for gene expression analysis.
During the petal sampling of on-tree flowers, in-vase treatment of P. suffruticosa flowers was conducted. Flowers at soft bud stage (S1) were trimmed to 25 cm in stem length with all leaves removed and placed with their stem end in 80 mL distilled water in glass vials (one flower per vial) for in-vase treatment. Vase conditions were 21–23◦C and 50–60% RH, and
a 16 h photoperiod with an illumination of ∼40 mol m−2
s−1 The solution was replaced every 24 h. Sampling for anthocyanin accumulation and gene expression analysis in the in-vase flowers at later developmental stages (S2–S5) during vase life was carried out in the same way as mentioned above for on-tree flowers.