Trial: Annual
Years Trialed: 2006
Good Qualities
Very nice clear crisp white (2); 8/28- starting to form buds now, 9/8 - terminal flowers that were open were cut off to wait for sprays; Nice size blooms I have trouble selling white flowers, but I really liked it;Problems
Seed small, took forever to get big enough to go in the field, only got 10 plants to flower, so many other things are easier – this one not worth it, plus white flowers don’t work well with other colors I grow; Even though I got this in later, I planted it in my tunnel so got decent height; Too late!; This was the weakest of the three varieties we trialed this season, they germinated poorer than the other two, were shorter and the flowers were smaller; I have always wondered if I could grow lisianthus by seed, I found out that I’ll keep ordering plugs! However, it was a real challenge and I was “tickled pink”.Postharvest
Chrysal Professional #2. Note: Check out the separate postharvest article in this issue for more information on postharvest vase life and treatments.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 | 1.3 | 16.6 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 2.8 | 2.0 | 46.0 | 13.5 |
| Range of Responses | 0-2 | 8-28 | 1 | 3-5 | 3-5 | 1-4 | 1-4 | 32-72 | 10-18 |
¹1 to 5 scale, with 5 being the best. Market ratings are based on sales to wholesalers, retailers, or final consumers direct.
Comments
Lisianthus is such a valuable crop, I’m still having trouble figuring out how to plant which varieties so I get a longer season of blooms instead of it all blooming at once; Sown in greenhouse 2/20/06 in 128 tray, harvest 8/11; To nurture my few little plants that did make it, I was proud as a mother hen to actually grow a “few” lisianthus from seed.