Silene Orientalis

Trial: Annual

Years Trialed: 1998

Good Qualities

Good healthy plant (2); Grows fast; The color!; Stem length; Shape of the flower; No one knew what it was; Majority of plants lived through the summer; High germination; Low maintenance in the greenhouse.

Problems

Flower stem short (2); Biennial (2); One plant flowered in early September; Terrible germination; Weak little plants - hope they survive the winter

Comments

Will continue to grow this next year to see flower; I am using this as a biennial; Plants look good, bloom next spring?; If indeed this is an annual it is doomed here in Vermont! Germination was good. I gave plants to 2 others; we all had the same experience of extremely slow growth. By end of September, all the plants consisted of a small rosette about 5; across and a 1 2; high. All three of us wonder if this is not a biennial rather than an annual; Will leave in ground for next year's flowering; This looks like it will be a good perennial for Oklahoma & able to handle the adverse weather conditions; Started plants 4 weeks earlier than needed, but they went out to the field in good shape. Will comment next year.


Trial Data

Silene orientalis
Yield (stems/plant) Stem Length (inches) Market Appreciation Rating¹ Repeat Again Rating¹ Ease of Cultivation Rating¹
Average 3.5 16.9 3.0 3.7 3.8


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


Supplier

Benary Seed 1444 Larson St. Sycamore, IL 60178