Helianthus 'Apricot Twist'
Trial: Annual
Years Trialed: 2002
Good Qualities:
Interesting color (7); Bouquet type, 6-7 flowers in head arrangement; Smaller sunflower, long, graceful petals; Nice flower form, quite different; Outstanding flower form (double) - Our favorite, absolutely loved this one; I like having the color option but I think it was a little washed-out looking; A very nice color but I think it will take my customers awhile for the color to grow on them since they are typical yellow/orange with a dark center kind of sunflower buyers - Might do better in the fall; The light green center is attractive when picked early - Mixes well with other darker centered varieties - I loved the greenish center, wish they had done better - It was unique with the green center, which darkened over time; Looks good in bouquets; Unusual shape; Very well received by consumers - Stems were considered to short by wholesale and retail florists; Color well accepted by all, people loved size and shape of flowers, produced many flowers, even short stems were good; Small flowers with long petals; None.
Problems:
Too short (4); Axillary buds; Longer petals tend to get more damaged in transit; I think that it would be better to describe this color as AMango@ rather than AApricot@; Too branchy; No one seemed to notice it at market. Color could be better later in the season; Didn't germinate well in dry conditions; This one didn't do well being sowed with the seeder - It needed more thinning than I did to it, and because I didn't thin enough I had a lot of small thin stemmed sunflowers, great for mixing into bouquets only - The plants were shadowed by the taller varieties as well; Inconsistent results, stem length and width varied widely; This one was severely damaged by deer; Japanese beetle set in late in season, beetles nested into center of heads; Petals sunbleach quickly; Multi-headed.
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 (2) | Ease of Cultivation Rating (2) | Average Spacing (in2) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average | 2.4 | 24.2 | 2.7 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 4.4 | 123 |
| Range of Responses | 0-10 | 15-40 | 1-5 | 1-5 | 1-5 | 1-5 | 1-5 | 12-432 |
(1) 1 to 5 scale, with 5 being the best. Market ratings are based on sales to wholesalers, retailers, or final consumers direct.
Supplier
Seedsense Ltd.
7, Bradfield Close
North Walsham
Norfolk NR28 oHL England
Comments:
Long petals, light center, pollenless; I direct seeded too close - mostly small 2 1/2; flowers, needs more room, some had nice 5 inch flowers - It can't be slightly shaded by taller sunflowers; 3-inch flower diameter, 50 days to maturity, I don't like branchy sunflowers; I think its a nice sunflower not for the masses but definitely for the discerning; Flowers were ok, but didn't seem unusual, that is, I didn't see any twists; Everything (centers and laterals) seemed to bloom at once; Not as unique as expected, petals were more golden than peachy.