Proceedings Library

New Zealand has been very successful at developing new plants for its forestry, pastoral, and horticultural industries. Examples include Pinus radiata, ryegrass, and Actinidia deliciosa (kiwifruit). Floriculture successes include crops such as Zantedeschia, Sandersonia, and Nerine sarniensis. We have also developed some of our native species for amenity and cut foliage use (e.g., Phormium, Pittosporum, Astelia, Cordyline, and Leptospermum). New Zealand's nursery and floriculture export industries are based on plants, flowers, and bulbs that can receive premium prices on international markets. These export industries require the development of new crops and novel cultivars so that our exports of floriculture products can continue to expand. Production and propagation technologies are also required for new crops.

The range of stock bed types currently in use is broad. Stock beds can be maintained in the open ground, in containers, or current production could be a "stock bed". Using a show of hands it was determined that 37% have stock beds that provide less than 50% of total production, 63% have stock beds that provide more than 50% of total production, and 17% have stock beds that provide more than 90% of total production. This result showed that taking your own cuttings and the use of on nursery stock plants was significant. A written plan to manage your cutting production and stock beds is an important tool, which many are utilising. The reasons for this dependence on your own stock plants included convenience, flexibility, timing, availability of uncommon taxa, greater certainty about being true to type, reliability, and perceived cost savings. Those that had decreased their stock beds gave reasons of lack of nursery space, time, and cost in maintaining stock

This is a Web/CD-based asynchronous distance learning course originally designed as a 2-credit course for residential students at Cornell University (http:// instruct1.cit.cornell.edu/courses/hort494/graftage/). The course is currently being adapted for use as a noncredit distance learning module for nontraditional students, i.e., new horticulture industry employees, amateur gardeners, etc. The noncredit version of this course is being given for the first time during Fall 2000 to a group of amateur gardeners in cooperation with Cornell Cooperative Extension Educators in Chemung, Suffolk, and Washington counties.

This grafting module is the first of several distance learning modules on plant propagation, that will also include modules on propagation by cuttage, seedage, and micropropagation. The goal of each of these modules, is not only to teach the principles, and the industry and gardening practices associated with

The following tables indicate the relative ease of germination based on the means natural dispersal and the relative position of the seed plant within the

The NC-7 Trials are one of the longest running evaluation networks for landscape plants in the U.S. Many sites have been participating since the 1950s and now have extensive collections of interesting plants. These plants are available for public observation and teaching, and are often featured in field days for local nursery and landscape workers. Each

Accelerating growth of nursery stock can produce marketable plants in less time, thus potentially increasing profits. In most production systems, fertilizers are normally applied sometime after rooting or transplanting. However, the optimal quantity, formulation, and time is unclear. If slow-release fertilizer is incorporated into the rooting substrate, then optimal nutrients can be available when adventitious roots emerge. This would also eliminate the labor involved to fertilize liners. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to: (1) compare adventitious rooting and subsequent growth of rooted liners of three herbaceous species in response to two formulations of slow-release fertilizer incorporated into the propagation media, and (2) determine optimal levels of incorporated slow-release fertilizer to accelerate plant growth.

Undehisced pods taken from H. radiata growing indigenously in the marsh were harvested in Autumn 1998. After the surface of the pods was sterilized with ethanol, the seeds were scattered on the hormone-free Hyponex medium. The medium contained 3% sucrose and was solidified with agar. The pH was adjusted at 5.2 or 5.75 before autoclaving. The seeds germinated into green

In recent years, work by the authors has shown increases in rooting of cuttings for several traditionally difficult-to-root tree species after applying treatments of severely limiting solar irradiance (shading) during the rooting phase (Zaczek, 1994; Zaczek et al., 1997). In these studies, rooting of semihardwood cuttings in a polytent rooting system within a greenhouse was greatest at or above 91% shading of ambient irradiance for most taxa tested. However, maintaining cuttings under low irradiance after root induction may affect the subsequent survival of rooted propagules. The study presented here evaluated the effect of varying durations of low irradiance exposure during the rooting phase on rooting characteristics and survival of cuttings of six tree taxa.

Daphne mezereum (February daphne) is one of few Daphne species which can set a lot of seeds in the fall. In 1998, Michael Dirr from the University of Georgia visited the Lyle E. Littlefield Ornamentals Trial Garden at the University of Maine and indicated that the low germination of Daphne seed was not fully understand. Actually, the two plants in our garden produced abundant seeds every other year; however, no seedlings have been found around the plants and adjacent areas for the last 6 years. In Fall 1998, seeds were collected and a seed germination experiment was initiated to improve germination of D. mezereum.

February daphne is a great garden plant for early flowering in spring. The dense purple-flowering branches have great potential for cutting flower production. In the winter, the rounded and low-growth habit (at least in our gardens), with loaded flowering buds, brings a lot of attention above the snow line. Although there is an abundance of red fruits in fall,

Fiber containers have many cultural advantages, including lower medium temperatures, and higher medium

The Twenty-Fifth Annual Meeting of the International Plant Propagators' Society Southern Region of North America convened at 7:45 AM at the Holiday Inn Chesapeake, Chesapeake, Virginia with President Bill Barr presiding.

PRESIDENT BILL BARR: President Barr welcomed everyone to Chesapeake, Virginia for the Twenty-fifth Annual I.P.P.S. Southern Region of North America meeting. He shared some historical information about the 50-year-old Society of the I.P.P.S. He remarked that a group of 75 men set down in Cleveland, Ohio in 1951 and decided that something had to be done about sharing knowledge and information in the area of plant propagation. He reflected on what these leaders had in mind when they set up the organization — and 50 years later how viable we are and how close we are in adhering to the principles they laid down in establishing a professional society of horticulturists to share knowledge in the field of plant propagation. They did a marvelous

Vegetables are grown for a variety of reasons and wherever man has settled long enough to produce crops, vegetables have been cultivated for human and animal food.

All around the world, vegetables were grown on the edges of major centres of population. Market gardeners took their own fresh produce into the city markets. The growing areas were often located on the very best agricultural land. As cities have spread, the market gardening areas have largely been subdivided for development. Some of the world's best horticultural land now supports houses and factories rather than vegetable production. A few of the traditional areas remain, however, with established vegetable growing families or new migrants waiting for a sufficiently attractive financial offer for their land.

Meanwhile, traditional market gardeners and new broad-acre farmers have moved well away from the cities and many vegetable production areas are now large, extensive, mechanised enterprises.

In other

Andrew, Camille, Donna, and Hugo — these are not names of children next door, but hurricanes most of us remember. We remember their roar, and destruction; the pain and suffering they caused. In 1969, Camille left 256 dead and in 1960, 50 people perished in Donna's destruction (www.nhc.noaa.gov/pastdead.html), while in 1992 Andrew caused 30 billion dollars in damages (www.nhc.noaa.gov/pastcost.html). The southeast is vulnerable as shown by data from the National Hurricane Center (www.nhc.noaa.gov/paststate.html). There has been a major hurricane direct hit in all-coastal southern states except Georgia and Maryland during 1900–1996 (Table 1). Because of the warm climate the southeast is densely populated and many nurseries are located in coastal regions. Thus, we must be prepared. This paper will outline pre- and post-hurricane considerations for nursery operations based on experience of the authors.

Broadcast applications of granular herbicides for preemergent weed control in container crops results in significant herbicide loss between containers as nontarget loss. This study was conducted to evaluate potential extended delivery carriers of pre-emergent herbicides. Our objective was to develop a controlled-release herbicide that could be applied directly to nursery containers annually; virtually eliminating nontarget herbicide loss. Two experiments were conducted: one in the laboratory and one in the greenhouse. The labaratory experiment tested release rates of oryzalin from three polymeric resins. There were two anion exchange resins (A300 and A400) and one sorbent resin (MN400). After 57 leaching events the MN400, A300 and A400 still retained 96.73%, 91.3%, and 88.74% of oryzalin, respectively. The greenhouse experiment tested the efficacy of these herbicide formulations applied at various rates as well as commercially formulated oryzalin (Surflan 4AS). There was no difference between the two exchange resins and Surflan at 90 days after treatment (DAT), however at 120 DAT both exchange resins had significantly lower weed control than Surflan. The MN400 resin provided less weed control than other treatments at both 90 and 120 DAT, except for Surflan at 120 DAT where no difference occurred.

New ornamental plant cultivars can arise in any number of ways, including discovery and domestication of desirable plants found in the wild, identification and commercialization of superior seedlings obtained from seed collected off of garden-worthy plants, and rare shoot or bud sports arising on pre-existing cultivars. Additionally, many new cultivars of plants have arisen as a consequence of controlled hybridization between selected parents. Although successful development of new, improved plant cultivars by controlled hybridization is maximized if the hybridizer possesses a solid foundation in plant genetics, amateur plant breeders can and have had significant success in the development of new ornamental cultivars. In this presentation, some of the basic principles and techniques involved in plant hybridization and improvement will be discussed. This background will equip the amateur with the tools to initiate a simple plant breeding effort. The presentation will focus

Mycorrhiza means "fungus root" and is a symbiotic association between specific fungi and the fine, young roots of higher plants. The majority of plants strictly speaking do not have roots, rather they form mycorrhizas. There are seven different types of mycorrhiza. The two most important are the endomycorrhiza and ectomycorrhiza. Endomycorrhizal plants are typically herbaceous plants, shrubs, many ornamental, fruit and nut trees, vegetables and agronomic crops, and turf grasses. More than 85% of higher plants form endomycorrhizal associations. The ecotomycorrhizal fungi form associations with conifers such as fir and pines, and hardwoods such as birch, beech, eucalyptus, oak, willow, and magnolia. Ectomycorrhiza fungi colonize around 10% of higher plants. Some plants such as eucalyptus will form both endo- and ectomycorrhizal associations.

Endomycorrhiza. Endomycorrhiza are characterized by arbuscules (arbuscular mycorrhiza), and some endomycorrhiza will form both arbuscules

Hanover Farms, Inc., is a regional groundcover nursery grower serving primarily the Mid-Atlantic States of Maryland and Virginia since 1984. We produce approximately 100,000 flats annually of Hedera helix, Liriope muscari, Pachysandra terminalis, and Vinca minor. Production is labor intensive involving the handling of some 4,000,000 plants annually as cuttings, divisions, liners, and plugs. As a production incentive, we make extensive use of piece-rate payment. All cuttings and tender rooted liners are housed initially in shaded houses that are humidified frequently, followed by decreasing humidification for later stages. Once hardened-off, these flats are then moved to finishing houses. Heavier liners, once potted, are placed in finishing houses without added humidification. All flats are moved around the nursery and shipped on our trucks on carts with the aid of forklifts. The price is constrained on groundcover products, and differentiation of the product is difficult.

Nurseries Caroliniana, Inc. is a retail garden center and wholesale nursery located in east-central South Carolina in the Savannah River Valley midway between the mountains and the coast in Zone 8a. The nursery was begun as a retail garden center providing unusual and hard-to-find plant material not readily available. In the early 1980s we began to grow plant material for our own consumption, and in the early 1990s began to sell to other nurseries, landscapers, and garden centers. We usually evaluate 100 to 200 new accessions each year to determine the best new material to be brought into production. We presently produce about 1500 taxa with a distribution of roughly two-thirds woody material and one-third herbaceous perennials. The following are some examples of what we have found to be some new and exciting plants which have piqued customer interest.

Michelia maudiae (Magnolia maudiae). Probably within the decade, the genus Michelia will be classified as Magnolia

There are more than 1800 species of flowering plants in Australia's humid tropics and

Irrigation is one of our most critical cultural practices in production of nursery crops. Whenever an individual asks about getting into the container nursery business, my first advice is always — you must have large quantities of high quality water. Whenever you hear an irrigation lecture, the point most frequently emphasized is that you assign your most competent, knowledgeable person to oversee the irrigation. Yet, in reality, irrigation is a cultural practice that we offer the least attention to at most nurseries and in our research studies. There are so many variables that it is extremely difficult to perfect an irrigation system that will maximize growth of all the varied species at a nursery. However, like golf, while we cannot master it, we can continue to work toward improvement. This article looks at where we have been, where we are, and what small steps we can take to improve irrigation management systems.

The over-wintering in the potted liner stage of production has frustrated many a nurseryman. With less soil as a buffer from extreme temperatures and a smaller plant with less carbohydrate reserves, the task is quite difficult. At Griffith Propagation Nursery we approach this task through both physical and physiological means.

Physical Means. In 1998, we decided to build greenhouses or cold frames for all of our liners. Prior to that, only about 50% of our liners were under greenhouse protection. The cost of building these additional 40 to 50 structures was significant. However, we feel that the decrease in losses from the cold, wind and excess moisture has come close to paying for the structures in just 2 years.

Each greenhouse is covered with 4-year 6-mil poly and 55% shade cloth. The structures have sideboards located 2 ft off the ground that run the length of the house. This gives us the ability to raise or drop the plastic throughout the winter. Given the temperature

Nurseries have been using pots made from recycled paper fiber for years. Fiber pots have been traditionally used in the northern states for short-term crops like chrysanthemums, bare-root material such as roses and fruit trees, and for fieldgrown shrubs. In the southeast, however, fiber pots quickly deteriorate and were not accepted as a viable alternative for commercial production.

Copper compounds have been used since the 1970s to inhibit root growth in container-grown plants. In the early 1990s, Spin Out (copper hydroxide) was approved for controlling root growth in containers. Copper works by causing a mildly toxic reaction when root tips come in contact with copper-containing surfaces. Since most root tips are not killed, the benefit of coming in contact with copper is increased root branching. Plants grown in pots treated with copper hydroxide do not have malformed root systems or roots matted against the substrate: container interface.

The young tree branches, and except for the occasional rabbit or deer damage, the branches remain present and functional until surrounding trees or other vegetation provides sufficient shade to cause their death. By the time the lowest horizontal branches have died by lack of light, generally several years have passed and successive

Historically we have had to accept whatever climate nature has thrown at us unless we were willing to build expensive climate-controlled structures. With careful evaluation and a little ingenuity we can take advantage of microclimates to avoid some of the challenges that confront us.

Microclimates are small, relatively uniform climatic conditions that are restricted to a local area. Microclimates can be found in both soil and air. Examples are: soil and air temperature (both high and low temperatures), light levels, the amount of water in the soil, and air space in the soil. Soil microclimates in containers are much more extreme than in field production. Soil temperature in containers is often a major limiting factor for plant growth. Extreme high or low temperatures are detrimental to a healthy root system.

There are many ways to moderate the soil temperature in containers. Growing container plants in shade or with tight container spacing to reduce the amount of direct

Weed control in the production of woody nursery stock relies heavily upon the use of broad-spectrum preemergence herbicides. These herbicides effectively control most weeds if applied before weed seeds germinate. However, all too often rooted cuttings or liners arrive at the nursery already containing weeds. Additionally, in recent weed scouting programs it was observed that several "new" weeds were introduced to nurseries in liners purchased from other regions (Neal and Williams, 1998). In this way growers start the production cycle with emerged weeds that are not controlled by preemergence herbicide treatments, and introduce new weeds into their nursery that may not be controlled by existing management programs. To prevent such events it is imperative that liner producers maintain rigorous and effective weed management programs. Sanitation, hand weeding and judicious use of herbicides must be integrated into a comprehensive weed management program.

Perlite is an important component in soilless potting media. The price of perlite depends on grade and volume ordered, with current prices ranging from $27 to $47 per yard³.

Expanded polystyrene beads are commonly used in media mixes in the greenhouse industry, but they are less commonly used in the nursery industry. Usually polystyrene beads can be acquired free or for a nominal fee of about $50 per semi truck load if they are picked up by the user at the source, whereas a similar volume of perlite would cost $4000.

Preferred characteristics of a propagation media include: (1) consistent quality, (2) absence of disease and insect pests, (3) absence of toxic chemicals, (4) water-holding capacity, (5) light weight, and (6) adequate drainage and aeration. Other considerations include ease of each component to be mixed with other components, ability to support the cutting, and ease of sticking MacDonald (1986).

The expanded polystyrene (EPS) industry produces a large amount

Decline of container-grown ornamentals during the hottest months of summer is a common problem for nurserymen throughout the United States. When roots are killed from prolonged exposure to supraoptimal root-zone temperatures, growth ceases and the production of naturally-occurring plant hormones also decreases. Supplemental application of plant hormones may be beneficial during stressful periods of plant growth in container nurseries.

Numerous biostimulants (non-nutritional growth enhancers) are available today and these products have been useful for decreasing summer decline in various coolseason turfgrasses. Claims made by companies producing plant biostimulants include enhanced root growth,improved stress tolerance, decreased senescence of plant tissue, improved tillering of grasses, increased nutrient translocation, ability to reduce pesticide applications, and improved efficient use of applied nutrients. Early Harvest PGR (Griffin LLC, Valdosta, GA) is a commercial

Ornamental grasses continue to increase in popularity in the southeastern United States. Grasses offer variation in plant texture, form, color, and seasonal interest for homeowners and landscapers.

NESPAL is an acronym for the National Environmentally Sound Production Agriculture Laboratory located at the Coastal Plain Station in Tifton, Georgia (USDA Zone 8A). Unique aspects of the NESPAL complex are the native plant community based design and the use of environmentally sound landscaping practices. The grounds are also being used as a test site for landscape plant establishment and adaptability evaluations. Tifton averages about 100 days per year at or above 32°C (90°F).

• Stanislaus County - A major Agricultural Producer
• County area: 1,000,000 acres
• Population: 433,000 (1/99)
• Ethnicity: White, 70.8%; Hispanic, 21.8%; African-American, 1.6%;
  Pacific Islander/Asian, 5.8%

Stanislaus County is centrally located within the state of California. It occupies a portion of the Northern San Joaquin Valley, extending across it from the foothills of the Sierra Nevada to the principal east to west drainage of the Diablo Range. One of the fastest growing areas of California, the county has increased its population over ten-fold in the last 45 years. The cities of Modesto and Ceres account for half the population of the county. The remainder of the population resides in the other seven cities and the unincorporated areas of the county. The first two irrigation districts formed in California under the Wright Act of 1887, the Modesto and Turlock Irrigation Districts, share Tuolumne River water and power with the City of San Francisco.

Agriculture is the

Foundation Plant Materials Service (FPMS) is a self-supporting service department in the College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences at the University of California, Davis, which produces, tests, maintains, and distributes disease-tested propagating material for use by California nurseries (For additional information, see the FPMS website at http://fpms.ucdavis.edu). At this time, FPMS is responsible for grape (Vitis), strawberry (Fragaria), fruit tree, nut tree, rose (Rosa), and sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) clean-stock programs. Since its inception, scientists working with FPMS have pioneered techniques in grapevine virus disease detection and elimination (Nyland and Goheen,1969; Alley and Golino, 2000). These are the two cornerstones of the clean stock program: the ability to determine whether target virus(es) or other pathogens are present and the ability to eliminate virus from diseased stock.

Micro-shoot tip culture is the method of choice to eliminate virus

Numerous cultivars of stone fruits and grapes have been developed in the breeding programs at the Agricultural Research Service's Fresno laboratory. Evaluation of grapes began in the early 1900s and breeding of table grapes and raisins commenced shortly thereafter. In the mid-1950s, Prunus breeding efforts began to enhance the few available varieties of stone fruit. Breeding efforts in both stone fruits and grapes could be considered traditional and without the use of in vitro cultures until the mid-1970s when embryo culture techniques were first employed. In vitro embryo and ovule cultures are now used routinely to improve the efficiency of the breeding efforts. Micropropagation is also employed in Prunus to provide clones of elite germplasm for experimentation and for the dispersion of new varieties.

  Elementary arithmetic will tell you that my planting trees for dollar profit is no less than eight different kinds of stupid in one. There has to be something else. There are other profits, and being at peace with the Beneficent God is one of them. I am in the blessed position of having a suitable piece of land in these glorious wet tropics and of not being dependent on it for my income. This circumstance carries with it a bounden obligation: that is to do what is right and do it well. So plant trees. Which trees?

In the scrub on my place and in the National Park, which is on three sides of my property, there are probably upwards of 600 species of trees. Dare I suggest that becoming familiar with the vices and virtues of all those would involve a lifetime of work and study? Obviously I don't have a lifetime. It became

Ecological restoration is a rapidly growing field of biology. Grassroots restoration activities have a long history and have recently increased dramatically. These are now being supplemented by state and federally sponsored restoration projects reaching tens and hundreds of millions of dollars, like those in the Everglades, Lake Tahoe, and the Sacramento River and Delta. Academic programs are blossoming nationwide. Mitigation continues to be an important "restoration" activity despite serious concerns about its environmental and scientific validity. Ecological restoration is primarily a plant science (Young, 2000). Its main activities include removal of degradative forces, soil preparation (repair), control of exotic weeds (especially in Western ecosystems), and the planting of native species. It is the latter activity that relies on expert advice from plant propagation specialists.

Plant propagation is an important part of ecological restoration. There has been

A study of various methods of seed treatments to test germination rates may facilitate the reintroduction of the rare species.

Seeds of 14 salt-marsh species were collected, dried, and cleaned. Seed were manually graded under a microscope to select samples which appeared the most viable. Viability evaluations were based only on visual clues such as: uniformity in size, seed color, fullness, symmetry, and lack of insect damage. Graded seed were separated into sub-samples for different treatments. Control group plantings were followed by plantings of both salt- and fresh-water-soaked seed and cold stratified for varying lengths of time.

Several species responded well to soaking treatments. Cold stratification following soaking also produced positive results. The

Patricia Kreiberg: They were all irrigated with fresh well water. We used 44 parts per thousand in the salt-water soak since in a salt marsh situation the water can get as high as 55 parts per thousand. Sea water is 35 parts per thousand so we chose an intermediate concentration.

Plants with roots colonized by mycorrhizal fungi are more effective at nutrient and water acquisition, less susceptible to disease, and can be more productive under certain stressful environmental growing conditions than plants without mycorrhizae. A great deal of information is known about seedling responses to inoculation with mycorrhizal fungi however,there is little information describing the benefits of inoculation during the propagation of woody horticultural crops from cuttings. This paper reviews concepts associated with using mycorrhizal fungi to influence initiation and growth of roots during cutting propagation.

Meadow Lake Nursery is this year celebrating its 15th year as a family business. Todd and Cheroyl Erickson left Bailey's, Oregon, to try their luck in the liner business. Today they have put together a formidable team. One of the exciting things about Meadow Lake is the international feel. We have staff from eight diverse countries, super plants that originated in every corner of the world, and the technologies to grow them that are gleaned from ideas often far from home! Using a range of techniques, Meadow Lake propagates over 150 tree and shrub species from seed and many hundreds more cultivars by cuttings and tissue culture. About 50% of the liner production

The discovery of auxin, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), in the 1930s and its ability to stimulate root initiation demonstrated that a hormonal substance or rhizocaline was involved in the process of root initiation. The synthesis of compounds, such as, indolebutyric acid (IBA) and naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), provided plant propagators with compounds that could increase the range of plants propagated by cuttings, shorten

The Chinese pistache tree has long been a popular tree in temperate areas of the United States. This speciesoriginatesin areas of China, Taiwan, and the Philippines, and is suitable for many areas of the world. Known for thebrilliant fallcolors of red, orange, and yellows in early fall, it is a medium grower to 40 ft in height with a spread ofequaldimensions. Chinese pistache is an excellent street, lawn, yard, parking lot, and park tree.

The genus Chamelaucium consists of a group of medium- to tall-growing shrubs native to the southern and central areas of Western Australia. It is widely cultivated over much of Australia for cut flower production. There is extensive production in southern Queensland and most of the early waxflower exports from Australia emanate from the Toowoomba, Darling Downs, and Lockyer Valley districts of Queensland.

Most Chamelaucium forms are highly susceptible to the soil-borne fungus Phytophthora cinnamomi, or root rot fungus. The poorly drained heavy soils of south Queensland and the intense summer rainfall make the spread of the fungal spores in waxflower plantations very rapid and many waxflower growers experience significant plant losses during each summer growing period. It is not uncommon for south Queensland waxflower growers to suffer losses of 10% of plants per year with cutting-propagated plants. This level of loss makes waxflower plantations uneconomic and profitability

Numerous ornamental tree species have fruit-bearing characteristics that make them undesirable, especially when thetrees overhang sidewalks, driveways and streets. Among other problems, nuisance fruits create slipping hazards forpedestrians. City park departments are especially concerned about such fruits, as they are liable for injuries caused bytrees growing in city easements.

A number of trials were conducted in early to mid-1990s to determine the effectiveness of ethephon and NAA (naphthaleneacetic acid) in eliminating the fruits of several commonly planted ornamental trees. At the time of the trials,relatively few species could be legally treated for fruit elimination in California; NAA was registered for eliminatingolive (Olea europaea), pear (Pyrus spp.) and plum (Prunus spp.) fruits, ethephon for eliminating appleand crabapple (Malus spp.), carob (Ceratonia siliqua), and olive fruits, and mefluidide for eliminating olivefruits. This report summarizes

Mexico is an excellent destination for plant collecting because it is close by; it has an amazing range of plants, most famously orchids, bromeliads, cacti, other succulents, cycads, and euphorbias; and it has a wide range of climates because of its varied geography. Horticulturists interested in tropical plants, desert plants, temperate plants, or alpine plants can find them all in Mexico.

Development of new products takes commitment of both time and resources. Every company has their own procedures for introducing new varieties. I am going to outline the general procedures used at Ball FloraPlant when developing a new cutivar. I am going to use the New Guinea Impatiens ‘Celebration Neon Salmon’ as an example to walk you through the steps from the original cross through retail sale.

The University of British Columbia Botanical Garden Plant Introduction Scheme has been introducing and recommending plants since 1985. Roy Taylor, then Director of the Botanical Gardens established the program in 1980 to foster strong links with the nursery industry and provide the public with a continuing source of interesting and reliable landscape plants. The UBC Botanical Garden, initially a campus arboretum planted in 1916, and subsequently reduced to a rose garden and a few ancillary plantings because of campus development through the 1960s, grew to over 70 acres under Dr. Taylor's direction. It now boasts magnificent collections of woody and herbaceous plants from around the temperate world in a variety of garden settings. It was from these collections that the idea for a plant introduction program was borne.

Our present Director, Bruce Macdonald (I.P.P.S. Western Region President 1988–89 and I.P.P.S. International President 1996–97), is responsible for most of the

Telopea truncata (Tasmanian waratah) has been harvested under license but some small plantations are under cultivation on the west coast of Tasmania, at a place called Waratah. Some years ago a lot of research was conducted into this magnificent flower. The colour forms from locations around the state have been collected. These are being grown along with mainland species that may be more

When we go to an I.P.P.S. meeting we naturally think about how to put roots on cuttings and many talks center around this. But instead of talking about rooting, I want to share some of my life in I.P.P.S. with you — some thoughts and a bit of philosophy. I was born in the little country of Denmark in Europe at the beginning of the Second World War. My father and mother had a little 1-ha nursery and that is where I grew up and started my life with plants. I apprenticed withbigger nurseries and went to horticulture school in Copenhagen. Soon,

Dear I.P.P.S. members, do you have any problems propagating woody plants by cuttings? We in the forest industry havetrees, such as Eucalyptus, which are widely planted for pulpwood by paper-making companies that aredifficult-to-root species. Today's nursery techniques for the mass vegetative propagation of Eucalyptus forplantations are well summarized by Eldridge et al. (1993). The encyclopedic information compiled by the InternationalPlant Propagators' Society, in the Combined Proceedings (the black book) would be one of the best if you had onlyone propagating source. An additional information resource would be the World-Wide Web bibliographic patent databasesoffered by the Japanese patent office. This article will review recent advances in forest-tree cutting propagation,especially focusing on the technology published in the Japanese patent database.

Various functions of water have been studied at Akatsuka Orchid Co., Ltd. since 1984. The major focus of research was on functions of rare metals and minerals such as iron. Currently, selected tests are going on at our company's farm, private farms, and other companies. Cooperative research projects are also being conducted with several research institutions. The term and concept of "functional water" has been used since 1990s in Japan. Functional water is defined as "physically and chemically processed water that has additional functions, such as higher reactivity, probably due to structural changes of the water caused by pH change, reducing oxidation reduction potential, increasing surface activity, etc.". There are a number of different processes adding functions to water including; electrolysis, magnetism, far infrared, membranes, microorganisms, evaporation, resonance energy, electric fields, supersonic waves, ozone, minerals, and ceramics.

The process used at our

Azaleas are produced on about 800 ha of field in Mie Prefecture, called by the name Mie SATSUKI. It is famous in Japan. A mechanical system for azalea cutting production is being developed but field planting work has not yet been undertaken with a mechanical system. Current planting work is very demanding because it must be carried out manually in the May rainy season. If we could establish a tray planting system for mechanical planting in nursery this system would make the field planting work easier.

Rooftop planting garden styles include: traditional Japanese, private home, European style, and the new garden against the heat island problem.

Currently, use of a garden to reduce heat islands is receiving the major attention, and many companies compete in this field in construction methods and designs. For this type of garden, sedums (such as, Sedum mexicanum (Fig.2), S. sarmentosum (Fig. 3), S. makinoi (Fig. 4), and S. oryzifolium (syn. S. uniflorumsubsp. oryzifolium) (Fig. 5) are considered as useful plants because they are expected to resist dry-weather.

I chose S.

Kodai rice has the following characteristics: strong vitality, potential of growing on uncultivated land without fertilizer and chemicals, resistance to dry and cold conditions, taller height, self-shattering, and lower yield.

Once the rice grain emerges from its ear it can give us the enjoyment of watching the characteristic color develop and provide us with a romantic feeling.

Therefore, we are researching the challenge of growing ancient rice types, especially red rice, in pot culture.

Red rice is rice that has a red color in the rice husk and needle; this red colored pigment results from tannins. When polished the color of the

Eucalyptus taxa are polygenus plants comprised of more than 500 species that are native to the Oceania region but predominantly Australia. Many of these Eucalyptus plants have excellent growth properties, the ability to adapt to various environments, and a low level of serious insect damage. Since they are also suited industrially to the production of lumber, pulp, and firewood, afforestation of Eucalyptus species is conducted in various regions around the world.

Mass Propagation by Tissue Culture. Tissue culture propagation of K. latifolia was carried out as follows. Vegetative shoot tips 1 to 2 cm in length from spring and summer shoots were excised and surface-sterilized with ethanol and sodium hypochlorite solutions. They

The Centre for Wet Tropics Agriculture (CWTA) is located on the Wet Tropical Coast of north-eastern Queensland, approximately 100 km south of Cairns, 60 km north of Tully, and 100 km southeast of Atherton. Climate is wet and tropical, and is one of the dominant driving forces, with an annual rainfall of between 2000 and 4000 mm. The research station has had a long history of service to agriculture, being originally established by the Bureau of Sugar Experimental Stations (BSES) in 1917 for research on sugar.

In 1935, the station became the Bureau of Tropical Agriculture to investigate a range of field and horticultural crops, including soybean, sunflower, tea, rice, maize, sweet potato, jute, and kenaf. Tropical pasture research and species evaluation dominated from the post-war period until 1975 when the first banana research got under way.

Following surrender of the cane assignment in the 1980s, banana research intensified and began the expansion of tropical fruits in

There are many species and horticultural cultivars of ornamental plants grown with many new crops and new cultivars introduced every year. Although we can find research papers on the morphogenesis of bud and root formation few such papers exist for such research on ornamental plants that also synthesize the entire process. This investigation is the start of those comparative studies which will require at least 10 years to obtain these research achievements. The first year's experiments were made on the environmental conditions during initial rooting of Dianthus caryophyllus, rose pink.

Breeding. We were selecting many excellent plants from statice seedlings in cooperation with growers, experiment stations, agricultural co-ops, and some of these were registered as new cultivars after field testing.

Propagation by Tissue Culture. Vitrification of micropropagated shoots of

In 1995, Oji Paper Co., Ltd., Nissho Iwai Corp., and Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. established a forestry company, Quy Nhon Plantation Forest Company of Vietnam Ltd. (QPFL), in Binh Dinh province, Vietnam, for the production of raw material for pulp and paper.

Binh Dinh province is located in a temperate monsoonal area. The rainy season period is from October to December, and the dry season period is from January to September. The mean annual rainfall is 2400 mm and the mean annual temperature is 24°C.

Annual planting area target covers 1500 ha and harvesting period is 7 years. Therefore, the final planting area target totals 10,500 ha. As of 1999, planted area covered about 7200 ha. Eucalyptus camaldulensis and Acacia auriculiformis are the species planted and the ratio of these species is 4 : 6. The standing density is 1666 trees ha^-1 (spacing is 3 m × 2 m). The number of seedlings raised annual is nearly 3 millions.

There are several reasons that account for this low domestic production. Cultural methods have not yet been established to fit our natural conditions, such as climatic factors, in Japan. Climatic conditions in this country differ from that of the countries mentioned as suppliers. The hot weather in summer seems to be an especially limiting factor for cultivation. Our aim was, therefore, to

The words making up the name of the International Plant Propagators Society (I.P.P.S.) are worth examining closer and examining each separately we can gain a better understanding of our unique organization.

CONTENTS

1. Comments by Chairperson, Dr. Takeda (President, IPPS-Japan).
   Please read the constitution of I.P.P.S. at the end of Proceedings of the
         7th Annual Conference in Suzuka, Mie Pref. and understand that
         the organization of I.P.P.S. IPPS-Japan has been mainly run by the
         collective opinion of researchers; however, it should be operated for
         the members which are plant propagators.
   I strongly wish that IPPS-Japan will contribute to activate
         agribusinesses for the members by means of activities such as
         nursery tours and training seminars.
   I.P.P.S. is an international organization that has 50 years of history
         oriented to plant propagators.
   This is the 7th conference in Japan. Year by year interrelationships
         between members are being established and they are continuing to
         grow as long-term faithful relationships.
   I would like to ask you the members to continue to grow these
         prosperous relationships.
   

The source of the rootstocks used for our grafted mango trees were the semi-wild mangoes growing round the district. We'd go and fight the inebriated parrots and the mango chutney makers for the fallen fruit, clean them up, open the seed, and extract and plant the kernel.

Our land holding is quite small and rather than grow seed we used all available space for budwood trees and thought that this arrangement was pretty clever. Then about 4 to 5 years ago the weather

European licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra L. var. typica) is the commonly cultivated member of the genus Glycyrrhiza. Other common names include liquorice and sweetwood. A member of the Leguminosae family, European licorice is a perennial deciduous herb, which grows to a height of 1 to 2 m. It produces long thin roots that grow more than 1 m deep, and creeping underground rhizomes that can grow several metres long. Both roots and rhizomes are yellow and juicy inside. The tops are frost tender and die down in the winter, shooting again from the underground crown in the spring. The plant propagates by producing new plants from buds on the rhizomes.

European licorice is native from southern Europe to Pakistan and northern India, and grows in warm temperate to subtropical climates. It can grow on riverbanks and in areas with seasonal rainfall.

Commercial licorice extract is obtained by boiling or diffusing the shredded roots and rhizomes of the licorice plant in water, and then

The Nursery Industry Association of Australia, Australian Horticultural Corporation, and the Horticultural Research and Development Corporation commissioned a project in 1999 to analyse nursery exports. The project considered:

• Extent of exports
• Products and markets
• Pitfalls and successes
• Development and production of a Beginners Guide for Nursery Export
• Recommendations for further development

Australia now has a coordinated national Citrus Improvement Program (CIP) and budwood and rootstock seed schemes called AUSCITRUS. AUSCITRUS will be responsible for pre-post importation, multiplication, and release of high-health true-to-type budwood and rootstock seed to the citrus industry.

AUSCITRUS is an initiative of the Australian Citrus Propagation Association (ACP), the Australian Citrus Improvement Association (ACIA), the Horticultural Research and Development Corporation (HRDC), and NSW Agriculture.

The new cooperative has appointed a National Industry Development Manager (IDM). The IDM's role will be to: manage market research into existing and new selections and their unique cultural practices; evaluate market potential for overseas and in Australia including market access; implement uniform planting guidelines and recommendations for compliance with market and production needs; liaise and communicate with researchers, growers, AQIS, HRDC, Australian

In 1974, after working for 22 years at Windsor Great Park, my parents returned to the Highlands of Scotland and started the nursery known as Highland Liliums. The nursery was started and named with a view to producing virus-resistant strains of hybrid lily. We had liaised with Scottish Horticultural Research Institute at Invergowrie on the propagation and marketing of lilium bulbs raised by Dr. North. Today the lilies are still grown but on a much smaller scale than originally planned.

It didn't take long for us to realise that growing lily bulbs was not going to secure a solid future for us and, over the years, we began to produce other plants. Easier seed-sown items such as bedding plants, alpines, and herbaceous perennials were grown. A small retail operation began which sold these products and soon other stock was bought in to retail.

Development into bigger things took place with the advent of Scotstock Nurseries, marketing co-operative of which Highland Liliums

In the author's opinion, there are already too many cultivars of autumn gentians. Many of the older cultivars are late flowering and have untidy growth habits with long, trailing shoots bearing single flowers. Mediocre seedlings have been named over the years. Some are difficult to grow and lack permanence in the garden, others are difficult to tell apart, undistinguished, and indistinguishable.

This paper reports on a gentian breeding programme started at Macplants Nursery in East Lothian 9 years ago which resulted in plants which are compact, yet robust, and vigorous. Many of these plants have multiheaded trusses of flowers with improved colour, conformation, and substance, some with attractive markings. A feature has been thick, broad leaves. Early to mid-season flowering has been another successful aim of breeding.

Autumn gentians are lime haters and will not grow on calcareous soils, such as occur in many parts of England. Even where soil conditions seem suitable

Vireyas (rhododendrons of section Vireya) are species with long-tailed seeds and tapering ovary to style junctions. They mostly occur as epiphytes in the mountains of the southeast Asian archipelago, distributed from southwest Thailand to the Himalayan region, along to southern China and Taiwan, south through the Philippines, to Queensland in Australia, and west to the Solomon Islands.

It is the largest section in the genus Rhododendron with just over 300 species (Argent, et al., 1988, Argent, et al., 1996) and more than half of these occur on the island of New Guinea, which on a recent count had 160 species (van Royen and Kores, 1982). They are mostly epiphytic plants of cool montane cloud forests but a few species occur down to sea level in the tropics and some grow in alpine situations up to nearly 4000 m (13,000 ft). These plants are extremely varied in flower colour and shape, although they lack anything near a true blue and do not possess the marked zygomorphic

The first vireya rhododendron cultivated at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) was Rhododendron javanicum, originally introduced from Malaysia via England during the Victorian era. However it was not until much later that the collection really began to expand, starting with the introduction of R. beyerinckianum from New Guinea in 1949 by Capt. R. Stonor. From these small beginnings, the present collection has grown to become the largest assemblage of vireya species in cultivation anywhere in the world. The foundation for this was firmly laid down by two RBGE botanists, Mr. Burtt and Mr. Woods during the years 1962 to 1968, with many new introductions of wild source material directly from Sarawak and New Guinea.

During the past 25 years the most significant contribution to the expansion of living collection has been made by Dr. George Argent, aided by former members of horticultural staff: Assistant Curator, Mr. R. Kerby and Garden Supervisors, Ian Sinclair and John

It was around 25 or 30 years ago that I first encountered vireya rhododendrons (Rhododendron section Vireya). On a summer trip to the U.S.A. I visited the Strybing Arboretum, in San Francisco, and was surprised to find a bed of rhododendrons in full flower during August. I later found out, from the Director of the Arboretum, that these were hybrid vireya rhododendrons. He kindly supplied me with some cuttings, which duly rooted. This was the start of my vireya collection.

My collection is mainly concerned with hybrids. These generally have a better habit of growth and more exciting colours than the naturally occurring species, and make a useful addition to the range of plants available for the conservatory or cool greenhouse.

All vireyas are tender and must be kept frost-free. All my plants spend the winter months under glass or polythene where a minimum temperature of 10 to 12°C is maintained. When the danger of frost is past, generally at the end of May, vireyas are very

Growing media have always been subject to gradual evolution. There will be few growers who have not adjusted and tweaked their composts over the years. Physically the emphasis has been on getting the right compost structure — the correct balance of air and moisture availability. Chemically there have been tremendous improvements in the accuracy of nutrient delivery. Increasingly we will see the introduction of biological agents said to improve plant health and create stronger resistance to attack by pests and pathogens.

Until recently growers based their growing media decisions on which peat to use, a choice probably driven by the compromise between price and quality. The inclusion of a structural amendment such as bark or grit would largely depend on crop type and market price. Today, as with every other industry, growers need to consider the environmental impact of their methods, which in terms of growing media means peat and pesticides.

The aim of this paper is to help

Lopez-Bucio et al. (2000) emphasises the importance of phosphorus (P) in world agricultural production. They state that it is one of the most important nutrients limiting agriculture. In acid and alkaline soils, which make up over 70% of the world's arable land, P forms insoluble compounds that are not available for plant use. To reduce P deficiencies and ensure plant productivity, nearly 30 million tons of P fertiliser are applied every year. Up to 80% of the applied fertiliser is lost because it becomes immobile and unavailable for plant uptake.

The production of plants in nurseries in Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand has a history of difficulties related to P nutrition. This is because these countries often have soils that are inherently low in available P and native flora is adapted to this. Often when these types of plants are grown with fertilisers containing P, they have a relatively high proportion of plants that are prone to P toxicity, particularly the

Propagation by cuttings is not a natural process. Propagators manipulate plant material under controlled environmental conditions to multiply clones of desirable plants. The medium the cuttings are stuck in is an important part of this artificial environment so it is important for propagators to understand what cuttings need from a rooting medium

Choice Plants was set up from scratch 5 years ago with a third-hand polythene tunnel and very old Portakabin. The aim of the nursery is to provide good quality shrubs, with some grasses, to local garden centres and landscapers. Capital for expansion projects has been raised entirely through the nursery's profits and is therefore always tight. In addition the nursery has to rely mainly on unskilled labour. This has meant that although I have a love of propagating and would always want to see some happening on the nursery, I have had to carefully evaluate why, what, and how we propagate. The purpose of this paper is to show that plant propagation is possible and viable with the most basic equipment and limited resources.

Propagation scheduling is allowing Lowaters Nursery to plan production to meet expected customer demand up to 5 years in advance, to high specifications, pest and disease free for an evershrinking sales window. Production efficiency and the ability to meet customer demand in terms of specification and delivery dates depends on getting the start of the process right.

At Lowaters we have learnt to work closely with our customers to provide them with the product quality they want and the level of service they expect. We are always looking to introduce new or different taxa to keep customers coming back. Our policy is to always let our customers know if there is a problem and to listen to them and learn about their methods and requirements.

• Can we grow the taxa?
• What is the turnaround time at each stage?
• What month will those stages be from start to finish?
• Will

There are a number of South African bulbs held in the Living Collection at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. However, the collection does not represent fully the diversity in this group. My study aimed to help me develop an understanding of how South African bulbs should be grown in cultivation by viewing them in their natural habitat. I also wanted to gather information on their propagation and investigate species likely to be suitable for outdoor cultivation in the U.K. I would also benefit by gaining field study skills. Funding was made available through the I.P.P.S. Mary Helliar Travel Scholarship and other funding sources.

Invaluable information was gained by seeing the exact growing conditions of particular species in the wild. Through my experience of viewing different species in the wild I was able to help determine the potting mix to use at Kew. The climate of the Amatola mountains near Stutterheim is very much in tune to our own climate in southern England,

In Autumn 1999 I was invited to join a study tour to the Western Cape Province of South Africa, organised by the British Heather Society. Tour guides were Ted Oliver — the world's leading expert on South African Erica and Inge Oliver who has worked alongside Ted for many years and shares his knowledge and enthusiasm for South African plants in general and ericas in particular. They were joined by local experts at various locations throughout the trip, which included a diverse range of habitats and excellent specimens of many Erica species.

The Cape Province of South Africa is the main centre of diversity for the world's Erica species with more than 625 recorded species (compared with 21 species in the whole of Europe). More are still being discovered as people visit remote locations at different times of year.

I had expected to see expanses of heathers on the scale of the Calluna species in the Scottish highlands, with the hope that forms found at altitude would be hardy and

This paper describes the production of Cordyline australis and cultivars from bought-in ex-agar propagules and from seed, at Hewton Nursery. It is not necessarily a recommendation for other nurseries with other production systems, simply an insight into what works well in one particular situation. There are 15 species of cordyline ranging from shrubs to small trees. They are spread over a wide area from southeast Asia in the west to Hawaii in the east, taking in Australasia and Polynesia. Some of the species are too tender to grow in northern Europe. Cordyline australis is the species commonly grown in Europe. In its native New Zealand it can reach up to 20 m but here it normally reaches only a fraction of that. Cordyline australis is a versatile plant that will grow in many different situations and is just as happy in borders or as a spot plant as in pots on patios. Cordyline australis requires a well drained soil or growing medium that does not become waterlogged. Plants

The genus Leptospermum contains more than 70 species that are endemic to Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. The majority of species are endemic to Australia (Thompson, 1983; 1989). New Zealand has only one species, L. scoparium, which is also endemic to New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania. Selected forms of several species are sold in the nursery trade. However, only L. scoparium has been extensively bred as a garden plant (Dawson, 1990). More than 100 cultivars of L. scoparium have been named, but less than 30 cultivars have been bred from all the other species (Harris et al., 1995). Flower colour of L. scoparium ranges from white to pink, to crimson, with both single- and double-flowered types, and plant forms from upright to prostrate.

The genetic base of these L. scoparium cultivars is quite narrow. The red petal colour of most cultivars appears to have been derived from 2 or 3 wild accessions (Harrison, 1974). Most of the original breeding of L. scoparium

With background in our breeding of Aster novi-belgii relations of importance for the efficiency in breeding are described. The procedure in Aster can be used in other vegetatively propagated plants. Crossings are made in the autumn and the first selection among seedlings is performed the coming spring. Selected seedlings are cloned and two groups of each clone are grown according to a standard programme for potted A. novi-belgii. The clones flower approximately 1 year after the crossings are made. The best clones are then selected and evaluated the following season in a number of nurseries prior to a final selection of clones worth introducing to the market. This time schedule gives a period of 2.5 years from crossing until plants are available on the market (Kristiansen, 1996; Kristiansen and Brandt, 1994).

Breeding of Aster is carried out in cooperation with the Danish Pot Aster Association (25 to 30 nurseries producing approximately 7 million pots). The breeding was

F₁-breeding of seed-propagated species is an important method for breeding new cultivars. At Dæhnfeldt we have number of breeding programmes in progress, but we frequently decide whether we are going to start new programmes. We get inspiration and ideas for new cultivars from many places: exhibitions, journeys, botanical gardens, catalogues, magazines, customers, and trend researchers. There is seldom lack of ideas but they have to be discussed thoroughly before decisions are made because breeding must be profitable. A number of questions are important:

• Do the species fit into our assortment?
• How big is the market? It can be very difficult to estimate for small or new crops, while the market for larger, well-known crops can be estimated from various statistics.
• How is the competition?
• Will we be alone with the new cultivars of the particular species or are we the seventeenth seed company with series of the species?
• What is the cost of producing seeds? It can be very

Ex-Plant ApS was founded on 1 July 1995 by Leif Markvart and Carsten Leth and is located in Stige in the northern part of Odense, Denmark. Leif Markvart has his Master Degree in Horticulture and is operating the Leif Markvart nursery which produces young plants. Carsten Leth is trained as a horticultural technician and functions today as the manager of Ex-Plant ApS. At the same time, he is responsible for all breeding and seed production activities.

The creation of Ex-Plant ApS was based on the Exacum gene bank and seed production techniques originally developed by Erik Rosendal in Assens, Denmark. Erik Rosendal was a leading person for 15 years in the breeding and seed production of E. affine. The position which Exacum holds today in the Danish assortment of potted plants can, to a large extent, be attributed to Erik Rosendal's perseverance with regard to the culture of this plant. A portion of the Exacum gene bank which Ex-Plant has at its disposal today consist of

The term "new plant" includes new cultivars within known species as well as new species which have not earlier been grown in Denmark. The new plants described here are all tested for specific diseases according to the Departmental Order no. 576 of 7 July 1999, from the Danish Plant Directorate, and nuclear stock plants are available.

For 35 years the Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences has developed new plants. It takes 10 to 20 years to develop a good new plant which is tested under Danish climate conditions. For example, we have been working on a new introduction of Stachyurus praecox from Japan for 15 years. The following describes some of the new plants selected for Danish growth conditions.

Abelia ×grandiflora ‘Nanna’. Abelia is a genus closely related to Kolkwitzia, and only includes low shrubs, 1 to 1.5 m tall. This makes the genus interesting for gardening, because gardens of today are often small. In countries like Japan and U.S.A. Abelia species are commonly

Methods for DNA fingerprinting were originally developed for use in forensic medicine but are now widely used for many purposes concerning analyses of practically any kind of biological system. This mini-review is intended to introduce the concept of DNA fingerprinting; it is in no way an exhaustive and detailed description of techniques and their applications. Rather, the purpose is to present a few examples of the use of fingerprinting, and thereby hopefully enable the plant breeder or propagator to consider whether a problem may be solved easier by using some kind of DNA fingerprinting.

Breeding of ornamentals has traditionally been done by growers. Some growers had a special eye for picking up mutations, while others have done serious, planned crosses to improve plant material systematically. Breeding of ornamentals at the Department of Horticulture started with a small project on keeping quality in Christmas begonia (Begonia ×cheimantha) in 1989. Breeding of ornamentals does in principle not differ from breeding of any other crop, but the breeding goals may vary. In addition, most of the ornamentals are vegetatively propagated.

Modern methods for breeding often include in vitro techniques and/or molecular biology in one or more steps in the breeding process. The following have been included in this paper: embryo rescue, in vitro selection, somaclonal variation, double haploids and chromosome elimination, and transformation/gene technology. This is not a complete review on the subject, the aim is to illustrate the methods mentioned with some history as

In Danish legislative terms, the proper translation of Intellectual Property Rights is Immaterial Rights. The legislative provisions, which are protecting, e.g., art and literature, inventions, and trade marks against wrongful exploitation, are as a whole named "The Immaterial Right" (IR). The IR is divided into subgroups, each consisting of specific legislation:

• Copyright legislation, covering art and literature.
• Patent and Utility Patent legislation, covering inventions and products.
• Law on Plant Novelties and the EU-Directive, covering plants.
• Design legislation, covering design.
• Trade Mark legislation, covering trade marks, signs, and ensigns.

IR, thus, comprises almost any thinkable form of protection of rights, which can be mastered by more or less ingenious brains. The true watermark of all immaterial legislation, which ties up the individual areas of legislation into one similar group, is the principle of monopoly. The content of the monopoly regulations

New attention is being given to two of the most ancient and revered conifers, the Japanese umbrella-pine (Sciadopitys verticillata Sieb. et Zucc.) and the giant sequoia [Sequoiadendron giganteum (Lindl.) Buchh.]. Both have had limited landscape value, and they are not commonly grown in the U.S.A. and Europe except in arboreta, botanical gardens, and on prestigious estates. Recent developments, including the discovery of several cultivars, have raised the possibility of broader use of these magnificent conifers.

Sciadopitys verticillata is now listed by Farjon (1998) in the monotypic family Sciadopityaceae but had been traditionally listed under Taxodiaceae. Although its common name is listed as "pine", it doesn't resemble a pine or any other conifer. The needles are thick and flat and arranged in an upward whorl like an inverted parasol (Fig. 1). In some respects it appears more ancient than other conifers, and indeed the fossil record goes back to the Upper Triassic. It is

Adventitious root formation (ARF) of cuttings is substantially affected by the initial nitrogen and carbohydrate status (Haissig, 1986; Blazich, 1988; Veierskov, 1988). High nitrogen supply to stock plants, meeting or even surpassing the level necessary for maximum growth, has often been observed to decrease subsequent rooting of cuttings (Roeber and Reuther, 1982; Haissig, 1986; Henry et al., 1992). Such effects have been discussed repeatedly in relation to decreased carbohydrate levels and decreased C : N ratio, which was first suggested by Kraus and Kraybill (1918) to be a crucial characteristic for ARF. However, there exists a large amount of conflicting data (Hansen et al., 1978; Leakey, 1983; Haissig, 1986; Veierskov, 1988; Leakey and Storeton-West, 1992). In a recent study, ARF of chrysanthemum cuttings at natural radiation in a greenhouse during spring and summer was found to be positively correlated with initial nitrogen concentrations, and not impeded by

Propagation by semihardwood cuttings is mostly done in a humidity, temperature, and irradiance controlled environment to ensure high survival percentages. Unheated tunnels with intermittent mist systems are used for summer propagation of semihardwood cuttings (Wennemuth, 1975; Bärtels, 1982). Some ornamental shrubs are propagated by planting leafy semihardwood cuttings directly in the field under polyethylene cover. This low-cost system is easy to manage but results vary from year to year presumably due to environmental fluctuations. Growers are, therefore, planting an excess of cuttings to ensure a sufficient number of plants the following year.

In Denmark planting of cuttings in the field takes place in June and July. This creates a labor peak for most nurseries. The aim of this experiment was to determine whether it is possible to extend the planting period of cuttings towards autumn for a number of ornamental shrubs in order to level the peak of propagation.

All nursery production systems have a plant protection component. The consideration of management practices for plant disease is part of this. Diseased plants at the production or retail stage are undesirable and directly and indirectly cause loss of time, loss of sales, and usually add additional cost. Better management of disease is desirable and can be achieved through improved identification, diagnosis, and treatment of disease leading on to disease prevention involving all aspects of the propagation and production systems in the nursery.

The discussion was led by the panel and covered the following main points:

Seedlings of liner plants for forestry in Norway are mainly Picea abies (85%) and Pinus sylvestris. Norwegian nurseries use two different trays, so called M60 (60 cells, each cell is 75 cm³) and M95 (95 cells, each cell is 50 cm³), to produce about 50 million 1/0 and 2/0 liner plants each year. The plants are grown 2 to 4 months in a greenhouse before they are moved outside.

One-year-old plants are packed in the autumn and overwintered in a coolstore before they are sold in the spring. Two-year-old plants are normally overwintered outdoors after the first growing season, grown at the same place the second season, and then sold in the autumn or packed for cool storage and sold in the spring.

Dietary herbs and fermented legumes are excellent sources of phenolic phytochemicals. These phenolic phytochemicals are important, not only as food preservatives, but are also increasingly interesting for therapeutic and pharmaceutical applications (Shetty, 1997). Understanding the nutritional and therapeutic role of dietary phytochemicals is an important scientific agenda for food science and nutrition now and in the future.

Phenolic phytochemicals are becoming very significant in a time when food is playing a major role in disease prevention in a global population projected to increase to 10 billion by 2050. Disease prevention through the diet is potentially the most effective tool to improve health and reduce the increasing health-care costs for the expanding global population. In line with this perspective and vision one of the major goals of Botanical Operations is to use biotechnological tools to develop improved clonal lines of dietary herbs and improved

German experiments have shown that the physical characteristics of peat-based growing media only play a minor role for the growth of a large range of potted plants produced in Northern Europe during normal cultivation conditions (Scharpf, 1997). During Winter and Spring 1999 no correlation was observed between the physical characteristics (water retention and particle size distribution) of peat-based growing media and the quality of the potted plants produced by several growers in Denmark. Pilot studies at the Department of Horticulture, indicated that incorporation of activated alumina (Compalox^®, Alusuisse Martinswerk GmbH, Germany) in peat-based growing media, improved root growth compared to the same media without activated alumina. Incorporating small amounts of activated alumina (approximately 2 %) does not affect the physical characteristics significantly, hence improved root growth cannot be due to changed physical characteristics of the growing media, such as

We are going to be looking back on 50 years of history at this meeting and at the same time we are trying to balance the history with the present; I think we have a good balance. It is good to look back, especially at 50 years but we will also be looking forward to continue are mission of "Seeking and Sharing". The next 3 days will be full of tours, papers, and the opportunity to talk propagation. There is also a lot of business conducted in hallways

During the last decade as biotechnology has become more commonplace, horticultural businesses and industry associations are increasingly being approached with propositions that they support projects that involve genetic engineering. Although most often the basic science that is being proposed is sound and of practical value, what often is missing is a realistic appraisal of the total framework, both economical and political, which will determine the ultimate success of the project. My goal in this paper is to offer some perspectives that may be useful in such situations. Although the emphasis will be ornamental crops, the ideas are applicable to most any crop. The opinions offered here are totally my own and have been formulated during more than several decades of work in this field.

This area was once a true ecological treasure house. It was here that the deciduous forests that at one time, covered the Eastern part of this the continent, began to give way to the expansive grassland ecosystems of the middle continent. The western coast of Lake Michigan has had many unique and irreplaceable habitats occupy its shore line and adjacent boundary lands. Prairies once ran nearly unbroken from Lake Michigan nearly all the way to the great Mississippi River, and beyond. These various types of prairies — dry, mesic, wet, savanna, mixed woodland, and others — all combined to form a distinct

The Importance of Soil pH in Horticulture. It is generally accepted that conditions of optimal soil pH exist for individual plant species, and that tolerances vary among species and families. In particular, plants which grow well on acidic soils, also known as acidophilic or calcifugous plants, not only tend to become chlorotic at high soil pH due to iron (Fe) or manganese (Mn) deficiency, but also can tolerate excess Fe, Mn, and aluminum (Al) ions in the soil solution of acidic soil. More common are plants that are sensitive to free Al ions at low soil pH, and are able to sequester and take up the bound forms of Fe and Mn at higher soil pH, known as calcicolus plants. Other plants, called amphitolerant, can tolerate a wide range of soil pH (e.g., 3.5 to 8.5). Very little research has been done on woody ornamental plants to evaluate the precise limits or mechanisms of tolerance to soil acidity or alkalinity. In practice, horticulturists develop working lists of plants

Denmark was the choice of the Scandinavian Region for their 1999 meeting and that was the ultimate destination. However, fortune was in our favor and we had an opportunity to fly to The Netherlands first and then proceed onto Denmark. This was a choice that was planned and should a future recipient have the opportunity I would highly recommend a stopover in Holland.

While not much time was allotted for the Holland excursion, having only one day, I opted to go to the Tropenberg Arboretum in Rotterdam. For those interested in North American natives this is a must stop as it represents one of the finest collections of North American plants that I have seen. Much can be learned from going to the Arboretum and admiring the work of Professor Van hoey Smith.

Traveling by train, my wife

Electrical conductivity (EC) of plant tissues has been examined by horticulturists to elucidate plant developmental status, however, much work needs to be done to make it a practical tool. Whitlow et al. (1992) and Brønnum (1998) are but two of many researchers who have tried to correlate leaf and stem conductivity to specific times of the year. Brønnum (1998) developed a protocol for the timing of harvesting evergreen tree seedlings based upon EC readings.

The theory of electrical conductivity is based upon the idea that plant cell components are largely made up of water-based solutions much of which are composed of mineral nutrients such as nitrogen, calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, sulfur, oxygen, and potassium. Some of these nutrients are further integrated with carbon-based compounds such as sugars, proteins, and amino acids along with a host of more minor chemicals. Since many of the mineral elements are ionic in nature they contribute substantially to the degree

Often clients come to us asking for assistance in sorting out serious problems they have with another party that they have entered into a working relationship with, due mainly to the fact that an inappropriate or no written agreement at all has been entered into between the parties. I want to give you some basic pointers regarding the most important factors to consider and agree upon with the other party, prior to entering into a legal contract. These factors are particularly important in relation to arrangements regarding plant variety rights (PVR), trade marks, or other forms of intellectual property. This is very important, because if these arrangements go wrong, you could end up spending a lot of money sorting it out or end up losing control of your hard-earned intellectual property.

Marketing of native plants by a mail-order nursery necessitates a different approach than a traditional nursery or garden center. Native plants are either "unknown" or thought of as "weeds" to the uninformed gardener. Extensive customer education is needed in order to make the customer aware of the features and benefits of native plants. We must also address the negative image of natives as "weeds" or untidy plants in the landscape.

Being a mail-order nursery does not allow very much one-on-one communication with the customer. This means we must be clean and concise on the message we present. The use of multiple media is necessary to reach the broad audience we are targeting.

Our marketing philosophy is summed up by two slogans which we use: "We-Du Natives" and "If you can find it in a garden center, we probably don't grow it!"

Propagation of Berberis thunbergii cultivars as a softwood cuttings at Zelenka Nursery has its challenges. We will be sharing the changes that we have made to our propagation program. We have two main focuses. One is to increase rooting percentages and produce a quality liner for our container program. The qualifier is not to increase cost and to improve yields in both propagation and container program.

They must also be very drought tolerant because, except for special irrigation arrangements, they must rely on natural precipitation falling on minimal tree lawns or small planting

Tissue proliferation (TP) was first found in the mid-1980s and became a significant topic for propagators and growers by the early 1990s. The disorder is characterized by the development of callus-like tissue, often accompanied by adventitious buds and/or shoots, typically produced at the crown of rhododendron plants. TP has been observed on large-leaf and small-leaf rhododendrons, azaleas, and Kalmia latifolia. The superficial similarity in appearance of the gall-like growths or tumors of TP to crown gall caused considerable concern and problems for growers and nursery inspectors.

No evidence has been generated demonstrating that TP is caused by Agrobacterium tumefaciens or any other pathogenic organism. Today, it is generally believed that TP is not crown gall of rhododendron. The occurrence of TP mostly on micropropagated plants, or those with a history of tissue culture, has focused attention on the tissue culture process as a trigger for the development of TP in

As you would expect numerous papers have been given at I.P.P.S. meetings over the past 50 years on how to use and what to root using mist propagation, but few papers looking directly at types of mist nozzles. In looking at the different mist nozzles the range available is amazing, all claim to do the same thing but in many different ways. They will all provide the cuttings with a covering of water, but how we use them is the critical thing.

As a way to look at the different types of nozzles in use I sent a simple survey to about 300 I.P.P.S. members. The questions I asked were based on current use, as well as past usage and experience. The following questions were asked:

• Advantages and disadvantages of each type of nozzle used.
• Why they had kept or switched from one type to another.
• If a fogging machine or traveling mist boom was in use.
• The type of controller being used.

I received replies from about 100 members a 33% response. The results provide a good indication

This article summarizes recent work on sexual and asexual propagation of Japanese stewartia. For more detailed information, consult the following articles: Oleksak and Struve, 1999; Struve, et al., 1999; and Struve and Lagrimini, 1999.

Vegetative propagation of the oaks (Quercus) is a difficult undertaking. Previous attempts at propagation using the methods of grafting, cutting propagation, and tissue culture have produced only very limited success (Drew and Dirr, 1989; Zaczek et. al., 1997). Recently, however, the propagation of oaks has been improved by using the practice of etiolation in conjunction with a modified stoolbed technique. A newer approach to improving propagation is through practices that are thought to reduce the plants' endogenous cytokinins, a class of hormones that is generally thought to inhibit adventitious rooting. The idea behind this approach is that a reduction in the plants' endogenous cytokinin levels may improve the potential for adventitious root formation. These two approaches to propagation, the use of etiolation in conjunction with the modified stoolbed technique and the use of practices aimed at reducing endogenous cytokinin levels, will be discussed here.

White grubs have been a nursery problem for years, with the Japanese beetle being dominant. There have also been problems with the European chafer and the Asiatic garden beetle. In reviewing grub samples identified by the Rutgers plant diagnostic lab during 1999, Oriental beetles take top honors for sheer number by a wide margin. Since nurseries are subject to inspection for white grubs, they need to be controlled to avoid restrictions placed on shipments of nursery stock. The group is known as scarab beetles.

Each member of this selected beetle group was imported into the continental United States during the first half of the 1900s. All were probably imported in the soil of nursery stock. The Japanese beetle (Popilla japonica) was imported from Japan to New Jersey in 1916. The Asiatic garden beetle (Maladera castanea) is native to Japan and China and was first found in New Jersey in 1921. The European chafer (Rhizotrogus majalis) was probably imported

Weed control in container production is often a demanding, time-consuming challenge. Liners present a greater challenge because of their young age, small size, and many chemical use label restrictions. One must be willing to take a few risks, design and implement experiments, and spend time comparing data to really get control of a weed situation.

The organizational meeting of today's Plant Propagators' Society was held in Cleveland on November 8–9, 1951. Ed Scanlon, Commissioner of Shade Trees in Cleveland, and editor of Trees magazine, convened the meeting. The first officers of the

The effort was slowed by the Great Depression of the 1930s and World War II but met new enthusiasm in 1946 when the Midwest Hemerocallis Society was formed and hundreds of amateurs began breeding daylilies.

My first exposure to daylilies, was with the plant, H. fulva, ‘Europa’, which made its way to America with the European immigrants; Stout gave it cultivar designation ‘Europa’. Its common name was the tawny daylily and it was planted under the roof eaves on the south side

Leaf-bud cuttings work well in mid summer on the larger Hosta sieboldiana types such as; ‘Sum and Substance’, ‘Northern Halo’, ‘Francis Williams’, and also the H. tokudama types. In the winter dormant splitting of the dead eyes and other crown material is effective for increasing the production of the smaller hostas that already produce a lot of eyes such as; ‘So Sweet’, ‘Francee’, ‘Summer Fragrance’, and ‘Halcyon’. These two techniques do not involve tissue culture, rossiting, treatment with growth regulators, forcing with lights, or heeling up. They can be easily trained and taught. Unfortunately they are much easier to explain with a few photos than

Both the nursery industry and the gardening public have an unquenchable thirst for new ornamental plants and information on plant performance in the landscape. In recognition of these interests, Chicago Botanic Garden has directed much of its research towards the development, evaluation, and introduction of ornamental plants for landscape and garden use in the Midwestern U.S.A. and beyond. The Garden's programs in plant breeding and evaluation will be discussed in this paper.

Recirculating subirrigation is a new hybrid of existing techniques for propagating cuttings without mist that offers exceptional control of the rooting environment. The system under development offers a new technique that growers can use for winter propagation when bottom heat is desired. This recirculating subirrigation system maintains an optimum root zone temperature to successfully root cuttings in less than optimal greenhouse conditions. This economical, closed-loop system, could also increase ease of OSHA/EPA compliance by allowing workers to apply chemicals, such as fungicides or growth regulators, through the subirrigation water with minimal risk of exposure.

Recirculating subirrigation combines aspects of hydropropagation (Boland and Hanger, 1991) and subirrigation propagation systems (Holt et al., 1998). Subirrigation is a fairly new propagation innovation that has shown promising results for rooting several woody species (Aiello and Graves, 1998;Giroux et al.,

Propagation by root cutting is an old method of propagation. At Midwest Groundcovers the cutting of the Rhus hails as the harbinger of a new propagating season. The cuttings are taken from 900 2-gal stock plants that occupy 600 ft² of frame space. The usual cutting date is on or about 15 April in this area. Root cuttings should be taken as the buds begin to swell or when you reach 90-degree days base 50 in your area (90°DDB50).

The process begins by removing the plants from their pots and shaking the plants vigorously to remove the soil. What should remain is only the roots with

About 1000 species are found around the world, along with an additional 1000 varieties, forms, and cultivars. Bamboos are native to every continent except Europe and Antarctica. Generally, tropical bamboos tend to be clumpers and temperate bamboos tend to be runners.

Whether they run or clump, bamboo should be thought of as a colony, not as an individual plant. The

• Do what you do best and choose your product line very carefully.
• A customer base is more than just a list of names.
• People are more important than things.

While working as propagator at a large western Michigan nursery, I became involved with more than the daily rigors of rooting 5 million cuttings annually. Some of the costs associated with the liner production seemed to be high. So I was given permission to work with the cost accountant so we could mutually understand each other's point of view. Hopefully,

In 1996 Naturally Native New Zealand Plants Ltd. was approached by Natural Logic, an ecological consultancy company operating in the field of revegetation planting, to research the growing of spinifex [Spinifex sericeus (syn. S. hirsutus)] for planting on coastal dunes in Northland. This company required these plants to restore degraded coastal sand dunes in a rather difficult exposed site and could not find a source for the plants anywhere.

Spinifex along with pingao (Desmoschoenus spiralis), had long been recognised as an important indigenous sand binding species. In 1911 Leonard Cockayne the eminent botanist, had noted that these species, along with Euphorbia glauca were the most prevalent sand-binding species occurring on the fore dunes throughout most of New Zealand. It also occurs naturally on the eastern coast of Australia where it is a dominant sand dune species.

However, even as late as 1996, little was known as to how to propagate spinifex in sufficient

Although we do some winter propagation, the majority of the plants we propagate start as softwoods taken in June. We have five 30 ft × 200 ft quonset-style greenhouses which we devote to summer softwoods. All these houses have 12-inchdeep ground sand beds, roll up side vents, and a traveling irrigator.

The process starts in late April when we clean, level, and fumigate the sand beds. Depending on the weather, we start taking cuttings anywhere from late May to early June. The cutting crew is also the sticking crew, so on the first day out, we spend all day taking

Cercis chinensis ‘Don Egolf’. A fruitless selection of Cercis chinensis, ‘Don Egolf’ is the first redbud cultivar to be introduced by the U.S. National Arboretum. This cultivar was selected from a population of open-pollinated seed obtained from a botanical garden in Kunming, the People's Republic of China. ‘Don Egolf’ was selected for its compact, slow-growing, vase-shaped habit; dark green, pest-resistant foliage; abundant rosy mauve flowers; absence of seed pods; and high field tolerance to Botryosphaeria dothidia canker. It is readily propagated from semihardwood cuttings using 3000 ppm IBA in talc. Hardy in U.S.D.A. Zones 6 to 9, in 15 years it has grown 9 ft tall and 9½ ft wide. Evaluated by cooperators in 14 states throughout the U.S. It has shown no signs of invasiveness.

Terrestrial orchids have been traditionally germinated on artificial media much like the in vitro methods of tissue culture (Sawyer, 1989). However, an Eastern Region, North America I.P.P.S. exchange program with the Scandinavian Region I.P.P.S. provided a means of talking with Dr. Lillie Andersen. In conversation she touched upon the idea of germinating some terrestrial orchids, such as Goodyera, on a rotted wood substrate. Returning back to the U.S.A. the idea was put to the test using Bletilla striata.

Propagation has most often been carried out by division because seeds have been difficult to obtain, principally due to both the small seeds being propelled away from the plant through a natural dispersal system as soon as they become ripe and the need

To test whether river birch is compatible as a rootstock for ‘Whitespire’ birch, ‘Whitespire’ scions were grafted onto each of the four species as well as onto ‘Whitespire,’ grown in containers for 1 year then planted into a sandy clay loam soil with a mean percolation rate of 0.9 inches h^-1 at North Carolina State University's Mountain Horticultural Crops Research Station. Survival and trunk diameter following three growing seasons is shown in Table 1.

Plants of ‘Whitespire’ grafted on river birch were also included in the North Carolina Urban Tree Evaluation Program to determine actual performance under growing conditions in

The two taxa most tolerant of root zone flooding, F-12/1 mazzard cherry and ‘Newport’ plum, illustrate the potential for enhancing adaptability of less floodtolerant Prunus such as Japanese apricot (P. mume) and Yoshino cherry (P. ×yedoensis) on poorly drained sites if they are grafted onto appropriate rootstocks. Prunus avium F-12/1, resistant to bacterial canker, is listed as compatible with P. sargentii, ‘Yoshino’, ‘Okame’, P. ×subhirtella ‘Autumnalis’, and ‘Kanzan’ cherries as

The rhododendron breeding program at the University of Connecticut was started in 1960 by Gustav A. L. Mehlquist. Unfortunately, Dr. Mehlquist passed away

Alstroemeria, also known as the lily-of-the-Incas or Inca lily, is a herbaceous plant which produces vegetative and floral shoots from an underground rhizome (Bridgen, 1997). Native to South America, this monocotyledonous plant belongs to the family Alstroemeriaceae. Approximately 30 of the species are endemic to Chile, 13 from Brazil, 4 from Argentina and 3 from Peru (Bayer, 1987).

Among cut flower producers Alstroemeria is a favorite, due to its long vase life, long period of flowering, preference for cool temperatures and high yield of flowers. There are several multiplication systems available for Alstroemeria: rhizome division, micropropagation, and seed propagation. Commercial cultivars are possible to group under one of three general classifications: butterfly-, orchid-, and hybrid-type cultivars. The butterfly-type is a group that will flower for nine to 12 months each year depending upon the cultivar and environmental conditions. These cultivars have shorter

The technical goal of grafting is to unite a scion and rootstock as quickly as possible, using one of several methods that will produce a strong union with maximum cambial contact. I employ three types of carpentry when grafting Aesculus:

1. Cleft
2. Splice
3. Whip and tongue

Advantageous buds (i.e., suckers) often appear when healing is slow or incomplete. Though advantageous buds can and will be commonly produced around the union regardless of the technique, any style that leaves edges of cambium tissue exposed is more likely to do so. For this reason I prefer splice or whip and tongue more so than cleft grafting.

Each year Brotzman's Nursery grafts approximately 200 A. ×carnea cultivars and A. ×arnoldiana cultivars onto A. hippocastanum. I usually graft onto potted stock that has been warmed to induce root initiation. Aesculus respond well to heat and a hot callus pipe can be used. I have also plunged them in peat and stood plants upright in flats. Grafts are always

This paper is a combination of 3 years intensive research on Phormium J.R. Forst. & G. Forst. for a Bachelor of Science in Crop Technology and Management at Writtle College, United Kingdom and a passion on my part for a truly amazing New Zealand native, making its mark around the world on our modern global landscapes.

My first encounter with Phormium was at Lees and Company, a specialist grower of container nursery stock to the landscaping industry in the United Kingdom. In the early 1980s, the plants arrived in large boxes from South Africa rapped in nappies. Later that same season, smaller plants wrapped in bundles of 25 in brown paper and sphagnum moss arrived from New Zealand. An air of mystique shrouded these plants and like any keen plantsperson I started thinking. What conditions would these plants grow under? What feed makes them thrive? How hardy are they and how do you propagate them? This search inevitably led me here to New Zealand, and 3 years on I'm still

Florel^® brand growth regulator with the active ingredient ethephon, [(2-chloroethyl) phosphonic acid] at 3.90% has been show to be effective in increasing lateral branching on perennial stock plants. It is used to increase available cutting material while reducing the size of the actual cuttings. We undertook a study to better understand how the application of Florel would affect lateral branching of four herbaceous perennial taxa.

Unlike most wood boring insects that

There is little information on substrates for pot-in-pot shade tree production (Murray et al., 1997; Tilt et al., 1993). This research examined various organic waste-derived substrates for growing shade trees in pot-in-pot systems.

Propagators in the United States are currently unable to meet demand for Anemone ×hybrida. Propagation is normally accomplished by division or root cuttings, with very low multiplication rates in either case. In addition, there are no published recommendations for N nutrition of A. ×hybrida, and recommendations for perennials in general are excessively variable. Two studies were undertaken to (1) determine the effect of N nutrition of stock plants on propagation by root cuttings, (2) provide the basis for a system for production of plantlets of anemone in small cell containers, and (3) determine optimal N levels for containerized plants of A. ×hybrida.

The objectives of plant evaluation and introduction at Mt. Cuba Center are to: (1) introduce outstanding cultivars that exhibit ornamental attractiveness, stress tolerance, longevity, and cultural adaptability; and (2) support the concept of "conservation of natural plant populations through propagation" rather than unsustainable and irresponsible harvesting from wild populations.

In this poster, we highlight some of Mt. Cuba Center's most successful commercially available introductions from the past 17 years. In addition, this poster

Although many factors can influence the success of adventitious root formation in stem cuttings, auxin remains as a consistent treatment for increasing rooting. The initial observations that auxin promotes root formation date to the 1930s. Since that time, three systems have gained acceptance for delivery of auxin to cuttings. These are talc, quick dip, and dilute soak methods (Blazich, 1988). Quick dip exposes cuttings to auxin in a solvent solution for 1 to 5 sec, while the dilute soak is an aqueous auxin solution with application times up to 48 h. Auxin delivery in talc was developed in the 1930s as an alternative to quick dips and lanolin paste (Loach, 1988). It has generally been suggested that quick dip applications are more effective in promoting root formation than either dilute soak or talc (Bonaminio, 1983). One reason may be the difference in uptake mechanics for these different methods. In general, it appears that auxin in talc or aqueous solutions are

The North American pawpaw is a temperate member of the mostly tropical Annonaceae or custard apple family. Pawpaw has commercial value both as a small landscape tree and as an orchard fruit crop (Layne, 1996). It is also the source of several novel botanical and medicinal extracts (Zhao et al., 1994). Nurseries commonly propagate pawpaw from seed or chip budding. Seed propagation of pawpaw is important to the nursery industry as a source of seedlings for both ornamental and understock production. Currently, chip budding is used to propagate superior fruiting cultivars. One problem with budding is the propensity for pawpaw understocks to sucker and potentially compete with the desired cultivar. Cutting or tissue culture propagation would be a desirable way to establish pawpaw cultivars on their own roots. The objective of our research program in pawpaw is to develop propagation methods for seedling and clonal establishment of plants for commercial production.

Trilliums are high-value, garden-worthy plants that are uncommon in the nursery trade due to propagation difficulties. Many herbaceous plants that are conventionally difficult to propagate rely on tissue culture micropropagation. Tissue culture micropropagation involves the clonal production of shoots that are rooted and reestablished under field conditions. Shoot or rhizome production of trilliums in vitro is relatively easy. The purpose of this research was to develop reestablishment protocols for rhizomes of Trillium grandiflorum.

The genus Viburnum is represented regularly in landscapes from the Canadian border to the Gulf Coast in the Eastern United States. Diverse flowering, fruit, leaf, and form characteristics lead to a range of landscape uses. The diversity in this group of shrubs is botanically described by Krássman (1984). Table 1 lists his nine sections within Viburnum.

Viburnum leaf beetle (Pyrrhalta viburni) is a pest of Viburnum and the insect is now established in the United States. Viburnum leaf beetle, a European native which is established from Great Britain to Italy, was first detected in North America in Ontario, Canada. Since then it is believed to have migrated over land into Maine and across the Niagara Isthmus or St. Lawrence seaway into New York. In New York it was first detected in 1996 along the shores of Lake Ontario.

This work was initiated to learn more about the insect and the extent of damage it causes to viburnums.