Helianthus 'Summertime'

Trial: Annual

Years Trialed: 2002

Good Qualities

Early (2); Large flower, long broad petals, overlapped, very good color, with dark disk, uniform good stem; Good for arranging with other flowers; Nice strong yellow; Size and color sell well - Germinated well despite dry conditions - Would work well for wholesale to cut all at once; Pretty flowers with nice, rich yellow petals, nice looking disc; Good stem lengths, even when apical meristem is clipped (pinched); Large flower, met customer image of Asunflower@; Pollen-free; Single stem.

Problems

Too short (3); Outer petals too few (too large in perspective); Flower matured over a short time frame, consequently were only able to sell 25% of product; Not as early as the industry standards, big heads.

Comments

Similar to 'Sunny', 'Sunny Lemon', 'Jerusalem Gold', or 'Elite Sun'; Gold/dark disk; Matured in 64 days, flower size anywhere from 2-3 2 inches; Might not be as day-neutral as 'Sunrich Orange', further testing needed.


Trial Data

Helianthus 'Summertime'
Yield (stems/plant) Stem Length (inches) Market Appreciation Rating¹ Repeat Again Rating¹ Ease of Cultivation Rating¹ Average Spacing (in2)
Wholesale Retail Consumer
Average 0.8 27.6 3.5 4.0 4.0 3.9 4.3 138
Range of Responses 0-2 3-50 2-5 3-5 2-5 1-5 3-5 18-360


¹1 to 5 scale, with 5 being the best. Market ratings are based on sales to wholesalers, retailers, or final consumers direct.


Supplier

Seedsense Ltd. 7, Bradfield Close North Walsham Norfolk NR28 oHL England