Species

Portulaca - Spring 2004

Flower Color, Plot Development Over Time, Data and Comments

Data and pictures will be added as time allows.

Vinca

GCREC-HOME

TRIALS FRONT PAGE

ORNAMENTALS RESEARCH PROGRAMS

BACK to CURRENT TRIAL

Vinca

Botany
Family:
Scientific names:	Portulaca grandiflora Hook [The Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN)].
Common names:	Eleven-o'clock, Mexican-rose, moss-rose or sunplant (GRIN).
Native habitat:	Southern South America in Argentina; naturalized and in cultivation elsewhere (GRIN).
	View maps related to habitat and other topics from this link to the National Geographic MapMachine: .
Pests
Common plant arthropods (insects/other)/other:	Reported arthropod symptoms in literature: Beet armyworm (Featured Creatures, U. of Florida). We have seen beet armyworm and the false chinch bug (Nysius raphanus), but damage was minor from the former and none discerned for the latter.
	Arthropod symptoms observed in this trial: false chinch bug numbers were excessive, but, as with Celosia spp., no symptoms could be associated with the insect. Beet armyworm fed on foliage in small numbers, never a serious problem.
Common plant diseases/other:	Reported disease symptoms in literature: Pythium sp.; seedling damping off; Rhizoctonia solani, basal stem rot; and Viricillium albo-atrum, wilt (Index of Plant Diseases in Florida, 1984 revision.).
	Diseases symptoms observed in this trial: none detected, and no plant deaths occurred.
Commercial control:	Greenhouse.	Field/shade house.
Arthropod information:	Pests identified on crops. Search the Arthropod/Host Plant Database.		Florida pest facts and images. Featured Creatures
Disease information:	Plant Disease Facts (Pennsylvania State University) Ornamental Plant Disease Fact Sheets		The American Phytopathological Society Search Common Names of Plant Diseases
More Links and Information
Performance evaluations:	Trial reports and other publications.
More resources:	Additional information.

Honors:

Best-of-class (BC). We select the best performer in each class, based on the "overall performance rating". This rating may not be high, if the class does not perform well (indicating a possible need for improvement in the class). The rating may be significantly different from one or more members of the class. If two or more members of a class received the same highest overall performance rating, we used another rating (such as overall foliage/flower rating or flower average rating) to determine BC. If only one cultivar was entered in a class, it automatically becomes uncontested BC. BC is evaluated in future trials against the performance of new entries in the same class. Refer to a report in "Articles, Papers & Reports" for detailed information. In addition to BC, other "honors" received for these cultivars may be added to BC at a later date, time permitting. Seed companies may forward these honors (awards) to Rick Kelly.

Rating System:

The rating is a 1 to 7 scale: 7- all foliage and flowers free from defects; 4- average foliage and flower condition, minimal plant defects or pest damage to tissue, but still acceptable; 1- foliage and/or flowers with severe defects and/or severely infested with pests and damage unacceptable, making plant undesirable. Plant death due to soilborne pests may be factored into the overall performance rating, if it is a significant problem. Refer to a report in "Articles, Papers & Reports" for details. If listed, ratings with an "a" are the best in a class. If cultivars share the same letters, those ratings are considered to be similar to each other. If there are no letters, there is only one cultivar in a class or all the members of a class have similar ratings.

American Takii

Ball Seed

Bodger Seeds

Floranova Plant Breeders

Flower Fields - Goldsmith Seeds

The Flower Fields

Grimes Seeds & Plants

Kieft Seeds Holland

E. Benary Seed of America

Scroll down the page or click on the color of choice to view individual cultivars within a color class:

Cream class	Purple, red-violet/white class
To date, the only series of moss rose offered for evaluation in our best-of-class trials have been three colors in the series ‘Sundial’ and all the colors of Sunseeker. We hope to see more comparisons

Winter

Cream class

Picture date:	1 May (week 11¹)	14 May (week 13)	31 May (week 16)
'Sundial Cream'	Plot B Sprayed Field Plot B Unsprayed Field	Plot A Plot B Sprayed Field Plot B Unsprayed Field	Plot B Plot C Sprayed Field Plot B Plot C Unsprayed Field
Cultivar No: 171

Bodger Seeds
Picture date:

Seed Sowing Date	Flower Diameter²	Days to First Flower³	Overall Foliage/Flower Rating⁴	Overall Pest Rating⁵	Overall Performance Rating⁶
11 Feb.	5.0 (2.0)	49	5.5 a	7.0	6.2 a

Honors: Best-of-class.

Comments: ‘Sundial Cream’ was new for spring 2004; outstanding with a higher adjusted overall performance than ‘Sunseeker Cream’ (best-of-class in spring 2003; very good rating in 2004), replacing ‘Sunseeker Cream’ as best-of-class. ‘Sundial Cream’ produced the largest plants, filling the plots more quickly with foliage that was good to outstanding all season; flower display and overall foliage flower ratings were better for ‘Sundial Cream’ than for ‘Sunseeker Cream’, which was only fair in foliage and flower display. Pests were not a problem.

Cream class

Picture date:	1 May (week 11)	14 May (week 13)	31 May (week 16)
'Sunseeker Cream'	Plot B Sprayed Field Plot B Unsprayed Field	Plot A Plot B Sprayed Field Plot B Unsprayed Field	Plot B Plot C Sprayed Field Plot B Plot C Unsprayed Field
Cultivar No: 115

Sakata Seed America
Picture date:

Seed Sowing Date	Flower Diameter²	Days to First Flower³	Overall Foliage/Flower Rating⁴	Overall Pest Rating⁵	Overall Performance Rating⁶
11 Feb.	4.4 (1.7)	50	4.1 b	7.0	5.5 b

Honors:

Comments: Best-of-class in spring 2003. See ‘Sundial Cream’ comments.

Details of performance for this cultivar will be posted on the web in "Articles, Papers & Reports" at the completion of this trial. These details will include ratings over the entire season and pest problems.

Back to Color of Choice

Back to the Top

Purple, red-violet/white class

Picture date:	1 May (week 11)	14 May (week 13)	31 May (week 16)
'Margarita Peppermint'	Plot B Sprayed Field Plot B Unsprayed Field	Plot A Plot B Sprayed Field Plot B Unsprayed Field	Plot B Plot C Sprayed Field Plot B Plot C Unsprayed Field
Cultivar No: 28
PanAmerican Seed


Picture date:

Seed Sowing Date	Flower Diameter²	Days to First Flower³	Overall Foliage/Flower Rating⁴	Overall Pest Rating⁵	Overall Performance Rating⁶
11 Feb.	4.2 (1.7)	51	4.7	5.8	5.3

Honors: Best-of-class, uncontested.

Comments: ‘Margarita Peppermint’ (new for spring 2004) was uncontested best-of-class. Foliage and flower development and quality were good between mid May and early June, but plant development and flower distribution were variable, preventing higher ratings. As described by the breeder, color pattern uniformity lacks some stability; however, this did not lower quality ratings in this test, but would in the future, if compared against a stable cultivar in this class. Pests were not a problem.

ROK

1. The number of weeks from seed sowing to the date the plant was photographed. Photographs were taken in a field sprayed on demand as needed, after scouting for pests, and a field that is not sprayed at all.

2. Measured in centimeters and inches [cm (inches)].

3. Average number of days from sowing to unfurling of the first flower in the plots. Flowering for alyssum was completed in the flat prior to planting in the field. Values with an "a" are considered significantly greater than those with a "b", "c", etc., and those without a letter are not considered to be significantly different.

4. The average of the combined foliage and flower data in the sprayed field as an expression of cultivar quality. Values with an "a" are considered significantly greater than those with a "b", "c", etc., and those without a letter are not considered to be significantly different.

5. The average of the combined foliage and flower data in the unsprayed field as an expression of arthropod and disease symptoms. Values with an "a" are considered significantly greater than those with a "b", "c", etc., and those without a letter are not considered to be significantly different.

6. The average of the combined overall foliage/flower rating and overall pest rating. If plant death from a soilborne pathogen resulted, this was factored into the rating. Values with an "a" are considered significantly greater than those with a "b", "c", etc., and those without a letter are not considered to be significantly different. See Articles, Papers & Reports for further explanation in the reports.

GCREC-HOME	TRIALS FRONT PAGE	ORNAMENTALS RESEARCH PROGRAMS
Back to the Top	Back to Color of Choice	Back to Current Trial