Trial: Perennial
Years Trialed: 2002, 2003Good Qualities
Year 1
Great grass; gives movement to arrangement - mauve rose; Looks good going into winter - we hope; Good strong clumps; Nice bear grass like foliage, flower plumes 8 inches long and feather like; Nice for bouquet work; Good color, a tough plant, will get better every year.Year 2
Healthy strong clumps; It did very well and I think it will continue to get bigger and better, the plume is a nice color and it’s a tough plant; Nice bear grass like foliage, nice flower plumes 8 inches long and feather like.Problems
Year 1
Too short yet (2); Limited market; This is just a weedy looking grass - Nothing special about foliage or seed head; Grasshoppers.Year 2
Limited market.Year 2
Florist like this, I don’t think the wholesalers appreciate the plant because of small bunches, very slow to pick; Very similar to wild pennisetum growing on the dry side of the island of Hawaii, near sea level in lava fields, seems to be very tough and cold hardy in Zone 6.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 | 100.0 | 12.5 | 28.4 | 25.8 | 3.0 | 2.7 | 3.3 | 4.0 | 3.8 |
| Range of Responses | 100 | 0-50 | 3-80 | 14-36 | 3 | 1-4 | 1-4 | 1-5 | 1-5 |
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 | 75 | 36.7 | 34 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 4.7 | 5.0 |
| Range of Responses | 0-100 | 10-75 | 24-50 | 3 | 3-5 | 3-4 | 4-5 | 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.
Supplier
Walters Gardens (WG) P.O. Box 137 Zeeland, MI 49464 888-925-8377 FAX 800-752-1879sales@waltersgardens.com
Comments
Year 1
Very similar to wild pennisetum on the dry side of Hawaii, the big island; Similar to Pennisetum rubrum; Similar to many other pennisetums; I have grown straight species as annual with some results.