plant named ‘Sunny Disposition’

Botanical denomination:(L.) Sweet.

Variety designation: ‘Sunny Disposition’.

The first offer for sale of‘Sunny Disposition’ was to Plants Inc. by Walters Gardens, Inc. on Nov. 25, 2024. Since then, it has also been sold to Mason Hollow Nursery and Prides Corner Farms. Walters Gardens, Inc. obtained the new plant and all information relating thereto, directly from the inventor. No plants of‘Sunny Disposition’ have been sold, in this country or anywhere in the world, by any name, nor has any disclosure of the new plant been made more than one year prior to the filing date of this application, and such sale or disclosure within one year was either derived directly or indirectly from the inventor and would be a 35 U.S.C. § 102(b) exception.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of‘Sunny Disposition’. The new plant was selected as a single seedling from the cross by the inventor at a wholesale perennial nursery in Zeeland, Michigan between the unreleased, proprietary hybrid 16-15-1 (not patented) as the female or seed parent and the unreleased, proprietary hybrid 16-7-1 (not patented) as the male or pollen parent on Aug. 9, 2017. Seed was harvested on Nov. 24, 2017, and eventually the individual seedling was assigned the breeder code 17-11-26 during the trial period. ‘Sunny Disposition’ was approved in an initial evaluation in the summer of 2019 and slated for later introduction. The new plant was selected based on its compact habit, strong stems, ability to withstand lodging, mildew resistance, attractive colorful foliage, high-quality semi-double inflorescences over a long period, and ability to attract pollinators. The new plant has been asexually first propagated at the same perennial wholesale nursery by division in 2019 and later by shoot tip cuttings with the resultant asexually propagated plants remaining identical to the original plant, stable and true to type in successive generations.

Plants of the new false sunflower have not been observed under all possible combinations of environmental conditions and cultural practices. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environmental conditions comprising temperature, daylength, light intensity, and fertility, without, however, any variations in genotype.

The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of the newplant. These characteristics in combination distinguish ‘Sunny Disposition’ as a new and distinctplant:

The female parent has a shorter more compact habit with variegated foliage having green surrounding the veins and yellowish cream between the veins, and the inflorescences have fewer ray florets. The male parent has a larger habit with double inflorescences and variegated foliage having green surrounding the veins and yellowish cream between the veins.

The following cultivars are the most similar cultivars known to the inventor: ‘Asahi’ (not patented), ‘Double Sunstruck’ U.S. Plant patent application Ser. No. 14/121,359, ‘Loraine Sunshine’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 10,690, ‘Sunstruck’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 25,524, and ‘Touch of Blush’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 36,739.

‘Asahi’ produces smaller double inflorescences with yellow ray florets and solid green leaves. ‘Double Sunstruck’ has a shorter habit and more intensely variegated foliage with more white between the veins. ‘Loraine Sunshine’ has a taller habit, more intensely variegated foliage, and the inflorescences have a single row of ray florets. ‘Sunstruck’ has much shorter habit, the foliage has more white and less green, and the inflorescences have a single row of ray florets. ‘Touch of Blush’ has a slightly shorter and more compact habit, the foliage is more variegated with white and touches of purplish-red, and inflorescences have a single row of ray florets that have burnt orange center when young.

The following descriptions and color references are based on the 2015 edition of The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart except where common dictionary terms are used.‘Sunny Disposition’ has not been observed in all possible environments. The phenotype may vary slightly with different growing environments such as temperature, light, fertility, soil pH, moisture, and maturity levels, but without any change in the genotype. The following observations and size descriptions are based on three-year-old plants grown in a trial garden at a nursery in Zeeland, Michigan with supplemental fertilizer and water as needed and without growth regulators or pinching.