Trial: Annual
Year Trialed: 2006
Good Qualities
Great color (3); Plants are vigorous, largest of those in our trial, colour looks usable - medium true purple, plant is too immature to harvest full stems- this is our fault for not planting early enough; Very pretty; Delphiniums are so great and a top seller; Strong plants; Beautiful full flower stems; Grew great for us in the greenhouse, we harvested the main stem and then had side shoots that were very nice too - sold every stem.
Problems
Poor germination (2); I have powdery mildew problems with delphinium, so if I get one cut per plant I’m happy, wasn’t really impressed with the color, but I’d grow again; For us it’s a more productive plant in its second season; transplanted about 20 plants to the field and they did not thrive: 11 plants did survive, a couple put on late spikes, these plants may come back nicer in the spring.
Similar Cultivars
Centurion and Guardian series.
Postharvest
All of my delphinium are STS-treated to prevent shattering.
Comments
The center, initial flower spike is almost too large to be used in anything but a gigantic arrangement so we prefer the smaller side branches; Planted in 200 cell tray on 2/13 and put in cooler for two weeks; - My customers went crazy for this, plus we were picking it into July- which was hot, we had 50% shade on the greenhouse.
Trial Data
| 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 | 1.2 | 24.8 | - | 5.0 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 3.2 | 136.8 | 10.3 |
| Range of Responses | 0-1 | 20-36 | - | 5 | 4 | 3-5 | 2-4 | 36-216 | 9-12 |
¹1 to 5 scale, with 5 being the best. Market ratings are based on sales to wholesalers, retailers, or final consumers direct.
Supplier
American Takii 301 Natividad Rd. Salinas, CA 93906
