Calamagrostis 'Karl Foerster'
Good Qualities:
Year 1:
Beautiful plants.
Year 2:
Nice plant, the color is nice and the fact it is an upright head, my customers liked it and used it; Nice grass.
Problems:
Year 1:
Died at end of summer - This didn=t seem to be a tough as some of the other plants in the trial; This just wasn=t a very exciting plant to me.
Year 2:
We had problems getting it picked at the right stage, especially in the heat; I have a difficult time marketing this type of grass.
Trial Data
Year 1
| Plants flowering (%) | Plants dead at end of summer (%) | 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 | 33.3 | 33.3 | 0.0 | 26.0 | 4.3 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 4.5 |
| Range of Responses | 0-100 | 0-100 | 0 | 26 | 4-5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 4-5 |
(1) 1 to 5 scale, with 5 being the best. Market ratings are based on sales to wholesalers, retailers, or final consumers direct.
Year 2
| Yield (stems/plant) | Stem Length (inches) | Market Appreciation Rating - Wholesale (1) | Market Appreciation Rating - Retail (1) | Market Appreciation Rating - Consumer (1) | Repeat Again Rating (2) | Ease of Cultivation Rating (2) | Average Spacing (in2) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average | 100 | 20 | 26 | - | 4.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 5.0 |
| Range of Responses | 100 | 10-30 | 24-28 | - | 4 | 2 | 1-5 | 5 |
(1) Data shown are from those respondents who harvested stems. Some respondents may not have harvested stems because they were too short. Flowering stems may be longer next year after plants are established. See comments section for more details.
(2) 1 to 5 scale, with 5 being the best. Market ratings are based on sales to wholesalers, retailers, or final consumers direct.
Supplier
Walters Gardens (WG)
P.O. Box 137
Zeeland, MI 49464
888-925-8377
FAX 800-752-1879
sales@waltersgardens.com
www.waltersgardens.com
Comments:
Year 1:
I would try this again.
Year 2:
This plant grew and flowered last year, it was nice, although stems were short, this year none of the plants returned, expect it was too cold even though they were mulched, they were grown at the end of a bed of Crocosmia ‘Lucifer” which survived the winter and thrived this year.