Trial: Annual

Years Trialed: 1998

Good Qualities

Color (3); Extremely long lasting (2); Long stems (2); Dries well; The copper-color was better than the yellow color since it dropped few seeds; Great for fall arrangements; Side stems nice as filler in bouquets; Ease of cultivation – did very well in heat and drought situations, relatively pest & disease free; High germination; Holds color well; Bronze flower and stem, very eye-catching, received a lot of attention from viewers of trial; Thick stems; Impressive.

Problems

Too big (2); The yellow-gold ones dropped too many seeds; We couldn't give this stuff away–neither to floral customers or at our farmer's markets; Plant looks like a weed.

Comments

Pinch to encourage large side shoots and remove the excessively large center head (3); Similar to red root (pig weed) (2); Size of heads too large for small bouquets; Customers liked them for dried more than fresh; Good unusual specimen; We had a lot of variability. We had three different phenotypes from our seed packet!; Similar to amaranth!; Would sell better combined with red types; Different from A. caudatus in that it didn't branch as freely.

Trial Data

¹1 to 5 scale, with 5 being the best. Market ratings are based on sales to wholesalers, retailers, or final consumers direct.

Supplier

Cramers' Posie Patch 116 Trial Rd. N. Elizabethtown, PA 17022 717-367-9494 FAX 717-367-8666