Helianthus 'Premier Light Yellow'

Trial: Annual

Years Trialed: 2002

Good Qualities

Nice lemon yellow (6); Very early to bloom (3); Very uniform, large heads, dark disk, short petals, no pollen; Harvest started early August (Zone 2); Single, side buds coming; Good form.

Problems

Too short (6); Tried to flower in flat (2); Large foliage; Cannot make a good appraisal, but I will try to grow these again; Unidentified pest only on this plant, small aphid-like black bugs, erupting from brown lesions on leaf midrib; Flowers very early; Spotty germination (Zone 2); I didn't like the pale color.

Comments

Similar in color to 'Valentine'; Light yellow, garden use; Mistaking them for 'Soryas'. I pinched these guys to encourage branching - Would have bloomed very early otherwise! - Instead, I sold them as 'spray sunflowers' - These were also a hit and people requested them for weeks; This crop was grown right next to other helianthus that grew to normal height - this one did not reach more than 24 inches; Early, harvested 7/26-7/29 (Zone 6/7); Appreciated by large growers of sunflowers, good for mass production.


Trial Data

Helianthus 'Premier Light Yellow'
Yield (stems/plant) Stem Length (inches) Market Appreciation Rating¹ Repeat Again Rating¹ Ease of Cultivation Rating¹ Average Spacing (in2)
Wholesale Retail Consumer
Average 1.1 20.2 3.7 3.1 3.0 3.4 4.1 129
Range of Responses 0-6 0-40 2-5 2-4 1-5 1-5 1-5 18-432


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