Trial: Annual

Year Trialed: 2004 Year of Trial: First (from 2004 report)

Good Qualities

Unique color (9); Better than Envy (3); Strong stem (3); Vigorous; Many more double blooms than Envy, nice big doubles; More vigorous than Envy, but still a weaker, ugly plant; Popular at markets, people would ask for it; If you like this color, I guess it is a lime green, we just can=t warm up to the color, extremely productive, however, we just could not use them in the bouquets, that is why we picked so few stems; Similar growth as other colors (i.e., not distinctively weaker), productive, mixed well with other zinnia colors in fall; Built good height as season went on; Medium-large flower; Not as many double blooms as expected, but I will continue to grow for the color, planted late, but still blooming Oct. 31, zone 6/7.

Problems

Many were not double (4); Not quite as large a flower as I expected, many had same flower head size as Envy, saw little difference between Envy and this cultivar; No problems; This cultivar was in a shady spot and didn't do well - I would like to try it again next year; Not as durable as other colors in the series; Low yield; The edges of the petals turned brown very easily, just couldn't use this zinnia; Not true lime green in color, intense pest problems, mildew; Still some unusable flowers, not really enough of an improvement from Envy to warrant the extra cost; Seed germination was only approximately 50%; Plants susceptible to alternaria; Stems too short; Tended to turn brown if not picked immediately.

Postharvest

We use Hydraflor 2 hour, then Floralife, sometimes cool them at 37°F - not supposed to but they responded well; Water, morning cut, no cooler; Seems to be similar to other zinnias in vase life duration.

Comments

Similar to Envy (3); Lime is better for strong stem; More productive and less mildew-susceptible than Envy in tunnels; Flowers rarely looked as full, double or as nice as the promo pictures; These were everyone=s favorite; Needs additional work in breeding, low germination; Sowed directly into a 128 cell tray on 4/16/04, harvested flowers beginning 7/7/04; People who buy bells of Ireland like it; I hope others are having better success with this one; It needs to be tried again in better conditions and better disease control, perhaps with a seed treatment.

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

Benary Seed 1444 Larson St. Sycamore, IL 60178