Trial: Perennial
Years Trialed: 2003, 2004Good Qualities
Year 1
Bright purple flower; Spectacular in bud, can’t wait till next year, nice blue color; Plants were in good shape on arrival, survived summer remarkably well, surprisingly well; Exceptional large flowers on long stems with very good vase life.Year 2
Great blue color (3); Nice stem quality, there aren't too many campanulas that will take our weather but this plant is not as robust or easy as 'Champion' so if you are looking for a bullet-proof campanula this probably isn't it; Early large flowers.Problems
Year 1
Deer love it; Few stems per plant in the first season, great plant if more stems in 2nd year.Year 2
Stems were too loaded with flowers, limited uses because too spectacular in size, floppy stem; Specific insects or disease problems; Some browning on petals.Year 2
Did not get much response from retail or wholesaler; Three trialers reported on the vase life: 7, 12, and 13 days, respectively. Editor's note: see separate postharvest article in this issue for more information.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 | 65 | 29 | 2.2 | 24.2 | 5.0 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 3.7 |
| Range of Responses | 0-100 | 0-100 | 1-4 | 9-40 | 5 | 2-5 | 3-5 | 2-5 | 2-5 |
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 | 78 | 8.4 | 23.2 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 3.2 |
| Range of Responses | 0-100 | 3-20 | 10.5-30 | 3 | 3 | 3-4 | 3-4 | 2-4 |
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
Similar to Campanula ‘Cup & Saucer’ type; This plant is of moderate degree of quality, looking for better results next year; The plants may not be dead, just died back with the heat, will know in spring; Campanula plants did not survive continuous rains, in general campanula as a perennial has been very short lived and unsuccessful for me; Hope this plant is hardy and increases stem count next year, possibly great plant if it does.