New lilac varieties cultivated in BelSU Botanical Garden were registered internationally

The registration of these new lilac varieties, namely “Ekaterina Katukova” and “Marshal Katukov”, is a kind of a present for BelSU 145th anniversary. Mikhail Tretyakov, Deputy Head of BelSU Botanical Garden Genetics and Plant Breeding Laboratory, said that it took several years for the specialists to breed new varieties.

“The breeding material was handed over to BelSU Botanical Garden collection as part of the “Belgorod lilac” project in 2018 by the breeders of a creative group “Russian Lilac” and Tatiana Polyakova, Vice-president of International Lilac Society. Under their guidance two promising hybrid seedlings were selected. They enriched the collection of lilac varieties connected with a military-patriotic theme”, commented Mikhail Tretyakov.

New lilac varieties were named after Mikhail Katukov, Marshal of Armoured Troops, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, a participant of the Battle of Kurs, and his wife Ekaterina Katukova who was a chief of the medical service during the Great Patriotic War.

The “Ekaterina Katukova” lilac variety is distinguished by a large double flower cluster and mauve colour with a pearly shade. A flower is 0,6–1 inch in diameter. The “Marshal Katukov” lilac is of unique colour – light-blue with a clearly defined purple edge.

For reference: the “Belgorod lilac” project is being implemented by BelSU as part of the World-Class REC “Innovative solutions in Agri-Business”. The Botanical Garden lilac collection has more than 400 varieties and species so far and is the largest in the CIS.