Ageratum houstonianum 'Blue Bouquet'
Trial: Annual
Years Trialed: 2000
Good Qualities:
Tall (3); Color (4); Long stems (2); Slightly stronger than Blue Horizon; Good, helpful in mixed bouquet use; Stem strength; Nice fragrance, easy to clip old flowers off, best one I’ve grown; Free flowering; Heads held up well despite all the rain and are still blooming; Long lasting - blooms all season; Good growth in greenhouse trial; Florist loved it and it looked nice in field; No problems, insect free, good sturdy stems.
Problems:
Later to flower than Blue Horizon (2); For some reason most florists in my area were not enthusiastic about ageratum; Not as prolific as other cutting Ageratums; Very few flowers, all foliage; Up and down habit, plants fell open and needed 1 layer of staking; Blue Horizon is better and more preferred than Blue Bouquet; Seemed to be somewhat straggly in stature, slower to bloom and heads not as large as Blue Horizon; Grows too tall in field with weak stems.
Trial Data
| Yield (stems/plant) | Stem Length (inches) | Market Appreciation Rating - Wholesale (1) | Market Appreciation Rating - Retail (1) | Market Appreciation Rating - Consumer (1) | Repeat Again Rating (1) | Ease of Cultivation Rating (1) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average | 8.5 | 18.9 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 4.6 |
(1) 1 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
Comments:
Similar to Blue Horizon (5); Blue Horizon is better (3); Ageratum did well despite moisture, however, because of late date plant never truly matured to full production; Our cutters preferred to cut in the Blue Bouquet bed later in the season rather than the Blue Horizon bed; Performance is poor compared to Ageratum potential and may be cultural conditions or cultivar; Sorry I didn’t plant enough; Vase life - 5 days.