstephan SunPatiens & New Guinea Impatiens cold tolerance trials April 2012 Garry Grueber / Cultivaris

2. Climate-controlled greenhouse compartments for NG/SP trials

3. SP/NGI trials at 12°C in temperature-controlled greenhouse compartment

4. Overview of 12°C compartment, 9 cvs, 4 repetitions with 10 plants/repetition SP Compact Orange SP Compact Magenta

5. SP Compact Magenta at 12°C – very vigorous and healthy

6. SP Compact Deep Rose SP Compact Orange SP Compact Magenta Overview 12°C compartment

7. NGI cv at 12°C, showing stunted growth and chlorosis

8. SP Compact Orange showing root development in hydroponic system at 12°C

9. NGI cv showing substantially weaker root growth in hydroponic system at 12°C

10. NGI cv showing leaf twisting at 12°C

11. NGI cv showing stunting and leaf deformation at 12°C

12. Lush growth of SP Compact Magenta at 12°C

13. Stunting and chlorosis with NGI cv at 12°C

14. Stunting, leaf deformation, anthocyanin influx and leaf drop with NGIs at 12°C

15. Severe stunting of NGI cv at 12°C, leaf drop and botrytis infection

16. SP Compact Orange grown in soil at 12°C, substantially smaller than plants grown in hydroponic system

17. SP Compact Orange at 12°C in hydroponic system: substantially larger and lusher due to optimized nutrition levels

18. Comparison between NGI cv (left) with SunPatiens Compact cv (right) at 12°C

19. Root system of NGI cv at 12°C

20. Root system of SP Compact Orange at 12°C

21. SP/NGI trials at 16°C in temperature-controlled greenhouse compartment

22. Overview 16°C compartment SP Compact Orange (significantly larger and lusher)

23. Overview 16°C compartment SP Compact Magenta

24. SP Compact Deep Rose SP Compact Magenta Trials in 16°C compartment

25. SP Compact Deep Rose at 16°C

26. Root system of SP Compact Orange at 16°C

28. Aggressive root system of SP Compact Orange, with individual roots growing right through styrofoam

29. Comparatively weaker root growth with NGI cv

30. Results of climate compartment trials Plants were always lusher and larger in hydroponic system due to optimized nutrient availability and uptake Flowers and buds were constantly removed and weighed, but it was confirmed that SunPatiens were substantially earlier to flower at all temperatures. SunPatiens have a more aggressive and larger root system At 12°C, SP Compact Orange and Compact Magenta had about 3 times the fresh mass of comparative NGI varieties Compact Deep Rose is substantially smaller than Compact Orange and Compact Magenta, especially at lower temperatures – comparable in size and performance to standard NGIs

31. SP/NGI climate-chamber trials with extreme cold stress (8°C and 4°C, control 20°C) to induce ethane production (instead of ethylene); goal was to see if ethane can be used as a quick test for cold tolerance. Cold exposure: 3-4 weeks

32. SP/NGI climate-chamber trials with extreme cold stress (8°C, after cultivation at 20°C) Cold exposure: 3-4 weeks

34. Same NGI/SP assortment as in hydroponic trials

35. Foliage drop and anthocyanin development at 8°C with NGI cv

36. SP Compact Magenta looking good at 8°C

37. Leaf twisting with NGI cv at 8°C

38. Leaf drop and botrytis with NGI cv at 8°C

39. SP Compact Orange looking good at 8°C

40. SP Compact Orange

41. What can we learn from these experiments?

42. SunPatiens thrive and perform at substantially lower temperatures than standard New Guinea Impatiens

43. At all three temperature regimes, SunPatiens were quicker to finish and quicker to flower than standard New Guinea Impatiens

44. Root mass and root development is significantly stronger and fuller with SunPatiens than with standard New Guinea Impatiens

45. Nutrient uptake is significantly higher with SunPatiens than with standard New Guinea Impatiens, hence need higher fertilizer rates for full performance

46. Without hardening off, SunPatiens will also suffer from sudden exposure to really low (above-freezing) temperatures.

47. Within the Compact series, there are still substantial differences in vigor, performance and cold tolerance between cultivars

48. Intense breeding and selection is needed to “true up” the Compact series and create a truly uniform, grower-friendly series

49. Most important: with SunPatiens, we have an exceptional product line that will perform extremely well under conditions that will damage and stunt competitive lines

50. Further research is needed to screen all SunPatiens varieties in the assortment, and all future varieties in the pipeline, in regard to cold tolerance

51. Further research is also needed to compare the cold tolerance of SunPatiens varieties with competitive lines such as SunHarmony

52. Many thanks and recognition goes to Dümmen for financing much of the research conducted, and for allowing us to share with the network