Trial: Annual
Year Trialed: 2007Good Qualities
Stunning deep blue color (4); Drought tolerant, very tolerant of high saline water; This series is easier to grow than other larkspur I have tried and all three cultivars responded the same, the only difference was the color, the colors were wonderful with deep rich purple, rose (even with the stripe) and blue; Excellent to dry- keeps color; Early, good stem length; Grew well transplanted into tunnel in early spring, good color variety although customers did not appreciate as much as I thought they would; Full flower spikes, bloomed within 90 days from seeding, remained upright without support; A true blue is a thing to be held- our customers loved the color quality of this cultivar; Tons of blooms, very uniform.Problems
The color was not appealing; Wilted quickly during harvesting if not immediately placed in water; Weak plants, susceptible to disease and petals spotted in the rain; Some seedling loss in the field but most survived and produced nice stems; Too small to be profitable in bouquets; More disease issues that QIS mix grown next to it; We experienced some shattering of lower blossoms if we just slightly delayed harvest; Lodged after a big rain but we did not provide support for the plants; First time growing larkspur in high tunnels, it eventually germinated in mid-April, rather erratically and after we’d given up hope, I transplanted young plants to consolidate space without any adverse effects on crop, we sold a couple of bunches but overall the stems were too short which I think was due to erratic germination, no pest or disease problems.Similar Cultivars
Planted the Cannes series next to two other mixtures that I have had moderate success with and these three cultivars outperformed my comparison larkspur - this was one of my successes in the variety trial this year along with the sunflowers and kale; Dark Blue Sublime.Trial Data
| Yield (stems/plant) | Stem Length (inches) | Market Appreciation Rating¹ | Repeat Again Rating¹ | Ease of Cultivation Rating¹ | Average Spacing (in2) | Average Postharvest Life (days) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wholesale | Retail | Consumer | |||||||
| Average | 2.8 | 26.2 | - | 3.0 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 77 | 6.8 |
| Range of Responses | 0.5-12.5 | 16-36 | - | 3 | 1-5 | 1-5 | 1-5 | 36-144 | 6-7 |
¹1 to 5 scale, with 5 being the best. Market ratings are based on sales to wholesalers, retailers, or final consumers direct.
Comments
Great for bouquets, added a nice quality, easy to break tips of flowers off in handling but typical of any cultivar and not unique to Cannes series; First to bloom of Cannes series; Late in the life cycle, we always get powdery mildew, but 'Cannes Deep Blue' seemed most resistant.