Helianthus 'Double Quick'
Trial: Annual
Year Trialed: 2004
Year of Trial: First (from 2004 report)
Good Qualities:
: Really nice double (3); Large flowers (2); Foliage seemed less prone to fungal disease - remained disease free all through flowering period; It is an OK sunflower; Seems to all come into bloom at once (over 2 to 3 days) as opposed to say ‘Sunbright’ which is 10-14 days, nice height; Customers were astonished at size, seems fast to get such a large flower; Strong stems, great color, nice ‘Teddy Bear’ alternative; Earlier than ‘Giant Sungold’, also a single stem, which is great; ‘Double Quick’ was superb! bright warm golden color and fuzzy blossoms, harvested about 70 days after direct seeding (Zone 6/7).
Problems:
Not as fast as Pro-cut series; At opening, centers are somewhat squeezed and angularly folded up (awkward looking) when fully opened, produces a somewhat Ashaggy@ appearance because petals are large and coarse-toothed, cool fall weather-it gets rust; Lost much of crop to early frost (Zone 4); Would not grow in hoophouse again, stems were soft and plants tended to fall over; Heads too big or weak to hold upright in spite of decent size, strength week/stems, seemed to be more prone to spotting on flowers and leaves than most.
Postharvest:
Water only, no cooler.
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 Spacing (in2) | Average Postharvest Life (days) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average | 2.0 | 38.5 | 4.5 | 3.3 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 98 | 9.1 |
| Range of Responses | 1-10 | 12-52 | 4-5 | 2-4 | 3-5 | 2-5 | 4-5 | 18-144 | 2-11 |
(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.
The Tithe Barn, Mundesley Rd.
Trunch, Norfolk HR28 0QB, England
Comments:
Similar to ‘Giant Sungold’ (2) but ‘Double Quick’ was better; Similar to ‘DoubleShine’ (2); Not so different from any regular sunflower such as ‘Sunbright’; Similar to ‘Starburst Aura’; Impressive size of blooms over came shaggy factor for consumers, good mixed with other sunflowers; After the main flower blooms, secondary blooms form very close to the main stem, an interesting look; Not a great year for spot diseases on petals and leaves of stems in general, may have better possibilities if pinched early.