Zinnia 'Oklahoma Ivory'
Trial: Annual
Year Trialed: 2004
Year of Trial: First (from 2004 report)
Good Qualities:
Wonderful cream color (6); High yield (4); Strong stiff long stems, long production period; Very strong stems, Pure white zinnias often look Adirty@ but this color was always crisp - I loved using it in mixed bouquets; Nice to brighten bouquets; Good doubleness, even color throughout plants, not too much trouble with brown spots for a light color; Transplanted easily as plugs and grew quickly to fill voids; Another good color, warm white to warm ivory that mixes well in bouquets, smaller flowers, but more consistently double; Mostly double flowers, given a better understanding of this little guy, we may be able to make money with it.
Problems:
Powdery mildew (3); No special problems (2); Flower heads too small; The color was not all that exciting and was rarely chosen by the consumer; Cut flowers discolored very quickly, also the same for uncut ones; Multi-branching made it difficult to cut for less experienced cutters; Small, branching flowers and stems.
Postharvest:
Hydraflor then Floralife; I placed an assortment of the >Oklahoma >zinnias in plain water B they looked good for 9 days, house was air conditioned.
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 | 14.6 | 16.4 | 2.5 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 4.4 | 106 | 7.6 |
| Range of Responses | 4-40 | 12-24 | 1-4 | 2-4 | 2-5 | 1-5 | 4-5 | 25-144 | 5-10 |
(1) 1 to 5 scale, with 5 being the best. Market ratings are based on sales to wholesalers, retailers, or final consumers direct.
Supplier
Benary Seed
1444 Larson St.
Sycamore, IL 60178
Comments:
Similar to other Benary zinnias; Will definitely plant again; Healthy plants in a year of disease-producing weather; This made a gorgeous landscape plant; Flower diameter was 1.2 to 2.6 inches wide; Most of the test was spent trying to figure out how to handle this compared to bigger zinnias with longer stems B by the time we figured out how, when and where to cut, they were fizzled; Will not plant again, takes too long to harvest; flowers, some single, some double.