Trial: Annual
Years Trialed: 2001Good Qualities
Good color (5); Small flowering asters, attract customers and questions about them; Harvest whole plant, long-lived but Serenade's were better last year; Fair resistance to disease; Good in bouquets, didn't have a problem with insects like I usually do with other asters; I liked the size and shape of the flowers; Easy to grow, light staking (I did not and they stood pretty well); Lots of buds per plant, bloomed earlier than other asters; Good germination; Our shop loved them for some small arrangements.Problems
Too short (4); Aster yellows (2); Do not mix well with other flowers into a mixed bouquet; None; Harvested whole plant; Not eye catching enough by themselves; Sold ok when mixed with other asters (bigger flower), flowers are small and bright yellow disk a little prominent when opened; Melted in heat; Most died, very unthrifty (grown in heat of summer); Set buds too quick - no vegetative growth.Trial Data
| Yield (stems/plant) | Stem Length (inches) | Market Appreciation Rating¹ | Repeat Again Rating¹ | Ease of Cultivation Rating¹ | Average Spacing (in2) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wholesale | Retail | Consumer | ||||||
| Average | 1.0 | 14.6 | 2.0 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 2.2 | 3.2 | 125 |
| Range of Responses | 0-3 | 2-26 | 2 | 2-4 | 2-4 | 1-4 | 1-5 | 36-272 |
¹1 to 5 scale, with 5 being the best. Market ratings are based on sales to wholesalers, retailers, or final consumers direct.
Comments
'Sernade' series are look a-likes to the 'Daylight' series; Few plants were 21 inches with 11 to 12 stems; most were cut as single (one) bunch; It is tough to beat Aster 'Serenade!'; I really liked them and was very disappointed with lack of consumer response; This series didn't really distinguish itself from others, to my eye.