Helianthus 'Full Sun Improved'
Trial: Annual
Years Trialed: 2003
Good Qualities:
Excellent color (3); Strong stems (4); Plants were vigorous (2); Pollenless (2); Very tall for a cutting sunflower, if you need that much stem length, it could be useful; Huge sunflower head; Long stems; Fits customer image of sunflower; Typical brown disk gold petal-marketable; We liked the petals because they were longer petals than 'Sunbright' petals; Not bothered by insects, nice dark center, nice ruffling, flowers held upright on strong stems.
Problems:
Short day flowering variety, which makes it very tall and late for summer field production, huge heads, massive stems, good for a sunflower maze, large foliage as well; Longer petals than average meant they bruised very easily; Quite a few plants were multiple head and useless to me; Stems about 2 to 2 ½ inches thick, rain and handling damaged petals, too large flower and stem; Thick goose-neck; None; A little shorter than other varieties, under 4 feet.
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 | 1.0 | 40.8 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 4.7 | 84.9 |
| Range of Responses | 1 | 18-60 | 2 | 2-5 | 1-5 | 1-5 | 2-5 | 9-180 |
(1) 1 to 5 scale, with 5 being the best. Market ratings are based on sales to wholesalers, retailers, or final consumers direct.
Supplier
Fred C. Gloeckner
600 Mamaroneck Ave.
Harrison, NY 10528-1613
Comments:
Similar to 'Sunrich Orange'; Sold many seed heads for decorations and bird food ($1 to $2 according to size of seed head); Have grown before, nothing too special for my market; Just about 4 feet tall; Kind of an unremarkable sunflower; Petals not as golden as 'Golden Glory', began blooming 9/10, about 2 months after seeding, and a week earlier than 'Golden Glory'; Would prefer more height and size to bloom, still a nice cut; One trialer's results: