The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Asteriscus plant botanically known as Asteriscus maritimus and referred to by the cultivar name ‘Asmago’.
The new cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the inventor in Enkhuizen, Netherlands. The new cultivar is an early flowering plant with a flat growth habit, good branching, large flowers, and silvery foliage with flowers all summer.
The new Asteriscus originated from a cross-pollination made by the inventor in September 2000 of a proprietary selection of Asteriscus maritimus identified as code number ‘A231-1’ not patented, as the female, or seed parent, with a proprietary selection of Asteriscus maritimus identified as code number ‘A323-1,’ not patented, as the male, or pollen parent. ‘A231-1’ is later flowering, has a more upright plant habit, and is not branching when compared to the new Asteriscus. ‘A323-1’ is not floriferous and has smaller flowers with shorter petals when compared to the new Asteriscus. The new Asteriscus was selected as a single plant from the resulting progeny of the cross-pollination in a controlled environment in Enkhuizen, Netherlands in August 2001.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal vegetative cuttings since August 2001, in Enkhuizen, Netherlands has shown that the unique features of this new Asteriscus are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.