Trial: Annual

Years Trialed: 2002

Good Qualities

Beautiful rich violet color (10) (also described as deep red or burgundy); Good stem strength (2); Very productive (2); Good stem length (2); Very good; Easy, vigorous plant; Unique deep purple flower heads with light purple stamen; Quality of stems was also good; Looked especially striking in a tight bud stage such a dark color - That gorgeous one, I loved it; Customers love color and texture; Our farm stand customers loved them - Good strong straight stems, unlike previous scabiosa that I've grown, these didn't become all tangled and bent; Long bloom time, reblooms, still blooming 10/15 (Zone 7-8) after several frost, nice bloom size, didn't mind the dry summer without rain or irrigation; Color was richer in flowers that received partial shade (Zone 10) - We have very bright hot sun especially in August - Nice flower shape and form; Consumers liked them and they sold very well at our farm; Season-long blooms - Still blossoms after frost; Healthy plants; Especially in bouquet work with pinks, apricots, and lavenders - Great texture, both flowers and wiry stems; Much larger blooms than I have seen in Scabiosas before; Very long vase life; Great for fall, Xmas arrangements.

Problems

Not easy to cut (4); Flower heads snap off easily during harvest (2); Of entire packet (150 seeds) only 10 plants grew - one began to bloom by 10/1/02 when it was decided to rip them out to make room for winter annuals; Flower heads frequently opened in a non-uniform fashion giving the flower an awkward appearance; None other than the late bloom, 8/30 (Zone 5) - I finally started cutting; Wholesale and retail florists bought very few but said they liked them - Thought the stems to be too short - Relatively short vase life improved with Chrysal OVB; Should have used netting - Flower stems were thin and many; Needs netting; Beginning to bloom now, Oct 10 (Zone 4), strange because the other QIS are almost done.

Comments

Editor note: See the Postharvest Report in this issue for vase life and handling information. Similar to other scabiosa mixes, though the reds in these are much smaller; Similar to 'Olympia' Hybrids; The few blooms looked red - a deep merlot color, stems were 8-10 inches and a little wiry, kind of like gomphrena, perhaps, consequently it could be pesky to pick - This from folks who are having a grand time picking and selling as "mini-zinnies" the "Old Mexico" zinnies - Looks like the scabiosa I've grown from Stokes - Pretty much the same deep purple without the tangled stems - Some were different colors or shades of purple - Not age related either - Customers always love scabiosa and many exclaimed at these "Ohh, what are these."; I will be growing this flower next year for sure; Harvested 7/25 - still some blooms 10/22; Customers were especially attracted to these blooms, surprising in that they were scattered in bouquets and not the focal flowers; I would grow again.

Trial Data

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

Supplier

Kieft Seeds P.O. Box 618 Conway, WA 98238