Trial: Annual
Year Trialed: 2004 Year of Trial: First (from 2004 report)Good Qualities
Nice background color for bouquet filler; Strong stems, nice scent, nice green leaves; I really liked this flower in the three colors I trialed; Good; Healthy plants, no insects or diseases; Okay, but not quite as strong of a color as the ‘Lime Green’ in this series; Blends well with other flowers in bouquets; We had a cool wet spring and all Matricaria were substandard in performance; I will grow again and will be excited to see results, nice color alternative and great in bouquets; Easy to grow and so pretty but asters yellows can be a problem (Central U.S.) for me so I will stay away from this plant in my field; In the tunnel strong stems, flowering by July 6; Outside, strong stem, productive, individual florets attractive; We liked the color.Problems
Needs staking, which I didn’t do since I’ve never staked (support netted) the White tetra Matric (a staple crop here); No insect problem; Short, weedy looking; Flower heads tend to ‘brown’ in high humidity, rain; The center cut is much larger than the side shoots.Postharvest
Hydraflor/Floralife; Cut into plain water.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 | 5.0 | 14.9 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 4.6 | 101 | 7.9 |
| Range of Responses | 1-11 | 7-22 | 3 | 2-4 | 3-5 | 1-5 | 4-5 | 36-360 | 7-12 |
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 Magic Lime; In the tunnel, flowers too dense to make a good filler, a more open flower with smaller florets, and less stiff stems would make a more attractive filler; plants stopped flowering by mid-Aug in the tunnel (Zone 5) and did not resume; in contrast, the standard variety (White Wonder; Stokes) started to flower again in early September; Outside, flowers too dense and stiff to make a good filler; Outside: Magic White (stokes) is as productive, but has weaker stems, but also looser floret arrangement which works better in the vase; Rabbit and deer free in an area where this is a problem, very nice in market bouquets; In the tunnel, both varieties were nearly identical in stem height and yield per plant, stems were approximately 4 in (10 cm) shorter than White Wonder; Outside, this species grows better in the cooler conditions of outside, compared to the tunnel, but foliage yellowed after the main production season, and there was no regrowth, in the tunnel, the leaves stayed green, but only Magic White started blooming again late.