Catananche Caerulea 'Cupids Dart White'

Trial: Annual

Years Trialed: 1997

Good Qualities

Awesome flower--looked sort of like a small garlic bulb on a stem. It looked about the same dried as fresh. I loved this; Flowers first year; Color, stems; Different, dries well;

Problems

Not really showy enough for my garden bouquets. Needs to be put in by the handful. Takes a long time to pick because it is small. Labor intensive; I can't keep these plant alive. They flowered and then died; Very poor germination...did not make it to the field; Slow grower; Crop failure. Spring too wet. Growth stunted from Treflan; The favorite of moles and pocket gophers.

Comments

We have a few in containers to try and overwinter for next season; No production this season but growth indicates production will be similar to blue cultivar. As with blue catananche I expect a usable cut flower, only drawback is that it is slow to harvest a marketable wholesale bunch; Plants were fairly short and didn't bloom much. I think they needed mulch and a little special care to get established. The soil seemed especially poor in the row where these plots were placed.


Trial Data

Catananche caerulea 'Cupids Dart White'
Yield (stems/plant) Stem Length (inches) Market Appreciation Rating¹ Repeat Again Rating¹ Ease of Cultivation Rating¹
Average 8.0 14 2.6 3.2 3.6


¹1 to 5 scale, with 5 being the best. Market ratings are based on sales to wholesalers, retailers, or final consumers direct.


Supplier

Kieft Seeds P.O. Box 618 Conway, WA 98238