Trial: Annual

Years Trialed: 1997

Good Qualities

Flowered early than other cultivars (2). It is nice to use in crafts or in mix bouquets; I liked the fullness of each stem! I also like the texture of just the foliage in fresh arrangement; Drought resistant; Excellent height, very prolific; Nice fragrance, quite a conversation piece. Germinated well and fast in greenhouse. We also tried direct sow-but it was not successful for us; I love how this plant smells. I think it's very attractive as a filler in arrangements as long as it hasn't started to flower; No problems; Makes an excellent dried green when harvested in the seed stage (Late harvest).

Problems

This is a nice plant from occasional use but the wholesalers view it as a green and you don't get a good price for it; Leaves close to main stem turned brown before they bloomed good, so they needed to be picked off--this could have been because we had so much moisture this season; Plant stems so large, quite a mess cleaning up in fall; I was never sure when to cut it or what it was supposed to look like. The blooms never opened-it was never like Ralph's picture at the conference--I think our weather is too moist; Looks like a big dumb weed if allowed to flower. These got attacked by spider mites in mid-summer.

Comments

I couldn't tell it was different from the other Artemesia I grew this year; Planted Sweet Annie 6 years ago, have been fighting it since, it came up all over our 20 acres, just what I needed--one that blooms and goes to seed a month earlier!; I felt it needs a hotter climate as it never looked crisp and fresh; This should be grown for a once-over harvest while juvenile or harvest before it begins to bloom then see if it will regrow. I waited too long to cut this plant-plants were too mature.

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