Trial: Perennial
Years Trialed: 2003, 2004Good Qualities
Year 1
It grows like a weed; The color was really nice; Plants were in good shape on arrival, large flower heads.Year 2
Kind of interesting for special work, but looks a bit weedy for my customers; Ease of cultivation; Good color, the crazy thing is my customers would rather buy johnson grass than this..go figure.Problems
Year 1
What are we supposed to cut, flower or foliage? flower was not impressive, too weedy looking.Year 2
Slow growing; Time consuming to harvest.Year 2
Keep in pots because I felt this grass is a weed;A designer's choice at the retail florist; Three trialers reported on the vase life: 7.5, 10 and 12 days, respectively.Trial Data
Year 1
| Plants flowering (%) | Plants dead at end of summer (%) | Yield (stems/plant) | Stem Length (inches) | Market Appreciation Rating¹ | Repeat Again Rating¹ | Ease of Cultivation Rating¹ | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wholesale | Retail | Consumer | |||||||
| Average | 80 | 0 | 1.3 | 29.6 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 5.0 |
| Range of Responses | 0-100 | 0 | 1-3 | 32-48 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1-4 | 5 |
¹1 to 5 scale, with 5 being the best. Market ratings are based on sales to wholesalers, retailers, or final consumers direct.
Year 2
| 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 | 92 | 15.8 | 39.1 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 2.3 | 3.4 | 4.6 |
| Range of Responses | 50-100 | 6-45 | 30-54 | 5 | 3-5 | 2-3 | 2-5 | 4-5 |
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.
Comments
Year 1
Next year this should take off!; We have native grasses that are more desirable for cuts; I think this will be a very nice grass when there are numbers to pick, the fall color is almost better than the summer color; These were grown in one gallon pots and planted out in September, no data as yet.