Trial: Annual
Years Trialed: 2002
Good Qualities
Beautiful red/gold bicolor (4); Fast to flower; Very uniform height and color, no pollen, axillary buds, very good flower form, overlapping petals; Dark green foliage; Long lasting, nice upright heads, petals stay on; Best of the dark colors, uniform grower, fast to finish; Consistent bicolor flowers, lots of stems; Very well received by consumers, color is unique and very appealing; Holds well, reported 8-10 day vaselife from florist and farmer market consumers.Problems
Too short (2); Bad seed mixes; We actually had purchased a packet of seed and it went in early with some success, the trial pack was sown late and only had maybe 10-12 plants to grow - While we did better with the earlier planting, the end result was: neck droops, petal drops and general dissatisfaction after florists purchased them; Lots of stem deformity; Wholesale and retail florists felt it was too different from their normal sunflowers and they thought the flower too soft - Retail florists said they liked it but did not buy it - Consumers loved the flower; Big centers; No problems.Trial Data
| Yield (stems/plant) | Stem Length (inches) | Market Appreciation Rating¹ | Repeat Again Rating¹ | Ease of Cultivation Rating¹ | Average Spacing (in2) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wholesale | Retail | Consumer | ||||||
| Average | 2.7 | 28.6 | 2.5 | 3.3 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 4.2 | 71 |
| Range of Responses | 0-10 | 12-48 | 1-4 | 2-5 | 3-5 | 2-5 | 3-5 | 12-144 |
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 'Galoridia', 'Orange Mahogany' and 'Sunbrights'; Sowed the seed with the planet junior, so had erratic spacing - I didn't thin too many out - I think customers are a little burned out on sunflowers here, so I didn't hear that many exclamations of awe - Also sowed later than usual but seemed to be fine - Would grow again; Matured in 47 days, first in test row of 16 varieties to mature, average flower size was 3 2-4 inches; The Florist seem to love all sunflowers this year - I liked the Sundown because it seemed to not blow out so fast compared to other sunflowers - The color also was a deep, solid yellow and that was wonderful - We sold 10 stem bunches at $15 each.