Sunflower 'Premier Lemon'
Trial: Annual
Years Trialed: 2006
Good Qualities:
Nice color (8); Short (2); Very early flowering (3); Uniform flowering time (2); Whole planting bloomed within 5 days of each other; All cut within 10 days; Harvested 6 weeks from transplanting; Appearance great for retail florist arrangements; Consistent flower size for both seedings- some helianthus in the second trial did not have this quality; Pollenless, strong stems; Upright flower position; Short easy to harvest; Good flower shape, florists always like local grown sunflower for their size and quality; Nice sunflower but my customers prefer ‘Sunrich Orange’; Size of head and height.
Problems:
Too short (5); Orange would be more saleable; We did not get a very good stand of this sunflower- suspect impertinent rabbits!; Too big and clunky and stems too thick, maybe with tighter spacing would be better, I would like more double, Lose one petal and it is compost, Planted with #22 Gardenway seeder like all my other sunflowers- they didn’t get so chunky; Our May flood was too much for this new sunflower - under same conditions, planted 8 to 10 other varieties which grew shorter than usual but yield 24 to 30 inch stems; Bloom exceptionally small; No problems!; Hard to keep up with bugs on sunflowers, had problems with head cutter weevils.
Similar Cultivars:
'Premier Light Yellow'; Procut series and Sun series
Postharvest:
Cut just when petals start to lift and unfurl from bud; Little preservative, lots of water; Note: Check out the separate postharvest article in this issue for more information on postharvest vase life and treatments.
Trial Data
| 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 | 1.0 | 27.0 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 94.8 | 7.8 |
| Range of Responses | 1 | 12-48 | 4-5 | 3-5 | 3-5 | 1-5 | 3-5 | 24-208 | 6-10 |
(1) 1 to 5 scale, with 5 being the best. Market ratings are based on sales to wholesalers, retailers, or final consumers direct.
Supplier
American Takii
301 Natividad Rd.
Salinas, CA 93906
www.takii.com
Comments:
Stem length disappointed – definitely climate related; Bloom peak 8/21, one week earlier than ‘Solara’, I loved the silky and substantial feel of the petals, stems could have been cut as long as 5 feet, but no need for such long stems at farmers’ market; Do not like wet springs; Would grow again!