Trial: Perennial
Years Trialed: 1999, 2000Good Qualities
Year 1
Color (2); None; Good growth and stem length; Tall strong stems; Well established. Has been harvested, mostly done and still in good shape; Late flowering time, lack of pests and disease.Problems
Year 1
This flower is not attractive and does not hold up; Looks a lot like a fall aster; Large flower head. First flowers dead before there are enough flowers open to look good; Just not as nice as the wild form that grows locally. Flowers too loose and open not a tight cluster; Side flowers grow above center one then open much later.Comments
Trial Data
Year 1
| Yield (stems/plant)¹ | Stem Length (inches)¹ | Market Appreciation Rating² | Repeat Again Rating² | Ease of Cultivation Rating² | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average | 3.9 | 24.6 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 4.4 |
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.
Year 2
| Plants Surviving (%) | Yield (stems/plant)¹ | Stem Length (inches)¹ | Market Appreciation Rating² | Repeat Again Rating² | Ease of Cultivation Rating² | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wholesale | Retail | Consumer | ||||||
| Average | 80.0 | 4.8 | 42.3 | 2.0 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 5.0 |
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.
Year 1
Ironweed is beautiful in the field but not a good cut; Similar to Eupatorium; Too much like a fall aster to have much market appeal; Needs to be pinched to produce more smaller stems. Not successful as grown but might be better 2nd year. If we could get a smaller flower head with more flowers open at the same time; Looks better in native habitat without any care; I didn’t cut it because it looked like it would benefit from more vegetative growth.