2005 ASCFG National Perennial and Woody Trials
John Dole
North Carolina State University
Overview:
Echinacea is a genus that is just beginning to hit its horticultural stride. Anyone reading the plant catalogs knows that many interesting hybrids are now available and more are coming. We haven't forgotten the beautiful of the original species, however, and Echinacea 'Ruby Star' is one of the best representatives. This species has large bright purple petals held horizontal from the rich red center. The durable plants flower second year after planting. Apparently enough ASCFG members thought that 'Ruby Star' was among the best to vote for it as the ASCFG Fresh Cut Flower of the Year for 2006.
Heuchera 'Florists Choice' and 'Magic Wand' continue to impress me. These rather unassuming plants were very productive in the second year of trials, producing an average of 15 stems per plant with at least one trialer getting 35 stems/plant for 'Magic Wand'. Both cultivars were easy to grow with few problems. They were not the most impressive cut stems because of their small heads, but the ease of harvest overcomes that problem. The plants produce a dense clump of foliage from which the 18 to 26 inch long flower stems arise.
The well-named Zantedeschia 'Edge of Night' produced gorgeous deep maroon purple flowers. The foliage was even prettier with large leaves covered in white spots and edged in the same maroon as the flowers. Productivity and stem length was a little low, however, with only 1 to 3 stems/plant and a stem length of only 14 to 18 inches. Colored callas seem to be special enough that customers want them even if the stems are short - one trialer reported getting $2/stem. Always nice to hear.
One of the highest scoring perennials among the trial plants was Geum 'Fireball' with its large striking orange flowers. This productive plant produced over 9 stems/plant with some growers getting up to 15 stems/plant. The stems ranged in length from 18 to 36 inches, with growers averaging 25 inch stems. Plants perform best with excellent drainage, especially during the winter.
There is nothing quite like the metallic blue purple of Eryngium 'Blaukappe'. That fact that the thistle-like eryngium has established itself as a specialty cut flower is a testament to how far the cut flower industry has come from the days of only roses, carnations and chrysanthemums. 'Blaukappe' is another plant that requires good drainage during the winter. Flowers are typically cut fresh but also make long lasting dried flowers.
We had high hopes for three shrubs that produced great results last year even in their first year: Callicarpa 'Early Amethyst' (Spring Meadow Nursery), Hydrangea 'Limelight' (Spring Meadow Nursery), and Physocarpus 'Diabolo' (Bailey Nursery). We were certainly not disappointed in the second year. All three cultivars are fast growing and productive plants. 'Early Amethyst' produced a multitude of long stems heavily covered in purple berries. Trialers harvested an average of 47 stems/plant and got 23 to 42 inch long stems. Now if only we get a callicarpa that dropped it leaves in early fall or late summer to eliminate the time consuming leaf removal - well, we can dream can't we.
'Limelight' has only gotten better with age - the large spectacular flower heads are produced on stems up to 3 feet long. Considering that trialers, including NCSU, were able to harvest marketable stems from our plants in the first season, the added 26 stems/plant from this year make it an even better choice for cut flower production. The stems are strong and straight making this a better choice than the original species.
'Diabolo' seems to be making more of an impact as a cut foliage than as a cut flower. The infloresences are 2 to 3 inch wide clusters of small white flowers - attractive but not very distinctive. The bronzy foliage, however, makes a great filler for bouquets. Stems averaged around 29 inches long and plants produced anywhere from 2 to 30 stems/plant.
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 for those cultivars where more than three trialers responded. Thus, from the 2005 trials Geum 'Fireball', Heuchera 'Florists Choice', Heuchera 'Magic Wand', Hydrangea 'Limelight', and Zantedeschia 'Edge of Night' are nominated as Cut Flowers of the Year and will join other nominations from ASCFG members.
Interpreting the trial results:
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 stem lengths and yield data. After looking at the average, check the range of responses listed below each number to see how the cultivar performed at its best and its worst. If the range of responses in the ratings is narrow and high, i.e., 3-5 or 4-5, the plant was a winner for most of the respondents and is likely to do well for you. The 'Repeat Again Rating' is particularly important because it indicates if the trialer would take the time, money, and space to actually grow the cultivar again. 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:
All cut flower growers should thank the perennial and woody plant producers for providing the plant materials and the growers for producing the plants, collecting data and submitting trial reports. The growers paid for shipping expenses and agreed to provide data for at least two years. Plant were donated by perennial producers and shipped as the perennial plugs or dormant roots directly to the trialers. I would like to compliment Chaz Gill, Betsy Hitt, Carolyn Ramsbotham, and Vicki Stamback who participated in both the seed and perennials trials and returned evaluations on all of their trial plants. I would also like to thank Amber Stewart and Betty Coleman for laboriously typing in everyone's comments, Ingram McCall and Diane Mays for taking care of the North Carolina State University portion of the trials, Ingram McCall for data entry, and Leslie Tichner, Aliya Donnell, Brad Holland, and Tim Ketchie for assisting with the NCSU trials. In preparing the report I have edited the participants' 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.