Careoptris 'First Choice'
Good Qualities:
Year 1:
Great blue color (2); Might be a good late bloomer; Late summer bloomer and its blue; Nice flower, ok vase life.
Year 2:
Problems:
Year 1:
Too short to sell (2); If this plant survives the winter and gets more stem length it will be a good cut.
Year 2:
None of these made it through the winter, too wet?
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 | 55 | 35 | 5.0 | 15.5 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 3.8 | 4.0 |
| Range of Responses | 0-100 | 0-100 | 0-15 | 12-20 | 1-5 | 1-5 | 1-5 | 1-5 | 3-5 |
(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 | 25 | 50 | 15 | - | - | 3.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 |
| Range of Responses | 0-100 | 50 | 15 | - | - | 3 | 3 | 4 |
(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:
Similar to Caryopteris Hclandonensis ‘Longwood Blue’ Retail florist were asking for more; All the plants I have listed from the perennial trials as 100% dead, may still be alive under mulch, I will know in the spring (Zone 6b); These plants are growing but still small – excessive rain, hurt development and killed some; I lost a lot of these, I think they just stayed too wet this summer; Second season will tell all for this plant.
Year 2: