Herbs \ Basil \ Cardinal

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ASCGG Trial Report: Wonderful basil fragrance (4); Much stronger plant than Basil .Oriental Breeze., did not break off or split as much as .Oriental Breeze., it was about 2 ½ to 3 weeks later to bloom than .Oriental Breeze.; Would be very nice in a bouquet, unique flower unlike any other; None that I can see; Excellent stem length, good color contrast of blooms, vigorous; Forms a nice dark purple head, didn.t catch downy mildew like the rest of our basil; Everyone liked the color and texture it added to bouquets, some even liked it alone, it lasted well and added a lot of dimension; Beautiful purple stems and large flowers; Beautiful blooms, unusual, even held up in the cooler below 50 degrees; Very unusual flower but with the good basil smell; Very desirable, good plant size and quantity, quality and depth of color in the darker tip growth; Thicker leaves than other basils, used as a filler.

Post Harvest Results:
Another one of our favorites. We got two cuts from it and probably could have gotten more. It tolerated our heavy pruning well and had even better stem length and quality the second time around. Stems were sturdy and packed with broad leaves. It was also easy to handle, unlike some of the more branchy basils. Each stem is substantial and would serve as a great filler in bouquets, not to mention the delightful classic basil scent. The cardinal- red inflorescence went along well with our wine theme! .Cardinal. had an average vase life of 14 days when pretreated with hydrating and holding solutions. Without those treatments the vase life dropped significantly, to 4.7 days.