Helichrysum bracteatum 'Giant Ball' Mix
Trial: Annual
Years Trialed: 2003
Good Qualities:
Bright colors (4); Good color range (5); Long stems (3); Upright growth, easy to contain; Vigorous; Best strawflower for our region (larger); Farmers market customers liked in solid bunch and in mixed bunches; Strong growing strawflower - vigorous; Its an OK helichrysum; Nice burgundy flower color; Full of foliage; Performed exceptionally well through drought, achieved good height (36 inches) w/o supplemental water, plants turned out an abundance of blooms all season long, right up to frost, I cut stems for dried use only (no fresh), I did not want to wire heads so cut stems at about 6 inches, 10 per bunch, hung to dry, customers eagerly bought them in fall for wreath work and to wire-pick into arrangements.
Problems:
Too many dark red flowers/mix not balanced (3); Late to flower (3); Japanese beetles (2); Some stem borers; What the heck do you do with this stuff?; None harvested, plants just languished, didn't really grow, have had difficulty growing helichrysum in past; The tips of leaves got burned; These were held in greenhouse almost 8 weeks (not recommended 3-4 weeks.), they grew giant plants, but do straw flowers need to be soooo tall?; Had some wilt problems; Blooms were of average size (1 ½ inches) - not "Giant" as the name suggests.
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 | 6.3 | 23.8 | 3.0 | 2.7 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 4.5 | 170 |
| Range of Responses | 1-12 | 11-48 | 1-5 | 1-4 | 1-5 | 1-5 | 1-5 | 36-480 |
(1) 1 to 5 scale, with 5 being the best. Market ratings are based on sales to wholesalers, retailers, or final consumers direct.
Supplier
Benary Seed
1444 Larson St.
Sycamore, IL 60178
Comments:
Similar to 'King Size', 'Swiss Giants', etc., interchangeable, actually; Spray or bouquet type; Seems like every other one I've grown; Cut over several weeks period; Dried what we didn't sell as fresh products; We don't sell any straw flowers anymore, with all the other specialty cuts available in August, it doesn't seem to be in very high demand; This was super, picked many to dry; They took frosts, even hard freeze.