In this issue, we present the results of the five grower
evaluations conducted 16, 17, 20, and 21, November, 2000. The growers
who grew the plants and generously hosted the open houses were: Lakewood
Greenhouse in Toledo, Dill's Greenhouse in Groveport (Columbus), Barco's
in Medina, Bostdorff Greenhouse Acres in Bowling Green, and Diefenbacher
Greenhouse in Cincinnati. Cuttings were donated by four
breeders/suppliers: Dummen USA Inc, Paul Ecke Ranch, Fischer USA Inc,
and Oglevee Ltd. Each grower followed its own cultural procedures.
Planting and pinching were done during a four day window.
We asked growers to evaluate each group of plants (cultivars) using a
scale 1 - 5
(1 = like the least; 5 = like the most). This
evaluation is presented in Table 1. It is
interesting to note how some cultivars fare well, or do poorly
regardless of who grew them. Compare this table with Table 1
in last month's issue of this newsletter. Worth noticing are
differences between what consumers like and would by vs. what growers
like. This year we asked growers to pretend for a moment they were
regular customers instead of growers and to select no more than three
cultivars they would buy assuming the price was right. Their selections
are shown in Table 2. We are very thankful to
Monica Kmetz-Gonzalez and Shawn Shay for their help with this project.
You can check pictures of the cultivars in the world wide web:
http://flori.ag.ohio-state.edu/table1.html
