Good Qualities
Color was a luscious deep red (6); Burgundy leaves (2); Customers liked it; Strong flower - 1st snap to bloom; Bloomed over a month; Long sturdy stems; produced second flush in fall; Very productive, good recovery after hot summer.
Problems
None; Pinched them- wouldn't do this again; Prefer central great stem and the auxillaries seem better then also; Bloomed at about 8 inches before croaking - apparently don't like weeks of 90°F+ - this was not the summer to try winter types in the field in summer; Short branches formed just below main flower are a major fault, especially as weather got hot.
Comments
Coming across cultivars such as this, makes doing the trials very worthwhile - Thanks!; Excellent color, we pinched plants and treated like all snaps, a little short, but usable, did not like our extreme heat of summer (Zone 4) - but were very nice for late August, September and still going in October; General comments on trial (Zone 5, applied to all snaps varieties trialed): Trial grown outdoors on green plastic mulch (Solar mulch), trickle irrigation, 4 rows on a 9 x 9 inch spacing, one layer of Hortinova netting put up shortly after transplanting, season was hot most of the summer, but moderated into the fall, and did not frost until late October - during the summer heat, all varieties stopped producing flower heads, but the Group II varieties resumed production in mid-September, yielding about one third of their total production then.
Trial Data
| Yield (stems/plant)¹ | Stem Length (inches)¹ | Market Appreciation Rating² | Repeat Again Rating² | Ease of Cultivation Rating² | Average Spacing (in2) | Average Postharvest Life (days) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wholesale | Retail | Consumer | |||||||
| Average | 9.9 | 17.9 | 3.0 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 179 | 7.1 |
| Range of Responses | 5-19 | 14-21 | 2-4 | 2-5 | 3-5 | 2-5 | 4-5 | 48-432 | 4-9 |
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
Benary Seed 1444 Larson St. Sycamore, IL 60178
