Summer Annuals Trial Report
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, North Carolina
2004
Robert E. Lyons
Professor and Director
With Technical Assistance from
Bernadette Clark and Jeremy Rogers
Department of Horticultural Science
JC Raulston Arboretum
Table of Contents
General Introductory Notes and Acknowledgements
Understanding Our Data
Climate Graphs
Variance
Plant Material Sources
Top 10
Best of
Breed
Leaders
of the Pack
Early
Season Leaders of the Pack
Late
Season Leaders of the Pack
Cultivar
Series Summaries
Special Supplement/Winter 2003-2004 Trials Report
General Introductory Notes and Acknowledgements
The Trial Gardens for seasonal color plant materials are located at NC State University within the JC Raulston Arboretum (JCRA) in Raleigh. The JCRA is an 8 acre site administered by the Department of Horticultural Science and located on 35° 47'N latitude, longitude 78° 42' W, with an elevation of 400 feet.
Plants to be entered into our trials are received in a variety of ways. About half are germinated from seeds while the remainder originate as rooted cuttings or established cell plugs. Virtually all are grown within controlled greenhouse environments prior to placement in protected outdoor structures for hardening off. They were planted into their permanent trial bed locations on April 22, 2004, but several "late comers" were planted upon receipt from participating companies. The predominant plant spacing in the trials was 18 inches x 24 inches (in-row x between-row spacing). Seven plants of each entry were used to evaluate landscape performance and ratings were taken weekly.
Acknowledgements
We are especially grateful to the North Carolina Commercial Flower Growers Association for their generous financial support of our student intern, Jeremy Rogers, who was responsible for the maintenance of our trials.
We thank the following companies for their support of material donations:
• Coor Farm Supply, P.O. Box 525, Smithfield,
NC 27577
• Dillen Products, P.O. Box 738, Middlefield,
OH 44062
• Fafard, Inc., P.O. Box 26, Anderson, SC 29622
• The Scotts Co., 14111 Scottslawn Road, Marysville,
OH 43041
The assistance, in no particular order, from Beth Hardin, Tim Ketchie, Ingram McCall, Ann Green, Bradley Holland, Diane Mays, Anne Calta, Valerie Tyson, Chris Glenn, and Robbie Wooten is also acknowledged with much appreciation!
We are especially thankful to other departmental staff and the volunteers of the JC Raulston Arboretum who assisted in transplanting and maintaining the annual beds throughout the growing season....we couldn't have done it without you all!
Robert E. Lyons
Professor & Director
(919) 513-7006
bob_lyons@ncsu.edu
Bernadette Clark
Horticulture Research Technician
(919) 513-1213
bernadette_clark@ncsu.edu
Understanding Our Data
Number of Weeks in Flower
This is recorded as the total number of weeks in flower throughout the entire season. It should give you an idea of whether or not a plant is best used for the whole season or as a "fill-in" for special displays. Obviously, those species grown for foliage interest alone, e.g. Acalypha, may score poorly in this column and should not be rejected based on this value alone!
Weekly Ratings
Plants were given a visual rating weekly by the same person beginning May 20, 2004 (about three weeks after planting) through October 1, 2004. The overall rating was based on plant performance and appearance, including floriferousness, plant size and shape, and freedom from insect and disease problems. The rating scale ranged from 1 (very poor) to 5 (excellent) with 0.5 unit increments possible; a 0 rating indicated that all plants of the cultivar trial died.
Summaries of Weekly Ratings
The first statistic that readers run to is likely the "all season average." This value represents overall performance for the entire summer season. However, realizing that there are many species/cultivars which may do better in one part of the growing season versus another, we also provide an "early season average" and "late season average" for each entry. The former is the average of the first 8 weeks of the evaluation period and the latter represents the end of the season. This information may be useful in planning short term plantings with high impact as well as for studying temperature preferences, life cycle changes, and/or the impact of photoperiod on plant performance. The "number of weeks rated above 3" gives you an idea of how consistently throughout the season an entry is an exemplary performer.
The Lists You'll Find In This Report
• "The Top 10" - this list shows the species/cultivars with the top ten "All Season Averages." These were our best overall performers. When the list exceeds ten, there were ties.
• "Leaders of the Pack" – lists all species/cultivars with an "All Season Average" of 3.0 or better. We consider this the arbitrary cutoff rating for a "significant performer" in Raleigh. This list shows all your best choices for planting, listed by plant name.
• "Leaders of the Pack – Early Season" – this shows entries with "Early Season Averages" of 3.0 or better based on the first 8 weeks of evaluation. This group may prefer cooler temperatures or only have a relatively short ornamental life, and might not show up on the "Leaders of the Pack" list above.
• "Leaders of the Pack – Late Season" – this shows entries with "Late Season Averages" of 3.0 or better based on the end of the season evaluations. They may prefer very warm temperatures or flower as daylengths start to shorten, again sometimes precluding them from inclusion on the overall "Leaders of the Pack" list.
• "Best of Breed" - shows the best performing cultivars in each species.
• "Summary by Series" - groups the information for cultivar series where appropriate. This can be a quick reference for related cultivars as well as a handy tool to judge the general performance of an entire series offered by a breeder/company.
Want Additional Copies of this Report?
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www.ncsu.edu/jcraulstonarboretum
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The Average Monthly Precipitation and Temperature for the Summer 2004 Trials
Variance
Variance: The Best of Uniformity
Sometimes I think that the one number most often overlooked in our report is the variance. Go to the "Leaders of the Pack" data tables and look for its column. The term itself may intimidating in light of its mystery, but need not be as it can be most informative. Simply put, the lower the variance, the most alike all plants are in the group evaluated, and hence the greater the uniformity. For so many in the commercial landscaping sector, they live and die by uniformity because appearance can be everything. So, by using a selected variance value of 0.1 as our very tough cut-off, we can really see which plants are setting the standard for superb uniformity. In many cases our results have confirmed some excellent reputations, for others, it's a first time notice. Coreopsis 'Early Sunrise' performed up to its expected historical par as a first class performer; the impatiens cultivars Fiesta Sparkler Hot Pink, Pixie Hot Rose, and Tempo Pearl met our test, indicating excellent plant to plant uniformity; 'Blushing Susie' thunbergia was outstanding in this regard, most noteworthy in that it is a vine; and it was good to see the 'Aztec Cherry Red' verbena up there, too, as this group of plants is finding quite a popular following.
Variance: All Over the Page
Whereas small variance values indicate excellent uniformity, the opposite can point out cultivars with a "mind of their own!" They are not necessarily a poor choice, just not ruler perfect. In this case, plants with variance values of 1.0 or more were highlighted for great differences observed during the season. Making this cut were Dianthus 'Amazon Rose Magic', Diascia 'Whisper Salmon Red Improved', Geranium 'Florever Red', Petunia 'Ramblin Lavender' and 'Sweet Surprise Purple', Phlox 'Intensia Neon Pink', Portulaca 'Margarita Scarlet', and two vincas, 'Heatwave Red' and 'SunStorm Mix'. Please note that we thought a lot of the phlox for many other reasons, so high variability is not the sole measure for rejection. A litany of marigolds also fell onto our list but Raleigh is normally a tough go for these plants, so we shouldn't be too surprised.......the 'Atlantis' series, 'Hero' series, 'Discovery Orange', and the 'Safari' series we tested were very variable. To be fair, there are many reasons for a lack of uniformity, most likely of which would simply be the result of our normal or extreme weather. This year, it would be safe to assume that our exceptional rainfall had a significant impact on plant performance.......but variance can also help us identify the very best for our area.
Seed and Plant Material Sources
Please get in touch with these people if you have specific questions regarding individual species and cultivars.
Seed and Plant Material Sources (revised 01/05/04)
| COMPANY | CONTACT PEOPLE/PHONE NUMBER | ADDRESS |
| All-America Selections | Linda Linda Schranz Phone: (630) 963-0770 |
1311 Butterfield Road Suite 310 Downers Grove, IL 60515-5606 |
| American Takii, Inc. | John Powers Phone: (800) 825-4405 |
301 Natividad Road Salinas, CA 93906-1401 |
| Agri Starts IV, Inc. | Bruce Carpenter Phone: (352) 385-2663 |
3941 Britt Road Mount Dora, FL 32757 |
| Ball Seed Co. | Susan Schmitz Phone: (800) 879-2255 ext 3289 |
P.O. Box 335 West Chicago, IL 60185 |
| J.P. Bartlett Co., Inc. | Michael Hoffman Phone: (800) 552-2278 |
578 Boston Post Road Sudbury, MA 01776 |
| Bear Creek Gardens | Cecile Poole Phone: (800) 877-6737 |
P.O. Box 9100 Medford, OR 97501 |
| Ernst Benary of America, Inc. | Rudolf Sterkel Phone: (815) 895-6705 |
1444 Larson Street Sycamore, IL 60178-9705 |
| Ball FloraPlant | Keith G. Guimon Phone: (630) 231-3327 ext 3327 |
622 Town Road West Chicago, IL 63185 |
| Bodger Seeds Ltd. | Steve Jones Phone: (626) 442-6161Jason Riley (Pansy Trials) Phone: (626) 442-6161 |
1800 North Tyler Avenue So. El Monte, CA 91733-3618 |
| Campbell Road Nursery | Phil Campbell Phone: (919) 851-5108 |
2804 Campbell Road Raleigh, NC 27606 |
| Daehnfeldt, Inc. | Jorn Egeskov Phone: (219) 982-7969 |
P.O. Box 38 N. Manchester, IN 46962 |
| De Vroomen Holland Garden Products | Tom Hudak Phone: (919) 661-1482 |
8121 Middleton Road Garner, NC 27529 |
| Proven Winners | Kerry Strope Phone: (573) 635-2877 |
1508 Hough Street Jefferson City, MO, 65101 |
| Paul Ecke Ranch | Dawn Woodruff Phone: (760) 753-1134 |
P.O. Box 230488 Encinitas, CA 92023-0488 |
| Farmen | Marc Englert Phone: (805) 990-8839 |
P.O. Box 13408 San Luis Obispo, CA 93406-3408 |
| Fides North America | Adalberto Rodriguez Phone: (011) 506-442-1849 |
P.O. Box 1860 4050 Alajuela Costa Rica |
| Fischer USA, Inc. | Harvey Lang Phone: (303) 415-1466 |
2995 Wilderness Place Suite 102 Boulder, CO 80301 |
| Fred C. Gloeckner & Co. | Jeff Nameth Phone: (828) 687-8509 |
600 Mamoneck Avenue Harrison, NY 10528 |
| Flowerfields-Goldsmith | Steve Swart Phone: (800) 549-0158 |
2280 Hecker Pass Hwy Gilroy, CA 95021-1349 |
| Grimes Seeds and Plants | Rod LeDrew Phone: (800) 241-7333 |
11335 Concord-Hambden Concord, OH 44077 |
| Heronswood Nursery | Phone: (360) 297-4172 | 7530 NE 288th Street Kingston, WA 98346 |
| Hoffman Nursery | Phone: (919) 479-6620 or (800) 203-8590 |
5520 Bahama Road Rougemont, NC 27572 |
| Jackson & Perkins Wholesale | Cecile Poole Phone: (541) 864-2660 |
P O Box 9100 Medford, OR 97501 |
| Johnny's Selected Seeds | Terry Allen Phone: (207) 437-4301 |
Foss Hill Road Albion, ME 04910 |
| Kingwood Center | Charles Applegate Phone & Fax: (419) 522-0211 |
900 Park Avenue West Mansfield, OH 44906-0211 |
| Lakeview Gardens | Ralph Repp Phone: (828) 456-684 |
423 Country Road Waynesville, NC 28786 |
| Henry F. Michell | Steve Sorrells Phone: (828) 648-7741 |
P.O. Box 60160 King of Prussia, PA 19406 |
| North Carolina Farms, Inc. | Mick Donahue | |
| North Carolina Botanical Garden | Dot Wilbur or Janice Bryan Phone: (919) 962-0522 |
UNC-CH CB3375 Totten Center Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3375 |
| Oglevee, Ltd. | Chris Fetcko Phone: (800) 437-4733 |
152 Oglevee Lane Connellsville, PA 15425 |
| PanAmerican Seed Co | Susan Schmitz Phone: (800) 879-2255 ext 3289 |
P.O. Box 438 West Chicago, IL 60185 |
| Park Seed Co. | Denise Attaway Phone: (800) 845-3369 |
1 Parkton Avenue Greenwood, SC 29647-0001 |
| PlantHAvenuen | Karen Bunting Phone: (563) 547-2361 |
|
| PLANTPEDDLER/ DUMMEN USA | Stacy J. Bryant Phone: (563) 547-2361 |
530 2nd Avenue SW Cresco, IA 52136 |
| K. Sahin | Niels Steenvoorden | Zaden B.V. |
| Sakata Seed America, Inc. | David Jewell, Area Manager Phone: (859) 823-1007 |
P.O. Box 174 Dry Ridge, KY 41035-0174 |
| Singing Springs Nursery | Pam Baggett | 8802 Wilkerson Road Cedar Grove, NC 27231-9394 |
| Syngenta Seeds, Inc. | Krista Wlodek Phone: (800) 323-7253 ext 292 |
5300 Katrine Avenue Downers Grove, IL 60515-4095 |
| Thompson & Morgan | Celia Mars Phone: (800) 274-7333 |
220 Faraday Avenue Jackson, NJ 08527-0308 |
| Anthony Tesselaar USA | Tim Ostensen Phone: (310) 349-0714 ext 105 |
15200 Mansel Avenue Lawndale, CA 90260 |
| Twyford International, Inc. | Alan W. Meudt Phone: (407) 886-0298 or (800) 905-326 |
4051 Fudge Road Apopka, FL 32703 |
| Waller Genetics Inc. | Lynn Wierdsma Phone: (805) 343-2723 ext 114 |
P.O.Box 70 400 Obispo Street Guadalupe, CA 93434 |
| Zelenka Nursery, LLC | Harvey Lodge |
Special Supplement to the Summer 2004 Report
Winter 2003-2004 Annuals Trial Report
The following reports are available in Adobe PDF format (requires Adobe Reader):
Top
10
Best
of Breed
Leaders
of the Pack
Early
Season Leaders of the Pack
Late
Season Leaders of the Pack
Cultivar
Series Summaries