ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 16 -- United States Patent no. 12,302,814, issued on May 20, was assigned to Bailey Nurseries Inc. (Saint Paul, Minn.).

"Hydrangea macrophylla plant named Bailmacseven" was invented by David Jonathan Roberts (Athens, Ga.), Justin Alan Schulze (Athens, Ga.) and Oren McBee (Bishop, Ga.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A new cultivar of Hydrangea macrophylla plant named 'Bailmacseven' is disclosed. Hydrangea macrophylla variety 'Bailmacseven' is characterized by the new foliage growth that is dark purple in color, the dark purple foliage that retains color throughout the summer into fall even in hot summer climates, the inflorescences with sterile sepals that are red-pink in ...