1999 ASCFG National Cut Flower Trials
John Dole
Oklahoma State University
Overview:
1999 was the year of the sunflower with nine cultivars submitted for evaluation by four seed companies, including three unnamed experimental cultivars. Sunflowers have changed dramatically in status over the years. Originally the sunflower was a garden flower, field crop and little-grown cut flower. In the early 1990's the sunflower became a bonafide decorating fad and cut flower bonanza. The sunflower was everywhere - from placemats to curtains and cut stem prices were excellent. While most fads disappear from view in a few months or years (Just where is that Cabbage Patch doll anyway?), the sunflower has defied expectations and developed into a dependable workhorse of the cut flower industry. Here at Oklahoma State University we are even working on sunflowers as a greenhouse crop.
Certainly a large part of the sunflowers’ staying power is due to the introduction of new and refined cultivars. Once primarily available only in one color, yellow/orange and two sizes, large or gigantic, the sunflower is now available in a variety of colors, sizes, and other characteristics. The selections in the 1999 trials illustrate the range of sunflowers available. As a group, the sunflowers did well in the trial and were noted for their short crop times, drought and heat tolerance, and strong stems. Helianthus ‘Double Shine’ was the highest ranked flower in the trial with its large, fully double, golden yellow flowers. Helianthus ‘Ikarus’ had a dark center and light yellow petals, ‘Ring of Fire’ was a bicolor with bronze red bases to the gold petals, and ‘Solé’ was light yellow with dark yellow ring. Helianthus ‘Prado Gold Improved’ has medium-sized, dark centered flowers with golden yellow petals and is a heavily branched plant suitable for pinching. Helianthus ‘Sunbright Supreme’ is an updated version of the popular original ‘Sunbright’ with dark centers and gold petals. Several respondents noted the improved version flowered 7 to 10 days earlier and was slightly shorted than the original Sunbright. Benary’s Experimental Pollenless Helianthus varieties (1, 2, 3)also did very well in the trials; all had dark centers and dark yellow to gold petals and were somewhat similar in appearance. I am sure Benary will let us know if they plan to introduce any of the varieties as many of the trialers wanted to grow them again.
Two other cultivars also did well in the trials this year. The unusually rich purple color of Lobelia ‘Compliment Purple’ made it stand out. While lobelias can be a bit challenging to germinate and grow in some areas of the country, a well-grown lobelia is a knock out and ‘Compliment Purple’ was considered by a couple of the trialers to be the best in the series.
Color was again the selling point for Scabiosa atropurpurea ‘QIS Formula Mixture’ with a color palette ranging from pastel pink to blue to dark purple. These long flowering, easy to cultivate plants are insect and disease resistant and heat tolerant. The plants are very productive which was both a blessing and a curse because they can be slow to pick.
Based on trial results, the top five performers are automatically nominated for the ASCFG Cut Flower of the Year competition. The rankings are based on the combined ratings score: market appreciation + repeat again + ease of cultivation. Thus, from the 1999 trials Helianthus ‘Ring of Fire’, ‘Double Shine’, ‘Prado Gold Improved’, and ‘Sunbright Supreme’ and Lobelia ‘Compliment Purple’ are nominated as Cut Flowers of the Year and will join other nominations from ASCFG members and from the Cut Flower of the Year Panel. Experimental varieties are eligible for nomination if they are named and released.
Disclaimer:
The numbers reported are averages of all the respondents and many factors will affect the success of any plant species. Our participants are growing and harvesting the trial plants in a wide variety of ways. For example, with annual asters some people harvest the entire plant as one bunch while others harvest each individual flowering branch, giving very different lengths and yield data. If a plant does well for most of the respondents, it is likely to do well for you. On the other hand, if a cultivar didn’t appear to do well in the trial, it may still be a great cultivar for you. Thus, we have included summaries of the respondents comments to help interpret the data. In summary, review the trial results carefully. If a species sounds interesting but did not appear to do well, try it anyway. The cultivar may work well for you.Acknowledgments:
A hearty thank you to all of the evaluators who returned their trial reports and to the seed companies for providing such great cultivars. I would also like to thank Leah Aufill for plant care, data collection, and analysis and Stephanie Larimer and Rhiannon Battles for their assistance in preparing this report. In preparing the report I have edited evaluator's comments for space and clarity; my apologies if I've altered the tone or content of anyone's comments. Thanks to everyone for making this service of ASCFG possible.