Tanacetum parthenium 'Summer Spirit'
Trial: Annual
Years Trialed: 2000
Good Qualities:
Uniform (3); If a perennial, I will definitely keep, blooms quickly from seed, beautiful, sturdy pom-poms of clear color on strong stems; Lasts for 2 weeks (or more) in cooler plus keeps color; Slower to flower than tetra, stiff stem; Easy, good for bouquet makers; Excellent filler flower; Good tight flowers, semi-continuous blooming; late flowers had shorter stems; Dark foliage, later blooming for continuous Tanacetum; Good flower clusters; Cut with 5 days otherwise gets dirty, good filler.
Problems:
Short (3); May be susceptible to aster yellows; Needs something to achieve greater plant height; Leaf miners.
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 | 5.8 | 15.1 | 2.5 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 4.2 |
(1) 1 to 5 scale, with 5 being the best. Market ratings are based on sales to wholesalers, retailers, or final consumers direct.
Supplier
Kieft Seeds
P.O. Box 618
Conway, WA 98238
Comments:
Similar to ‘Snowball’; Never free flowering, Tetra blew the doors off this one for flower power and performance; Benary’s Tanacetum was started 2 weeks after Kieft’s and still (as of 9/21) has not bloomed, Kiefts began to steadily bloom about 4 weeks after transplanted, tubular ray flowers/petals; Florists’ preferred Tetra White to this one; Need one layer of support, sometimes two, pompon type; Would like to grow again to see if stems will be longer; Vase life - 7 days.