Years Trialed: 2002
Good Qualities
Different color; Easy vigorous plant; Unusual - at least at our market - Good for LARGE arrangements - restaurant customers; Excellent height for green amaranthus, full spikes, will grow again; Interesting plant; Great mixer and filler for bouquets and arrangements, no insect problem.
Problems
Too short (4); Spikes are laying on ground - Secondary spikes will be upright, I think; Short, fat flowers - Hit the dirt at the 1st storm - Not useable, flea beetles liked this plant; Easy for the supply to exceed the demand for this crop; Very upright throughout the year... until we had a storm, the thick, heavy flowers fell over...require netting; Might consider closer spacing for smaller/more manageable size; The small leaves associated with the flower stalks were damaged by thrips (puckered looking) in harvest 1 and needed to be removed to improve the heads appearance; No insect problem; The color was washed out and it seemed to go brown in field fast - difficult to weed.
Comments
Similar to 'Red Cathedral'; A second harvest would have been possible in August with an average stem length of 20 inches and 4-6 stems per plant - By September the flower stalks were taking on a light green-yellow hue and weren't as attractive as in August - A certain amount of market development may be needed with this product; Loved the shape and firmness of stems and heads, a great added touch to arrangements, customers loved the uniqueness; I would try this again - Larger spacing would produce larger heads.
Trial Data
| Yield (stems/plant)¹ | Stem Length (inches)¹ | Market Appreciation Rating² | Repeat Again Rating² | Ease of Cultivation Rating² | Average Spacing (in2) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wholesale | Retail | Consumer | ||||||
| Average | 1.2 | 22.1 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 2.8 | 2.4 | 2.9 | 128 |
| Range of Responses | 0-6 | 3-48 | 2-5 | 2-5 | 1-5 | 1-5 | 1-5 | 18-432 |
¹Data shown are from those respondents who harvested stems. Some respondents may not have harvested stems because they were too short. Flowering stems may be longer next year after plants are established. See comments section for more details.
²1 to 5 scale, with 5 being the best. Market ratings are based on sales to wholesalers, retailers, or final consumers direct.
Supplier
Kieft Seeds P.O. Box 618 Conway, WA 98238
