Trial: Annual
Year Trialed: 2004 Year of Trial: First (from 2004 report)Good Qualities
Beautiful bi-color (8); Mixed well or by itself, strong stems, well accepted; Strong-stemmed dark colored sunflower, a welcome break from the usual weak-necked darker introductions; Favorite new sunflower, quick crop time; Best bi-color I’ve grown, very uniform production; Flower coloration distinctive, useful for fall bouquets, fast, nice size, consistent, flowers and height plant; Nice petal formation, strong stem, but not too thick, nice head size; Two weeks earlier than ‘Ring of Fire’; Nice flower size.Problems
Drops petals readily in postharvest (2); No problems (2); Stems are very thick! A lot of market customers did not like this, too big for florist use. I would not grow again because of this; Poor germination; Coloration - brownish red; color fades in bright sunlight, final coloring faint; Opens fast and turns sideways, color could be a more contrasting bi-color like ‘Orange Mahogany’; Weak stems, floppy flower heads.Postharvest
Used Floralife; Did not use any postharvest treatment; Did not refrigerate; water only. Editor’s note: see separate postharvest article in this issue for more information.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 | 1.0 | 41.7 | 3.5 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 4.4 | 87 | 7.7 |
| Range of Responses | 1 | 24-60 | 3-4 | 3-5 | 2-5 | 2-5 | 2-5 | 18-144 | 4-12 |
¹1 to 5 scale, with 5 being the best. Market ratings are based on sales to wholesalers, retailers, or final consumers direct.
Comments
Similar to ‘Terra Cotta’, ‘Ring of Fire’, and ‘Orange Mahogany’; One of the better of a 10 varieties tried; Not particularly good, contrast of colors; Will definitely grow again; Good single stem.