Trial: Perennial
Years Trialed: 2002, 2003
Good Qualities
Year 1
Nice color (4); No insect or disease problems (3). Nice mint-like flower on bright foliage, very interesting look, herbal fragrance; Looks good going into winter - we hope; Vigorous grower; Seemed to be very easy to grow; Blue is always a good color; Very vigorous, long bloom period, beautiful plants.Year 2
Great blue (2); Early blue flower, very prolific; Tall flowers, very green foliage, very long vase life; Large flower heads, pretty tall, vigorous; Nice herby fragrance, clean bright green foliage.Problems
Year 1
Grasshoppers; Too short; Not sure when to cut, browning of old florets; Looks weedy but will wait until next year for good assessment; A little short, I am not sure about the plants' habit, hard to get straight stems.Year 2
What stage to harvest? some florets brown up before most flowers open; It would be really great if the stems were a little straighter; Way too short to be a commercial cut flower, some powdery mildew.Year 2
Weak stems and kind of a washed out blue color; This is such a good plant I have put in a 100 ft bed of it, hope I’m right about it - this is clear winner for 2002; Too short.Trial Data
Year 1
| Plants flowering (%) | Plants dead at end of summer(%) | Yield (stems/plant) | Stem Length (inches) | Market Appreciation Rating¹ | Repeat Again Rating¹ | Ease of Cultivation Rating¹ | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wholesale | Retail | Consumer | |||||||
| Average | 75.0 | 32.6 | 4.0 | 16.0 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 2.4 | 3.6 | 4.4 |
| Range of Responses | 0-100 | 0-100 | 0-10 | 12-20 | 1 | 1-2 | 1-3 | 1-5 | 3-5 |
¹1 to 5 scale, with 5 being the best. Market ratings are based on sales to wholesalers, retailers, or final consumers direct.
Year 2
| Yield (stems/plant)¹ | Stem Length (inches)¹ | Market Appreciation Rating² | Repeat Again Rating² | Ease of Cultivation Rating² | Average Spacing (in2) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wholesale | Retail | Consumer | ||||||
| Average | 67 | 43.5 | 21.5 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 4.8 |
| Range of Responses | 0-100 | 6-18 | 14-24 | 1 | 1 | 1-5 | 1-5 | 4-5 |
¹Data shown are from those respondents who harvested stems. Some respondents may not have harvested stems because they were too short. Flowering stems may be longer next year after plants are established. See comments section for more details.
²1 to 5 scale, with 5 being the best. Market ratings are based on sales to wholesalers, retailers, or final consumers direct.
Comments
Year 1
Similar to other nepeta; Hopefully will be taller next year.