Proceedings Library

Grafting has with increasing labor costs become an expensive way of propagating plants. An important factor for the bottom line in this process is a high percentage of successful grafts. In a number of genera, e.g., Malus, Pyrus, Sorbus, Salix, and Tilia, this is easy to obtain. In other genera, however, a low percentage of "takes" can make grafting an unreasonably expensive method of propagation. In particular species of Juglans, Quercus, Corylus, and partly Acer can be tricky in that respect. Therefore, there are good reasons to optimize every step in the grafting process in order to ensure high grafting success especially for the more difficult-to-propagate species. The methods presented below by the author are meant as a source of inspiration for other propagators.

Eustoma (syn. Lisianthius) has been propagated and longterm stored in vitro at our laboratory as a service for our traditional breeding. The aim was to store important breeding lines in the laboratory and to use the in vitro lines for micropropagation of parent plants in the production of F₁ hybrids. In vitro storage is more convenient than keeping stock plants in the greenhouse and better than storage of seed because the lines are not totally inbreed (homozygotic) and the offspring will not be identical to the parents.

Considerable thought has gone into the operation of our plant acquisition and testing program at the University of Georgia. Occasionally the wheels are spinning and the net gain borders on zero. At other times, I am most gratified at the responses of the nurseries in Georgia and the Southeastern U.S. Perhaps the positive effect of the program has never been more evident than with the butterfly-bush (Buddleja) evaluations. Over 75 species and cultivars have been tested. One nursery in Georgia has taken cuttings of 38 cultivars. No visitor has left without at least one new cultivar! Today I report my top five butterfly-bush choices and evaluation at a recent field day (23 Sept. 1997) when 126 individuals voted on their top five butterfly bushes.

I believe that the number one cultivar on the list should be one that offers repeat blooming cycles, has double flowers, excellent flower color, and resistance to fading in the sun. Other desirable traits include: plants with a good balance of floral scape to foliage size, foliage with resistance to summer heat, and a high yield of bibs for propagation by division that leads to profitable mass production.

Weeping yaupon, Ilex vomitoria f. pendula, is a plant in much demand by our customers. It is used by landscapers as a dramatic focal point because of its unique growth habit. It is not currently available in large quantities because of difficulty in rooting. Hence, rooted liner plants are in high demand by other nurseries wanting to produce this species.

The nursery industry has always been a dynamic industry that has had to constantly follow the fads and fashions of the gardening public and landscape industry as well as keep up with the technology of the industry and the lifestyles of our customers. Our large nurseries are getting larger, our midsize nurseries are struggling to find the best size to maintain profitability while still being able to compete with the big nurseries, and our small nurseries are looking for niches. Our industry is so large and diverse that there is still a place for everyone but we must be more creative, use more of our horticultural skills, concentrate on quality, and use marketing skills to create our niches.

Gingers are a large group of exotic plants with an unmistakable tropical appearance. Currently, taxonomists recognize 40 genera and over 1500 species of gingers. As a result of recent collecting trips into China, Burma, Malaysia, and Thailand, many more exciting species and cultivars are soon to be introduced. Fossil records indicate that gingers have been around for at least 65 million years and have inhabited such unlikely places as the North American plains, Canada, and even Russia. Their ancient past gives clues to their best kept secret.

Cold Hardiness of Gingers. Despite their tropical appearance, many gingers are surprisingly cold hardy, especially Hedychium and Curcuma, which thrive and bloom as far north as Atlanta, Georgia and Raleigh, North Carolina (U.S.D.A. Zone 7). Some gingers such as Alpinia, Hedychium, and Costus are evergreen in warmer climates, although frost will damage or kill the foliage of most gingers. Others such as Curcuma, Globba, and Kaemferia are

There are about 1000 species of native grasses in Australia which must be well adapted to this environment in order to persist. An important feature of this adaption is the ability to reproduce and survive despite variable rainfall and the generally low level of available plant nutrients in Australian soils.

Different species have evolved strategies which allow them to survive in a wide range of physical and biological environments. Grime (1977) suggested that the two most important groups of factors affecting the survival of plants are stress and disturbance. He also suggested that plants have developed strategies to cope with three of the four possible combinations of high and low stress and disturbance (Table 1).

The optimum environment for rooting softwood cuttings in late spring and summer is to have high light intensity combined with moderate temperature and very high humidity — maintained by frequent and light intermittent misting. Softwood cuttings harvested from plants produced under full sun conditions quickly show stress when light intensity is greatly reduced or temperatures become excessively high causing a drop in humidity and dehydration of soft tissues.

Propagation and production planning is probably the most important task in wholesale nurseries today. To be profitable and to manage production costs, it is important to propagate and grow the optimum combination of cultivars in the sizes and forms the market demands. The cost to develop and maintain bed space is high. Other major expenses include: water, fertilizer, chemicals, and labor. With so many new cultivars being introduced today, it is even more important to be able to compare their demand with the demand for standard crops. We needed a tool to help collect information on our plants, our past sales, our target markets, and the amount of space needed for propagation, jamming plants can tight, and later spacing the crop.

Liverworts and mosses are persistent weeds that infest containers soon after successfully propagated plants are potted. The light, temperature, humidity, growing media, irrigation, and fertility regimes needed by newly potted plants are ideal conditions for liverwort growth. Often, liverworts can grow faster than the desired plants, smothering crops and profits. Transplanted tissue-cultured plantlets, fern sporlings, seedlings, and cuttings in trays, flats, and liner pots are the most susceptible to liverwort infestations. Changes in pesticide laws (especially for greenhouse use), unavailable chemical products, and changes in cultural routines of growers have all contributed to increased liverwort infestations. Strategies for getting this weed under control are needed. Mosses are often controlled using the same procedures used to control liverworts. The objective of this paper is to provide a starting point from which a grower can formulate a liverwort and moss

Disinfection is the process by which pathogenic microorganisms are destroyed. There are many ways in which disinfection of irrigation water may be achieved. The degree of disinfection required depends on the source of the irrigation water, the type of disinfectant used, the dosage, and the contact time. Other factors nursery owners may consider when selecting a disinfectant are handling considerations, and equipment and chemical costs per gallon of water. Each of these variables will be addressed and compared for disinfection of irrigation water using chlorine, bromine, and ozone.

Many factors influence the effectiveness of pesticides. These factors in part include: usage rates, timing, water volume, the specific crop, sprayer types and nozzles, and soil type. Two factors that are often overlooked are the quality and pH of the water used as the carrier. This paper will address the effect of pH on the efficacy of pesticides and what can be done to optimize the performance of pesticides.

Understanding pH. First it is necessary to understand what pH is. The pH is a number that indicates the number of hydrogen (H⁺) and hydroxyl (OH^-) ions in solution. This is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution. The scale is from 0 to 14, where pH 7 contains an equal number of H⁺ and OH^- ions. Water at pH 7 is neutral. It is important to realize that each point change in the pH of a spray solution represents a 10× change in the acidity or alkalinity of a solution. In some cases only a minor change in the pH can have a significant impact on the

New technologies warrant consideration for our Pest Management Program that help us improve deposition, increase efficacy, and allow more precise and reduced pesticide usage. It is our policy to look for new and refined methods for applying pesticides that enable us to become better stewards to our environment, while maintaining the option to use pesticides in the work place. The Quality Control Department at Wight Nurseries in Cairo, Georgia is currently utilizing two custom-built pieces of equipment that better fit our pest management goals. They are an air-assisted electrostatic boom sprayer and an air-assisted boom herbicide applicator. This paper will describe these two pieces of equipment and their benefits to our pest management program.

Greenhouse and nursery crop growers are continually faced with increased production costs with little opportunity to raise prices. The small-scale grower must specialize in unique crops or capitalize on individualized service to command top dollar for their products and coexist with large-scale growers who target mass merchants. Many growers, large and small alike, are considering more automation in their daily production operations. Automation often requires a major capital expenditure, but when properly planned, it can offset equipment investment by reducing labor costs and enhancing production efficiency.

White fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus) is an important and valuable plant for the nursery and landscape industries. Many consider white fringetree a premier specimen plant due to its bold foliage, refinement, dignity, and bloom characteristics (Dirr, 1990). White fringetree is extremely difficult to propagate by stem cuttings and is more commonly propagated by seed, which normally requires up to two years for germination. To date, there are no scientific reports of successful propagation with stem cuttings. Surveys in 1988 and 1995 ranked white fringetree as one of the most difficult plants to propagate (Gamstetter and Gulick, 1996). The surveys showed that although the tree was considered "unavailable," it was one of the top plants in market demand. Propagation difficulties make it an expensive plant in the trade and reduce its usage. By increasing the production of white fringetree, we could lower the cost and satisfy market demands.

Treatments of aqueous

Not only is the camellia the most beautiful and desirable of all shrubs, it is also one of the most versatile. This evergreen shrub responds well to pruning, or can develop into a small tree.

Flannel flowers (Actinotus helianthi) are attractive plants endemic to the eastern regions of Australia, particularly on the sandstone areas along the coast of NSW. They are an emerging cut flower crop and there is also considerable interest in this species as a potted plant. For the past 2 years, work carried out at Mount Annan Botanic Garden with the support of the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, has concentrated on the development of flannel flowers for horticulture with emphasis on cut flower production.

Flannel flowers were often considered difficult to grow (Offord and Tyler, 1993) and various methods have been assessed for the commercial development of this perennial herbaceous species. Propagation, previously considered one of the major limitations to the development of this species for horticulture, is now a matter of choosing the appropriate technique and plant material.

Martin's Nursery is located in Semmes, Alabama, which is just northwest of Mobile. The Semmes area has nearly a century-old history in the nursery industry. Cold weather and severe freezes have played key roles in our history. In fact, it was a devastating freeze that converted the earliest South Alabama nurserymen from citrus crops to ornamentals.

Protection from the elements is a state of mind for our business, as it should be for all ornamental nurseries. A big emphasis is placed on winter protection and we think about it 12 months out of the year. Daily decisions about what to pot and where to put it are partially based on how and if we plan to protect it during the winter. How we protect our azaleas (Rhododendron), hollies (Ilex), and cleyera (Cleyera) are in many ways standard in the industry, but we have some unique systems.

Ulmus americana

I'd like to begin my talk with a discussion of a classic, elegant tree from America's past, the American elm (Ulmus americana). Unfortunately, this species has all but disappeared from the landscape due to the ravages of Dutch elm disease. However, I am happy to report that there is hope for the American elm. After 20 years of research, two new cultivars of American elm have been released by the National Arboretum: ‘Valley Forge’ and ‘New Harmony’. Although not immune to Dutch elm disease, ‘Valley Forge’ and ‘New Harmony’ have unusually high levels of disease tolerance and have demonstrated superior field resistance. Both cultivars

Height: 2.5 to 4 m.

Flower: Diameter 10 to 15 cm; light blue, lighter in the middle of the sepals and darker on edges, very fine silky texture, ruffled sepals with curled edges, yellow-greenish stamens nicely contrast with blue sepals.

Flowering date: June to August.

A very freely flowering and long-blooming cultivar. At the same time a shoot can have flowers on seven nodes. It is a healthy plant, it can grow separately or in a group, also together with other plants, i.e., roses and other shrubs or conifers. It grows beautifully in a sunny, south-facing position, but a shadier, even a north location also suit it. ‘Blekitny Aniol’ flowers abundantly from the middle of June until the middle of August and its flowers look fresh for a very longtime. If, however, blooming is weak, the plant can be cut back in the second part of July and it will flower nicely again in September. The blooms contrast well with a dark background from other plants or a wall. When

Their research also showed that few of the managers were growing a wide assortment of named daylilies. ‘Stella de Oro’ was grown more widely than any other cultivar, 75.4% mentioned this plant. The next most widely grown daylily was ‘Hyperion’ with 3.9%, and in third place ‘Happy Returns’ with 2.0%. Other daylilies mentioned were: ‘Catherine Woodbery’, ‘Luxury Lace’, ‘Mary Todd’, Trophytaker™ Series, ‘Flying Saucer’, ‘Rebel Boy’, ‘Pardon Me’, ‘Penny's Worth’, ‘Aztec Gold’, ‘Brackle Red’, ‘American Craftsman’,

Historic Plants. In 1863, Nathaniel Hawthorne planted two hawthorn trees in front of his home, The Wayside, in Concord, Massachusetts. He planted a pink one in honor of his daughter Rose and a white one for his daughter Una. More famous for his command of the written word than his talent in landscaping, Hawthorne apparently planted the two trees so close together that, as they grew, they grafted into one tree. A later occupant of the house, Louisa May Alcott wrote a poem about this tree in a letter to the Hawthornes, demonstrating the value she placed on it. This original, unified specimen still stands in front of The Wayside in 1997, now a National Park Service site. Blooming each spring, half in pink, half in white, the tree is a living legacy to Hawthorne and his daughters. Its presence helps tell the story of the site and also gives testament to the values of the people who once lived there.

Nathaniel Hawthorne's tree is a prime example of a landscape feature with

Our membership base is primarily in Canada, including the well-known Plant Introduction Scheme of the University of British Columbia and Agriculture Canada's Morden Research Station. Also, we are fortunate to count most of the major propagating nurseries in the United States as our members, and others in more than 10 overseas countries.

This morning I have two shrubs, four roses, and four perennials for you. I will name nurseries where you can get these plants. For contact

The inflorescence of this genus consists of 50 to 80 waxy star shaped flowers held in dense terminal and axillary corymbs. All are extremely ornamental with the dwarf cultivars being no exception. Colour range is from red through orange, pink, yellow, and white.

Dwarf cultivars put on spectacular show during summer and autumn. They are used extensively in median strips and roundabouts in the tropics due to their low growth habit, hardiness, and colour. Several taxa are also used for hedges.

The object of grafting dwarf taxa onto hedge type Ixora rootstock is to produce a semistandard plant with compact growth and high impact flowers. These are ideal for use in tubs by the pool side and even up your driveway.

Reading nursery catalogs is my starting point for understanding what's in the market and for finding new plant leads. I read dozens of catalogs per week. I especially

Herbal medicines and aromatherapy are one of the fastest growing U.S. markets. The companies producing medicinal herb products, such as capsules and tinctures found in health food stores and pharmacies, have traditionally purchased most of their raw herbs from India, China, and the Eastern European countries. A variable demand also exists for wild-collected native North American medicinal plants. In the past, the ultimate destination for many of these native medicinal plants has been Europe and the Orient.

As the medicinal herb industry has matured, the companies buying these plants have instituted new quality control efforts. These include testing for active compounds, purity, and bacterial contamination. Some plants that can be included in this group are purple coneflower (Echinacea sp.), ginseng (Panax quinquefolius), black cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa), mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum), bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), helonias (Chamaelirium luteum), skullcap

Often trillium seed takes 2 years to produce seedlings. It is said to be "doubly dormant" (Barton, 1944). However, there are reports of seedlings emerging outdoors after one winter (Jacobs and Jacobs, 1997; Gyer, 1997) or no germination after several cold cycles (Deno, 1993). The objective of my research is the development of a procedure that reliably produces significant germination the spring after the

Ilex opaca Selections.

• ‘Jersey Princess’. Selected from the progeny of an unnamed female × ‘Jersey Knight’, this red-fruited plant was introduced in 1976 as the Bicentennial Holly. The plants develop a conical form of moderate width and exhibit the darkest, glossy green leaves of any cultivar of I. opaca that this holly hybridizer has ever seen.
• ‘Dan Fenton’. A seedling among the progeny of a controlled cross of ‘Maurice River’ × an unnamed male, this red-fruited plant was selected for its excellent spiny, dark green leaves (almost squarish). ‘Dan Fenton’ was released at the 40th Anniversary meeting of the Holly Society of America, Inc. and named in honor of the now

Deb McCowen of Knight Hollow Nursery asked me if there were any unique plants I would like to suggest for short presentations on propagation for this meeting.

Since I had been working on epimediums and wanting to believe that someone had a better technique than mine, I suggested epimediums. She proceeded to ask me to speak about epimediums and my technique seeing as I was doing them already!! So, here we go.

Species such as E. ×rubrum, E. grandiflorum, E. ×versicolor ‘Sulphureum’, and the cultivar ‘Frohnleiten’ are simply divided by brute force pulling the rhizomes apart. The unique ability of the rhizomes to break free of the parent is akin to the loosening felt as you work Hemerocallis apart in your hands to separate fans of that plant. We grow the stock plants in 1-gal containers and upon removing the container and with a light shaking

A growing awareness of the value and sensitivity of our wetlands prompted requests for low-cost, native, herbaceous plants for the mitigation, restoration, and enhancement of impacted wetlands. As the demand became apparent we looked at the potential for growing particular plants in areas that were unsuitable for conventional nursery production.

What follows is a look at the ongoing process of keeping production cost low and meeting the constantly changing demands in the market for this narrow group of plant materials.

Now you may ask why this guy is getting up here and telling us about something any propagator knows how to do? Why, it's so easy that the job is usually given to the junior staff to do. We know that all you have to do is stick a few bits into pots or in the ground, leave them there for a few years fighting with the weeds, and when you think about it go and get them and divide them. But what if the boss comes to you one day and tells you that you are to produce 5000 plants every year for the next 3 years in tubes. Your problem now is to know how much stock material you need to establish to produce the plants required, and how to do it in a specified time frame. This is where I may be of some use to you by presenting this paper.

We all know of course that mondo grass is propagated by division. It can also be grown from seed, and I will come to this later. I will start with the production of the stock

These studies tested the influence of Agrobacterium rhizogenes ("hairy root") dip-treatments on rooting of stem cuttings of difficult-to-root woody ornamentals. Prior work has shown that treatment of some woody plants with A. rhizogenes ("hairy root") resulted in root proliferation, as well as improved growth and performance in field and controlled environments (Han et al., 1993, Stomp, 1995; Strobel et al., 1988; Strobel and Nachmias 1985).

Rooting of woody plant cuttings by treatment with A. rhizogenes may make it possible to more profitably propagate difficult-to-root woody plants which are now grafted, or which are now expensive to produce from cuttings because of low rooting percentages. Woody plants propagated from stem cuttings induced to root with A. rhizogenes ("hairy root") may also show improved transplant recovery (Strobel et al., 1988). Positive results could lead to increased profitability and simplified production for growers of difficult-to-root woody

Mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) is a popular ericaceous shrub with showy buds and flowers in the spring. However, it is slow to begin flower bud development during container production, often taking 3 or more years to produce a significant floral display. I became interested in the potential for growth regulators to induce earlier flowering when I heard of previous experiments done with Rhododendron and Kalmia by Tom Ranney and Dick Bir at North Carolina State University (Ranney et al., 1994) and by Martin Gent at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (Gent, 1993).

Rhododendron maximum is locally known as great laurel, great rhododendron, rosebay, or max depending upon where it is encountered. Despite an extensive native range from Georgia into Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia, it is only locally abundant to the point of being a dominant understory species in and near the Appalachian mountain range of North America. Rhododendron maximum is a much sought after plant for landscaping where a bold evergreen shrub is needed in shady locations. Full sun is tolerated only in the coolest parts of the native range.

The most common current use of R. maximum is for screening in shady areas or to enhance natural landscapes, particularly those involving stonework. Since plants 30 ft or more tall and 20 ft across exist, it can provide a formidable screen with time. Trusses composed of 20 to 30 flowers are most often about 4 inches across and white with yellow spots at the base of the corolla but pink-flowered forms are common in the Appalachian

Individual differences play a big part in propagation. One person's technique in making cuttings is different from another's. Everyone varies somewhat from the norm, no matter how hard we strive for uniformity in our procedures. We each bring our own set of habits and experiences to the propagating table. At Sylvan Nursery we propagate thousands of heathers annually. Our procedures are simple and straightforward, but even these are sometimes difficult for others to duplicate.

We take semihardwood cuttings from our stock plants in January. We do this at that time of year because it fits our schedule. I don't need to tell you why this is

Most everyone is familiar with the fruit of Vaccinium macrocarpon. Cranberries are a traditional fruit with our Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. Very few people are aware of the potential of this plant as an attractive groundcover.

The American cranberry (V. macrocarpon) has all of the attributes of a great groundcover. It is a native North American evergreen vine, wetland adapted, and hardy in U.S.D.A. Zones 2 to 6 (Dirr, 1990). Cranberries have four seasons of appeal with flowers, fruit, and summer and winter foliage. The cranberry is more American than apple pie.

Vaccinium macrocarpon is indigenous to the North American continent. When colonists arrived they found cranberries growing on the peat bogs of Cape Cod and surrounding areas in Massachusetts. Native cranberries were found south in the Pine Barrens in New Jersey, to the North in the Maritime Provinces of Canada, in isolated areas in the Allegheny Mountains in Pennsylvania, and in the peat swamps in Virginia.

Our greenhouse propagation year starts about 1 August. The rooting operation begins after washing down the greenhouse with a Clorox solution. Vegetative cuttings 3 inches to 4 inches long are best, although flowering shoots can be used by removing the flower buds. Cuttings from young plants and shaded plants are better than from older plants growing in full sun. Cuttings are stripped of leaves except for the top 4 or 5, lightly wounded on both sides

The understock that I use is a cross between Fraxinus americana and F. oxycarpa. It was first introduced to the trade by Hazlewood Nursery, many years ago, for its superior root system and its ability to grow from hardwood cuttings. I obtained my original cuttings from an old tree in an old nursery at Mt. Irvine in the Blue Mountains of NSW. I wasn't sure of its species so I asked John Teulon to identify it. He had known about this tree for years but as this tree had died and he did not know of any others, he had assumed that it was no longer available in Australia.

My stockplants of this tree are now 7 years old and get pruned back to approximately 90 cm each winter. In spring, the many new water shoots grow rapidly to 1.2 to 1.8 m in length. They have a high percentage of inter nodal length of 200 mm or more.

Thank you for inviting me. I feel most unqualified to be here talking to an international group of professional propagators when I probably should have followed my friend, Jim Cross', advice and spent more of my time writing verse than trying to be a propagator. But by way of introducing you to myself and to CARLSON'S GARDENS, where we grow over 2000 cultivars and species of azaleas and rhododendrons and ship them all over the country, I'll read to you from one of the mailing pieces we's;ve been sending to our customers with a color photo of ‘Carlson's Coral Flameboyant’ azalea. The verse on it is called,

For nearly 30 years I've been collecting, hybridizing, propagating, growing, and marketing native azaleas.

The few plants found and propagated from the wild have flowers that are light pink in bud and open near white, much like flowers of the species. Hilliers in England was one of the few nurseries to offer these plants in the 1960s. The first plants I received (1963) came from nurseryman Hay Reid of Osterville, Massachusetts, and were just seedlings grown from seed of a K. latifolia f. myrtifolia plant and looked like our native mountain laurel. However, I made crosses

This is a unique weeping form which grew in northwest New York for over 30 years before its recognition by Brotzman's Nursery in 1991. In 6 years of observations, ‘Covey’ has exhibited moderate to rapid growth, hardiness to -23F, larger than normal leaves, and lavender flowers borne profusely on young and old plants. When left untrained this plant will mound and twist back over itself producing a large arching form. When trained upright and single stemmed, a striking, small weeping tree is possible in 3 to 4 years. Leaves are so large and dense that trees appear to be shingled. First commercial release of ‘Covey’ will be in 1998 from licensed growers.

Another difference between TP(+) and TP(-) shoots is their plant hormone requirement for in vitro growth. Tissue proliferation(+) shoot cultures appear to be habituated since they grow and multiply rapidly on hormone-free

Nursery production of mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia L.) often involves labor-intensive, manual deadheading of flower clusters immediately after flowering to stimulate the formation of new shoots. A chemical method of deadheading that encourages shoot production would save time and labor costs while maintaining current production schedules. Perry and Lagarbo (1994) used ethepbon sprays to eliminate fruit formation in flowering pear (Pyrus calleryana) and American sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua). They found that 1000 ppm ethephon applied to runoff at full bloom eliminated 95.3% and 99% of fruit in flowering pear and American sweet gum, respectively. Proper timing of ethephon application was crucial for these results. On the basis of these studies I tested the effectiveness of ethephon in reducing seed set and stimulating shoot production and growth in K. latifolia. Since blossoms in mountain laurel open over an extended period of time and since nursery production

1. Read and follow all directions carefully. This is the single most important part of the process. Ignoring trivial items such as proposal length, number of copies required, or a submission deadline could disqualify an otherwise winning proposal.
2. State the question that your research is aimed at resolving. Do not assume that the evaluators are experts on

An established field planting of 24-to 30-inch T. ×media ‘Densiformis’ was used for this experiment. Treatment plots measured 12 ft × 7 ft three plants per plot. Five treatments were used on three spray dates, for a total of 15 treatments

There are over 6000 plant species throughout NSW with many showing tremendous horticultural merit. This paper will focus on several species with horticultural potential from the Sydney Region which have been of great interest to me for many years. In recent years there has been an escalating interest in our native species for use as cut flowers both on the domestic and export markets. With demand expanding, it has become essential for commercial row cropping to take place rather than rely on material harvested from wild populations. However, it has been from the harvesting of wildflowers from natural stands that the cut flower potential of many native plants has been realised.

For the development of a strong domestic and export market, the introduction of new and exciting species and cultivars is of utmost importance. When introducing a new cut flower species into cultivation it is essential that the plant has a suitable vase life when cut. As a guide 10 to 14

Sulfentrazone works by inhibiting protoporphyrinogen oxidase in the chlorophyll biosynthetic pathway in susceptible plants. As a result, a phytodynamic toxicant (protoporphyrin IX) builds up, leading to membrane disruption. Sulfentrazone is absorbed by both the roots and shoots of plants, which turn necrotic and die shortly after exposure to light. Postemergence application of sulfentrazone, resulting in foliar contact of weeds, can cause rapid desiccation and

Students, educators, and landscape professionals need visual materials to help learn, teach, and sell plants. Adequate and cost-effective visual materials do not exist in the form of books or CD-ROM programs. Existing media lacks sufficient breadth and depth to serve the needs of baccalaureate degree teaching and learning. Outdoor campus plant walk

In many nursery operations, ornamental grasses are potted in May using established plugs. These plugs are started in October/November (cool season grasses) or in February (warm season grasses) from very small divisions made from the previous year's container crop. Although this system makes efficient use of a small number of stock plants to yield a large quantity of small divisions, it adds an extra step to the production process. This extra step has the potential to add cost to the process in the form of additional labor-hours, additional skills needed by laborers, and fuel to at least minimally heat greenhouses. Typical production methods also require that a grower is set up to efficiently deal with a plug production system that uses a different set of pots, potting medium, materials handling equipment, and so on, than are used for 1- and 2-gal production.

Of course, when stock plants are limited in number, such as for new cultivars and species or for slow-to-increase

• 2 lb potassium nitrate 13.75–0–44.50
• 2 lb triple phosphate 0–46–0
• 4.5 lb Nutricote type 140 18–6–8
• 10 lb limestone

Weigela florida ‘Alexandra’, WINE & ROSESe™ weigela is an easily rooted plant taken as softwood cuttings spring through mid-summer. The cuttings are ready to be taken when the stem is firm enough to snap rather than bend. A two-node cutting is taken just above the second node.

To improve efficiency, the cuttings are bundled in groups

Chionanthus virginicus is traditionally propagated by seed sown outdoors, with germination taking 2 years to break double dormancy. Cuttings have not been as successful (Dirr, 1987; Nicholson, 1990), and grafting to Fraxinus excelsior rootstock (Dirr,1994) or F. ornus (Fagan,1980; Young, 1992) has met with limited success. Work with embryos cultured on a gibberellic-acid-enhanced medium (Redcay and Frett, 1990) and with removal of the epidermis, pericarp, and endocarp to accelerate germination (Carpenter et.al.,1991) suggested a possible method to overcome the dormancy and to compress the time to obtain marketable plants. The objective of this investigation was to compare traditionally propagated and embryo-cultured C. virginicus for percent germination, plant size, and vigor over a duration of 2 years.

American wild celery (Vallisneria americana Michx., family Hydrocharitaceae) is a submerged grass-like aquatic perennial that grows in fresh or slightly brackish water from Canada to Florida, west to the Dakotas (in the north) and to Arizona and New Mexico (in the south).

Reproduction commonly occurs by vegetative means, either by stolons during the summer, or in the spring from overwintering buds (known as turions) formed at the end of stolons. Sexual reproduction also occurs in the wild, but there have been very few documented observations of seedlings. Wild celery plants are dioecious, and flowering occurs in the upper Chesapeake Bay during August and September. On male plants, flowers develop in a spathe at the base of the plant, breaking free and floating on the water surface to release pollen upon maturation. The flowers of female plants are tubular and sit atop long peduncles (basally attached) that grow to the water surface. Once the female flowers are fertilized

The genus Trillium is widely known and long recognized as one of the most beautiful components of the spring woodland wildflower garden. There are approximately 35 species native to the eastern U.S. Of these, roughly 10 species are offered for sale by wholesale nurseries. In recent years conservationists have raised concerns about the source of these plants. Reports indicate that nursery propagation by seed is rare, most trillium rhizomes are wild collected.

Research Goals at Mt. Cuba Include:

• Recognizing the need for and benefits of propagating native species in the nursery.
• Determining the most cost effective and labor efficient methods of doing so.
• Selecting exceptionally attractive, easily cultivated species.

Supporting Marketing Strategies Might Include:

• Emphasizing the desirability of purchasing healthy, vigorous, flowering-sized plants that have been established in containers and are well adapted for survival in the landscape.
• Promoting the conservation

In August of 1996, many months of discussion culminated in an organizational meeting. A partnership between Illinois Green Industry leaders, their organization—the Illinois Nurserymen's Association—horticultural educators, and the Illinois State Board of Education was formed.

Driven by the need to find skilled, qualified workers in an increasingly technical industry, this partnership is spearheading the way by generating interest in the horticultural industry and looking ahead to the future. This unique program draws on manufacturing apprenticeship programs as well as European models to provide students with "hands-on", practical work experience and advanced classroom education.

The 5-year program begins in the junior year of high school. Students apply for the

This selection of vernal witchhazel was made by Mr. Roy Klehm of the Beaver Creek Nursery in Poplar Grove, Illinois.

Mr. Klehm first noticed the impressive fall coloration in a large block of H. vernalis. He at first felt that the plant was perhaps another species or cultivar mistakenly mixed in with its more common sisters. The fall coloration is a rich red with overtones of purple, yellow, and orange. The breathtaking effect is that of a glowing campfire on a crisp fall evening. Best fall coloration is triggered with the hard frosts of colder climates and the plant is at its best there.

The flowers are colored in shades of ripe grain and are quite fragrant.

A national mailorder nursery firm has sought this plant as its "cover girl" and many have been quite surprised that Mr. Klehm did not wish to patent the plant.

Unlike the recent published reports of rootability of witchhazels this plant roots quite well in June–July.

Perhaps the best selection

Desiccation Intolerance. Previous attempts to allow stewartia seed a period of dry after-ripening resulted in a rapid decline in seed viability. This trend led us to examine stewartias in the context of their taxonomic relationship with the tropical and subtropical members that dominate the Theaceae family. Seeds from tropical regions tend to lack the tolerance to desiccation that

The traditional horticultural Gladiolus are summer-flowering types with characteristic monster-sized blooms. These types tend to dominate our perception of "gladdies", but unfortunately they do not do justice to the extraordinary diversity and beauty of this large genus. There are some 250 species of Gladiolus found throughout Africa (including tropical areas) and the Mediterranean region. Of these only a small handful are represented in the commercially available Gladiolus cultivars. Species that have rarely if ever been used in breeding feature delectable perfumes (e.g. G. caryophyllaceus), orchid-like flowers (e.g., G. orchiditflorus)

Light reduction treatments such as etiolation or opaque banding applied to stock plants prior to cutting collection have been shown to increase rooting success of difficult-to-root species (Bollmark and Eliasson, 1990; Leakey and Storeton-West, 1992; Maynard and Bassuk, 1986). However, stock plant light reduction treatments (shading) can be difficult to apply, especially on mature trees (Hecht-Poinar et al., 1989). Zaczek (1994) in a recent study with typically difficult-to-root mature Quercus rubra demonstrated that rooting was significantly improved by subjecting shoot cuttings to shade levels up to 97% of ambient daylight in the rooting environment. Potentially, high levels of shade applied in the rooting environment could prove to be useful in rooting cuttings from other recalcitrant species or cultivars. This study examined the effects of shade levels in the rooting environment, with and without hormone application, on the rooting of cuttings of eight tree taxa.

The reuse of certain products or by products in manufacturing is not new. The nature of various horticultural production methods culminates with materials passing through the manufacturing scheme once. This type of operational setup can, and will continue to add costs to production, and can impact upon the desired net income of an operation. This qualitative look at what our firm does to stream line production costs may be applicable to your company.

No one wants to spend more on getting a product into a customer's hands than necessary. Added costs impact upon prequoted prices, affect bids, and upset bankers. How then do you keep costs down yet produce a marketable plant product? For myself, I have settled upon a propagation method which allows me to reuse various components over and over again.

The 1-gal plastic pot inventory, Lerio Mfg., is at about 5500 units. There are about 2500 to 3000 pots in production at any one time. An almost equal number of various bandpots,

Typical benching in a 29-ft greenhouse consists of five benches of 54 inches each, with four aisles of 20 inches each. With rolling benches you can increase your usable growing area by 20%.

The first step to building rolling benches consisted of saddles made from 1-inch galvanized pipe which are welded together and cemented into the ground. The saddles are spaced 12 ft apart along the length of the bench.

In the second step two length's of 1-¼-inch pipe are used to roll the bench top from one side of the saddle to the other. The bench top is constructed from ¼-inch ridged

There are approximately 12 taxa of the genus Asarum (syn. Hexastylis) native to the deciduous forests of the Southeastern United States. Several ornamental characteristics combine to make these low-growing herbaceous plants suitable for use in the landscape. These include attractive foliage; triangular to heart-shaped evergreen leaves, with or without silvery-grey variegation; rhizomatous growth habit resulting in single specimen (clumping) or groundcover (running) plants; and curious jug- or bell-shaped purplish-brown spring flowers. They are hardy in USDA Zones 5 to 9.

Although these evergreen wild gingers are occasionally seen in gardens, their landscape potential has not been fully realized. This is due in large part to propagation difficulties using traditional methods. Seed set under cultivation is low and potential seed production per plant under optimal conditions is low. Division is possible but slow; on a commercial basis it would require the maintenance of

The pot-in-pot production system has been increasing in acreage steadily during the 1990s. The system is centered around the production of shade and flowering trees and large shrubs in containers which are placed in the ground. A permanent container (socket pot) is placed in the ground where it may last for a decade or longer. A production container, with plant, is inserted into the socket pot. The time a plant is in a production container can be from 6 to 9 months but not more than 2 years. Unit sizes have varied from 3 gal up to 30 gal. On an acre basis, more units in the 7-, 10-, and 15-gal sizes may be in production today. The socket pot and production pot need to be two distinctly manufactured units. Compatible units during the past few years have been manufactured only in the mid-range sizes. Container media consists of the common bark-based media existing in the industry.

Current clonal propagation methods for the North American pawpaw [Asimina triloba L. Dunal] are limited to budding and grafting techniques (Layne, 1996). No work has been published detailing a micropropagation system for the pawpaw, but Callaway (1992) indicated limited success in regenerating shoots using leaf tissue. Successful micropropagation systems have been developed for related Annona species (George and Nissen, 1987). The objective of this research was to observe the effect of ontological age on adventitious bud and shoot development of pawpaw nodal explants in culture. Explants from a juvenile source (seedlings) and mature sources (forced stems and shoots produced on root pieces) were used to study the effect of ontogenetic age during the establishment phase.

Common persimmon, Diospyros virginiana, is a medium to large narrow tree that produces edible fruit. Tripp and Raulston (1995) state "Diospyros virginiana has alot to offer American landscapes". Persimmon is an attractive native tree that may be a valuable landscape tree because it is tolerant of diverse environmental conditions (Bir, 1992; Dirr, 1990; Whitcomb 1983).

Persimmon seeds were collected from native trees in Caldwell County, Kentucky on 7 Dec. 1995. The seeds were prepared for storage by two methods: (1) Moist seed — cleaned (cap, skin and the easily removed pulp removed), and (2) Dry seed — cleaned, dried for 3 days, and the remaining pulp removed. The following treatments were replicated three times: (1) moist seeds; (2) dry seeds; (3) moist seeds in dry perlite; (4) moist seeds in moist perlite; (5) dry seeds in dry perlite; (6) dry seeds in moist perlite; (7) moist seeds in dry peat moss; (8) moist seeds in moist peat moss; (9) dry seeds in dry peat moss; (10) dry

For some time it has been apparent that many growers of Anthurium were experiencing difficulty obtaining satisfactory germination of the seeds of this most desirable plant. Plant division was practised to a large extent to increase numbers, particularly in the cut flower industry. The advent of plant tissue culture and the subsequent development of satisfactory techniques that would produce reasonable multiplication rates, made this an economically viable proposition for growers to some extent.

However, some growers still like to produce their own seedlings, experimenting with specific cross hybridisation to produce plants that they hope will have unique characteristics — which is a great source of personal pride of achievement.

The very short viability of Anthurium seed meant that it was necessary to sow the berries very soon after ripening and harvest. As the berries in most cases contain only 3 to 4 seeds and these are covered in a sticky glutinous mass the

It was found in both the media supplemented with 10 mg liter^-1 BA or 10 mg liter^-1 kinetin that the axillary bud break (%) of the plants derived from micropropagation was higher than that of the plants grown from soft cuttings.

When the axillary shoots reached about 2 cm in length, the shoots were excised

In order to clean the surface of bodies of water in urban areas, a new system of hygro-greening was trialled to improve pond and stream amenities in and around urban areas, and also to purify the water by absorbing excess nutrients. In this concept a floating garden was used to clean the water, and also improve the social environment.

Biotechnology education was introduced to the curriculum of Hiratsuka Agricultural High School in 1990 when the three departments of the school were reorganized. The aim of the adoption of biotechnology education was to give the students a deeper understanding of living things and also to give them some confidence in agriculture. The main aims were to give the students some basic technology, such as sterilization using a newly-built clean room, or showing them themes for research.

The genus Dracaena includes many species used as ornamental foliage plants, however, because their growth rates are often slow, the production of saleable plants is a long process. Recently the quality of plants of Dracaena available for sale has deteriorated. Tissue culture is a potential method of solving these problems.

In this report we investigate the effects of phytohormones on the production of callus, shoots, and roots from stem explants of D. deremensis and D. concinna.

• Most visitors to New Zealand are amazed at the number of sheep on pastures and country roads. This is typical New Zealand — travellers being held up by a flock of sheep off to the shed to be shorn. Wool is a major New Zealand export.
• New Zealand I.P.P.S. president John Liddle's nursery, Liddle Wonder, near Wellington, grows trees and shrubs for the garden centre market on capillary watering beds. Many nurseries are changing from planter bags to hard plastic pots to improve their presentation.
• Most New Zealand nurseries are small by international standards and are often family concerns but they are innovative. The New Zealand Rose Company, Whenuapai, a container rose nursery also grows in the field and the manager is the son of one of New Zealand's best cut flower and patio rose breeders, Frank Schuurman. Nurseries are palletizing orders and using

Cyclamen are mainly propagated from seed. However, uniformity of the important characteristics, such as color and type of flower, is poor because of the complexity of inheritance. Although numerous attempts have been made using in vitro culture techniques over a long period, these trials have not been successful, especially in large-scale culture. Recently, we solved the problems associated with tissue culture and achieved large-scale culture. We now aim to commercialize cyclamen seedlings produced by our tissue-culture methods.

A large proportion of the water supplied to the medium in a plastic container is drained through the hole at the bottom of the container, but because of surface tension, some of the water remains at the bottom of the container and on the inside lower surface of the container. Some condensation is formed on the inside surface of the container due to the differences in temperature between day and night. This only allows roots to take up water, as a result root distortion can occur, leading to root circling around the inside surface of the base of the container without forming many new roots. In order to prevent root circling and to encourage the formation of new roots, it is necessary to get rid of the remaining water at the bottom of the container.

Slit containers prevent root circling

Impatiens — New Guinea Cultivars. Our new cultivars also flower in summer and they grow into big plants faster than overseas cultivars. They are suitable for bedding plants or for use in pots and containers. Six colors are available: purple, scarlet, white, red, salmon, and bright pink.

Dianthus — Potted Carnations. Our cultivars grow even at low temperatures. They can be used in many ways including small to large pots.

Pelargonium. We now offer a new series which have shiny and smart-colored flowers, with only a slight blotch at the center of the flower, or sometimes none at all. They are multiflorous, resistant to Botrytis, and easy to grow.

Clematis. Our seven new cultivars are good for use in pots because they do not need any supports. They are multiflorous,

Red Spirit^® rose. Bright red flowers throughout the year which have a stable colour. The petals do not get dark even under low temperature conditions. This selection has few thorns and is easy to handle.

Vorgue^® rose. The flowers have light pink petals with a darker pink edge. The large flowers are held upright on strong stems.

Femma^® rose. A very productive cultivar with good quality petals; it is particularly suitable for all kinds of flower arrangements.

Madonna^® rose. Novel cardinal-red flowers on a spray type rose; it has nicely shaped strong petals and a good vase-life.

Nana^® rose. This polyantha-type rose with ball-shaped flowers was bred for improved cut-flower qualities and is suitable for training by pruning.

POTTED-FLOWER VARIETIES

Mini Dianthus Little Princess series. The ‘Little Princess’ series maintains a 10 to 15 cm height during the growing season, and has high heat resistance for the summer. Flowering is almost year-round, and we offer three different colors, rose-pink, white, and pastel-pink.

Dianthus Love Love Queen series. This series is quite new, so we will be introducing it for the 1998 season. It is best grown in medium to large pots, and reaches a height of 30 to 40 cm. Two colors, rose and apricot, are available.

Alstroemeria. We have two cultivars ‘Magic Love’ and ‘Endless Love’ for pot culture. The colors are dark pink and soft pink.

Bulbs. We have introduced many new bulbs suitable for flower or potted flower production including, lily, tulip, freesia, and muscari.

Growers in the nursery industry are faced with numerous problems everyday. One of these is the control of disease which can cost growers hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost revenue. Fungal diseases are a major concern and one fungus that constantly threatens crops is Botrytis cinerea.

Botrytis cinerea can affect a range of plant parts, particularly the flowers, when there is high relative humidity and cool temperatures (Jarvis, 1992; Fletcher, 1984). Conducive conditions are worsened by poor ventilation, hence it is beneficial for heating and ventilation at sunset when the vapour pressure deficit is low (Jarvis, 1992). Generally infection occurs after the plants have been harvested and during storage and transport. The first symptoms, however, are usually found on the plant in the greenhouse (Dirske, 1982; Fletcher, 1984). Commencement of the infection usually occurs due to the conidia of the pathogen and it serves as the initial inoculum point for the

We have made big progress in the production of Gypsophila, Dianthus (carnation), Gerbera, Limonium, and other crops by the use of tissue culture. In 1975, we started the mass production of G. paniculata with techniques which resulted in a large demand in the market.

Currently, our top selling product is carnation cuttings produced from tissue cultured nuclear stocks and we produce over 15 million cuttings a year. Our original Limonium cultivars are very well known in the market, and we have put a lot of effort into their selection and hybridization, especially the L. Beltlaard and Emille groups which have become very

We have reported previously that the growth of in vitro plantlets of Cymbidium and Cattleya was promoted markedly when organic matter was added to the basal medium (Kusumoto and Furukawa, 1977; Kusumoto, 1979a; Kusumoto 1979b). This report describes the effects of the basal medium and the concentration of added sugar or banana on the growth of Oncidium plantlets cultured in vitro.

The cell-tray culture of flowering plants is increasing in Japan and many kinds of media designed for this type of culture are now on sale. Overseas, many growing media have been investigated (Baker,1957; Bunt, 1988) and their physical and chemical properties and effect on plant growth have been clarified (Fontano and Nelson, 1990; Sonneveld, 1990; Biernbaum,1992; Lang, 1994). On the other hand, an investigation of Japanese media has not been carried out and their effects on the growth of flowering plant seedlings are unknown. We produced nine media (Table 1), by mixing six commercial media, and investigated the effective volume (%) of pore space for air capacity and NO₃ content of the media.

• Lilium noblissimum (the Japanese name is tamoto-yuri) — the most difficult species;
• Lilium japonicum (sasa-yuri) and L. auratum (yama-yuri);
• Lilium alexandrae (uke-yuri) and L. rubellum (otome-yuri);
• Lilium speciosum (kanoko-yuri) — relatively easy.

All of the species mentioned above show good germination, but they grow very slowly. During the first year, they produce only small bulbs (ca. 2- to 5-mm. diameter). They are also susceptible to pests and diseases. At the flowering stage (5 to 6 years after sowing) almost all plants lose their vigor because of infection by viruses and infestation by bulb mites. Therefore, we tried to raise seedlings of several Japanese lilies in vitro in order to conserve them for garden use and to prepare

In the present study, interspecific crosses were carried out between D. chinensis and various other Dianthus species and the resultant interspecific hybrids were successfully obtained by using the embryo rescue technique.

The importance of water to a plant is self evident to all of us who live and work in the Plant Kingdom. This importance is multiplied a thousand fold when cuttings are taken and we expect them to root. With leafy and softwood cuttings it is critical that we maintain an atmosphere supercharged with moisture to keep the cuttings in turgid condition. By using mist and fog to hold humidity at desired levels a modern plant nursery maintains cuttings in a turgid condition to prevent wilting. This enhances rooting.

What is the history and background to our use fog and mist? In preparing this paper I found in Volume 1 of the I.P.P.S. Proceedings from 1951, 46 years ago, a paper presented by Professor L.C. Chadwick of Ohio State University titled Controlling Humidification as an Aid to Vegetative Propagation. From the way this paper reads mist as a tool in propagation was still new in commercial applications but had been used in research at Ohio State. The paper outlines systems

Many trials are carried out to assess methods and rooting hormone formulations. However the results are not always what they seem. This paper aims to show how difficult it is to assess trials if the age of the hormone formulation is unknown and what can be done to overcome this problem.

There is more fun than tribulation in growing indigenous plants. The possibility of finding some small treasure to grow is immense and the plant could pop up where you least expect it, especially in a country like South Africa that has such a wealth of flora and varied habitats. In this paper, a number of problems that I have experienced, and ways to overcome some of them, are shared with you.

Changes are taking place in the nursery industry in South Africa and elsewhere in the world. Twenty years ago, a nursery was a place where plants were grown and sold. Today nurseries are split between growers and retailers. A relatively new trend is the specialization of growers to produce plugs.

In this paper, I will present an overview of my view of how things are going to change in the retail nursery industry and how the propagator will be affected.

In researching and diagnosing virus diseases of deciduous fruit trees several propagation techniques were utilised and integrated with virus testing and elimination procedures. The aim of this work is to avail nurserymen and do-it-yourself growers the benefits of healthy propagating and planting material: improved profitability through higher nursery and fruit production efficiency.

The present work involves viruses but the principles and general approaches also apply to other plant pathogens, such as bacteria, fungi, and other infectious agents. Two notable differences are:

1. Fruit tree viruses depend on living hosts for their survival and dispersal.
2. Remediation of virus-infected plants on a commercial scale is impractical and not cost-effective.

The use of healthy plant propagating material prevents the spread of pathogens, reduces production costs for both nurserymen and growers, and helps meet consumer demand for a consistent, high quality product.

Schotte Nurseries is an indoor plant propagation and production nursery. We have approximately 2 acres (8000 M²) under production in five glasshouses, 1 Hi-Vent house (openable polyhouse) and two shade houses. Indoor foliage is our main production with some flowering lines and "unique living gift" lines. "Growlines" our propagated stock in trays, 5-cm, and 8-cm pots accounts for approximately 25% of the nursery turnover. The nursery has a PRIVA climate control computer operating the climate and water controls which has been in operation since 1981. Control systems in use before the computer were analogue controllers, thermostats, and manual systems.

Commercial Glasshouse manufactures installs and services glasshouses and all manner of related horticultural equipment. PRIVA computers have been sold installed and commissioned since 1981. We have to date installed 65 climate and or water control computers throughout Australia and New Zealand.

In the two

Changes to the Australian training system have been happening for some time. If you are not involved in education then you may not have caught up with some of the latest developments. We now have Competency Based Training and Assessment, National Curriculum, and a different way of government funding arrangements. "Doing it my way" for a trainer is vastly different to what it was even a few years ago. The changes are not complete and I see that we will never go back to the old ways, good or bad. Even our present and new system will come in for further changes. Being adaptable is now a good trait for a horticultural trainer.

Competency based

Whether these changes were the result of cyclical fluctuation in climate, or were part of a long-term shift in global conditions caused by greenhouse gases, they illustrate how observations of the phenology of plant development can be used as a sensitive detector of environmental conditions.

Economic analysis can identify opportunities which contribute to remediation to climate change (Bureau of Industry Economics, 1996), but involvement of community groups in recording responses of plants to changes in weather is, intuitively

The SPF is a measure of the protection of sunscreens. To arrive at this value the sunscreen had to be tested in laboratory conditions using a solar simulator, with all other variables as constants. The unit measured is the "minimal erythematous dose" or MED, which is a measure of the time taken to produce redness in an average skin. From this the SPF is calculated as:

In other words, SPF is defined as the exposure time to produce redness on protected skin divided by the exposure time to produce redness on unprotected skin. It is an indicator of the ability of a sunscreen to prolong sun exposure

The diagram in Figure 1 was developed by Berlo (1960) to help explain the process of communication.

To give you some idea as to why I made that statement one has to consider Australia's economic situation, and what our future economic situation might possibly be. This will enable nurseries of the future to steer in the right direction to ensure survival.

Multinational companies seem to be able to move their profits off shore, thus avoiding paying tax in Australia. These large companies can usually afford to use the latest technology, and in real terms, are not the bigger employers of people in this country. The tax burden therefore falls on the smaller Australian-owned industries, which most horticultural enterprises are. Couple this with the removal of

A greenhouse manager cannot maximise control of the greenhouse without some understanding of the relationship between temperature, light, and humidity. This paper will mainly discuss the relationship between temperature and humidity. A good understanding of these processes starts with the psychrometric chart.

I have been teaching horticulture under varying conditions for the past 30 years, and I have constantly encouraged my students to strive for a qualification. My earlier training in civil engineering and surveying has proven invaluable in dealing with facts and maintaining objectivity. All learning courses have a common thread, and should teach one to think with a trained mind.

It has been my observation, and certainty in my own case, that those of us who enjoy what we are doing tend to achieve more. And I am never bored! I continue to enjoy two specific facets of my life in plant propagation:

1. The rigour of assessing and evaluating current events related to my field of interest on the broadest possible plane in Australia and internationally.
2. The more difficult rigour of questioning one’s beliefs in what and why and how one

As is obvious from the many millions of containerised plantation tree species propagated in shallow containers every year, pruning the tap root of these species has no obvious detrimental effect on either the root system or the overall health of the plants. However, oaks and other species with similar nut-type seeds are commonly considered difficult to propagate or totally unsuited to container propagation.

Fresh acorns of English and Turkey oaks (Quercus robur and Q. cerris) were collected and sown immediately into a peat substrate in Larmen Plantek 64F cell containers with side slots for air root-pruning

To date our ITO has built training numbers to 760 apprentices in 10 sectors and we are aiming for 850 people in our mixed on- and off-job training programmes by the end of this year (1997).

Three Hundred unit standards, Ten National Certificates, and a National

The North American Indians were probably among the first container growers in the world. They used small fish as containers which they threaded on a rope and hung between two trees. They put a seed in the throat, germinated it and let the seedling grow as long as nutrients and moisture were available in the "container".

Containerized nursery production systems have evolved during the past 50 years from simple tar paper pots used in the 1930s, plastic bags used in the 1950s, to the wide variety of rigid-walled containers in use today. In the beginning the containers were placed on the ground and very poor growing media was used, often topsoils or mixes with very low air-filled porosity. This resulted in a lot of problems with pathogenic fungi causing damping off and root dieback. It also resulted in very poor field

Temperature is the main environmental factor determining the release period of encapsulated controlled-release fertilisers (CRFs). Therefore, an understanding of container media temperatures is important to the nursery grower. The aim of this work is to review the factors influencing container media temperature, its effect on plant growth, and to try to establish to what degree various parameters influence the relationship between air and container media temperature. Such an understanding will hopefully allow a more accurate prediction to be made as to container media temperatures based on air temperatures. The latter are more readily recorded and would consequently assist in the estimation of the longevity of CRFs.

The Marlborough chalk cress Cheesemania ‘Chalk Range’ is a critically endangered New Zealand plant (Cameron et al., 1995). It is a small herb (10 to 15 cm tall, with inflorescences up to 25 cm) and the surviving plants were found on mostly south-facing montane bluffs. The leaves form a single rosette on a large root which extends above the ground giving the plant the appearance of a small palm tree (Anon, 1992). The plant is a monocarpic perennial. It is highly palatable and introduced browsing animals such as goats, possums, sheep, and hares were thought to have eaten the plant to extinction by the 1970s (Anon, 1992).

However, in 1992, 45 chalk cress plants were found clinging to steep bluffs on private land in the Chalk Range in Eastern Marlborough by Department of Conservation staff (Anon, 1992). In March 1992, at the Forest Research Institute (FRI) Rotorua, New Zealand, a propagation programme was initiated, with the aim of testing the viability of field-collected

The climate at 2500 m on the equator is similar in many ways to the climate here in Nelson. The temperature range is roughly the same, and there are about the same amount of wet and dry times, with a similar rainfall.

The main difference is the length of days, which is constant at 12 h all the year round at the equator.

I have had no trouble growing trees which grow naturally at or above this altitude. Some of these are:

Hagenia abyssinica. A large, spreading, frost-hardy, evergreen tree which mulches itself with its own old leaves. It prefers a reasonably moist situation and is very fast growing with large compound leaves. My grandmother had one in her garden in Kenya. I can remember a Christmas when there were 80 of us

World demand for the medicinal properties of Echinacea has raised its profile above that of simply an attractive American wildflower.

Echinacea, or purple coneflower, as it is commonly known, is a genus of herbaceous perennials native to the prairies of central North America. Of the nine species, E. purpurea and E. angustifolia are the two that have been actively commercialised and upon which this report will focus.

Echinacea belongs to the daisy family Asteraceae. They produce a cluster of leaves from a short (20 to 30 mm) rhizome. Echinacea angustifolia has a vertical taproot whereas E. purpurea has fibrous roots. Echinacea angustifolia has narrow, entire leaves covered in stiff bristly hairs while E. purpurea has larger, rounded leaves that are coarsely toothed.

Single flower heads are produced at the end of simple or branched stems. The spiny raised receptacle or "cone" in the centre of the flower is a characteristic of the genus. The ray flowers of E. purpurea

Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis L.) is a highly valued North American medicinal herb belonging to the family Ranunculaceae. It is a small herbaceous perennial found in Northwestern United States and Canada, from Ontario in the North, to North Carolina in the South. Common names include yellow root, orange root, Indian dye, and yellow puccoon. Its main active ingredients are the alkaloids, hydrastine and berberine, and it is used among other things as a muscle stimulant, stomach strengthener, antihaemorrhagic, and laxative. Goldenseal also has some antibacterial activity. Collecting goldenseal from the wild resulted in its near extinction in its native habitat, however, as a result of intensive cultivation it has become more common. In New Zealand goldenseal is currently being evaluated as a new crop (Douglas, 1988).

Nurserymen know a lot about germinating the seeds of native species, but have not often recorded their knowledge. Other professionals with an interest in the subject have published some information, but there is still only a limited amount of detailed information in print on how to get seeds of plants of our native flora to germinate. A recent review of literature on seed germination relevant to New Zealand native plants (Fountain and Outred 1991) covered only 38 articles and 113 species.

About 10 years ago I decided to study seed biology of plants in South Island native forests. My aim was to improve our understanding of this vital phase in the forest regeneration process. Since 1989 I have published articles on seed germination, seed crops, dispersal, and seed predation in New Zealand Natural Sciences, Canterbury Botanical Society Journal, and New Zealand Journal of Botany.

Here I want to outline the methodology I use and some results of simple experiments on

If we look at the Callas, we have numerous cultivars. The big thing that needs to be remembered is that all of the Callas are deciduous. They have a specific growing season and require a dormancy. This is probably one of the essential differences.

To confine my view to the last 25 years I unhesitatingly nominate the multiplication and distribution of selected clones of fruiting plants as the most important development that has assisted our business. As supporters of schemes dedicated to improving quality and performance of fruit-bearing plants we are a vital link between plant breeders, research workers, and the Australian fruit industries.

Our nursery is located in the Sunrise district, which is at the heart of the Murray/ Darling river basin. We aim to service the needs of fruit growers in this. basin. This river system supports Australia's two largest, fully irrigated fruit production industries, grapes (Vitis) and citrus. These two industries contribute significantly to our gross national product. It is fundamental to the sustainable success of these industries that we grow the most improved clones with the best possible health status.

The first 10 years of my working life were with the Commonwealth

Some 2.2 billion seedlings are grown annually in South African nurseries (Nelson, 1991). The major vegetable seedling crops are cabbages, tomatoes and lettuce. Multi-seeded onions are also popular in some areas.

A particularly interesting aspect of these nurseries, apart from their sole purpose being to propagate containerised seedlings, was the strong cross-cultural influences when the same nursery propagated a wide range of seedlings

Because these things occurred here in the Nelson region I was asked to bring the Society up to date with developments and report on progress.

Skimmia is the most important ornamental genus of hardy, woody plants in the citrus family (Rutaceae) and ranks highly amongst woody evergreen shrubs for park and garden culture. Only one species, S. japonica and its subspecies reevesiana, are of commercial ornamental horticultural significance. The three other species (S. arborescens, S. laureola, and S. anquetilia) are mainly of botanical interest, although the hybrid S. ×confusa (S. anquetilia × S. japonica) is of distinct horticultural merit.

Skimmias are fairly slow growing, of compact habit, tolerant of most soil types, and do best in partial shade. Male clones are grown for their flowers. The terminal panicles, usually creamy white, sometimes tinged with pink, are often fragrant. Female and bisexual clones usually have smaller flowers but are followed by clusters of brightly coloured red fruits which persist throughout the autumn and winter months.

This paper describes the approach of a cut-foliage project in Ireland called Forest Produce, based in County Kerry and producing foliage for supermarkets in the U.K. and mainland Europe.

Andre Briant Jeunes Plants is a specialist propagator of hardy ornamental nursery stock liners. The present owner, André Briant (I.P.P.S. GB&I Region President in 1993) purchased the business from his father's company in 1963 when it was a general ornamental nursery. Briant felt there was a market for a specialist propagator and transformed the general nursery into a liner producer selling to growers. Some 15 years ago, Briant met Didier Mathis, a passionate plantsman, and together they decided to make new plants a feature of the range offered by Briant. Mathis took on the role of finding new plants for Briant Nursery. The nursery currently propagates and grows approximately 10 million young plants each year (pot liners, bareroots, and plugs) which are sold throughout Europe (50% in France and 50% exported). Twelve percent of its turnover is represented by new cultivars, protected by breeders' rights. This paper describes how the nursery brings new plants to the market

In recent years a small, but growing, industry has developed in Australia based around "Bushtucker" or "Bushfood" plants. There are currently up to 30 or more Australian plants being used for a range of products, from fresh and dried plant parts to plant essences and flavourings. The development of this industry has been influenced by a number of factors including adventurous chefs using the plant products in the first place; community concerns over "clean" and environmentally friendly foods; the new tastes and flavours available; and the unique Australian nature of the product (assisted in part by "The Bushtucker Man" television series). A recent report identified 14 of the most commonly used plant species and provided some financial estimates for intensive cultivation of these species (RIRDC, 1997).

There is certainly demand for the plant products. In 1995–96 the total sales value through the food processing part of the industry was AUS$4.5 million (Econsult

Plant breeding has been undertaken at the Dutch Research Station for Nursery Stock in Boskoop since the 1940s, resulting in several popular cultivars such as Buddleja ‘Pink Delight’, Cytisus ‘Boskoop Ruby’, Pieris japonica ‘Debutante’ and ‘Cupido’, Agastache ‘Blue Fortune’, and Lonicera ‘Honey Baby’. In 1990 the Dutch government withdrew finance for plant breeding research but nurserymen undertook to financing the selection of new crops in certain categories, through their commodity board.

In 1992, 5-year programmes started on four categories of plants:

1. Showy container plants for the impulse market;
2. Herbaceous perennials for low-maintenance amenity plantings;
3. Small trees for private gardens;
4. Woody ground cover plants for amenity plantings.

These four categories of plants cover 75% of all the species grown in nurseries.

There are a good number of garden-worthy genera in which very few cultivars have been bred or selected. This paper focuses on the author's work on breeding and selecting new cultivars of Heuchera, Pulmonaria, and Tiarella. Gardeners regard a number of species within these taxa as "nice woodlanders". I wanted to go beyond this and began collecting as many species as possible to enrich the genetic "palette". These were crossed in a range of combinations and hybrids analyzed to the following criteria:

• Is the new strain sufficiently different from current offerings (i.e.: are differences obvious to an observer standing 3 in away)?
• Does the leaf or flower excite customer interest?
• Is hybrid vigor evident?
• Does it have a wide climactic range? (determined from Pan-American trials)
• Is it capable of propagation in tissue culture to fulfill consumer demand?

Between three and ten selections would generally be made from each 1000 seedlings. Visitors to the nursery were polled

The rest is now history, but I feel we should not forget the part played by those involved, many of whom are no longer with us. People such as the late Jack Pike, Alan Newport, Roy Guernsey, and Peter Spinnaker Re-reading the papers from that Conference is quite illuminating. There is just as much relevance in them today as then. Jim Wells, the Founder of I.P.P.S., made a special trip from the U.S.A. for the occasion and his words certainly bear repeating. Jim titled his address "The plant propagator

Output can be maximised by making a system as efficient as possible, especially by analysing and planning the various processes in order to achieve the greatest possible efficiency in production. Greater efficiency is the key to greater profitability although too many growers still believe profit comes from screwing the supplier on price (Coutts, 1997). Growers will also need to improve their labour efficiency, by as much as 10% year on year (Rowe, 1997), because labour costs won't come down, more labour is likely to be used as you expand, and there are few other areas left to improve.

In terms of direct costs labour can account for between 25% and 60% of net sales and is therefore the single biggest cost.

This Mary Helliar Travel Scholarship was undertaken to study the production of Acer palmatum in France and Italy and to see if any of the methods used there could be used to improve the quality of Japanese maples produced and retailed in the United Kingdom. To compare production methods I visited three recommended producers: Filli Gillardelli, 20041 Agrate Brianza, near Milan, Italy; Maymou Nurseries, 64100 Bayonne, near Biarritz, France; and Liss Forest Nursery, Greatham., Hampshire, U.K. Both Gilardelli and Maymou produce their plants in open ground and I was particularly interested in the part played by soil and climate in their production method and their effect on the quality of the resulting plants.

Romneya coulteri is native to the Santa Ana Mountains, southeast of Los Angeles, California, where it is said to be abundant. The Irish botanist Dr. Thomas Coulter discovered it in 1833. The generic name commemorates the Irish astronomer Dr. F. Romney Robinson, a friend of Dr. Coulter.

Romneya coulteri was not introduced to the British Isles until 1875, when seeds were received by E. G. Henderson and Co. and by Thompson of Ipswich. The first recorded flowering took place in Ireland where a small plant at the Glasnevin Botanic Garden opened one bud in the autumn of 1876, having been planted in the March of the same year. The following year it flowered abundantly after reaching 1.8 m in height.

Biological control has been used commercially on protected edible crops for more than 25 years in most Northern European countries. Many pests are similar for most horticultural crops, whether grown outside or under protection. Nursery stock plants however, are subject to some additional pest organisms not usually associated with edible crop production. These include vine weevil, many aphid and caterpillar species, plus transient minor pests such as psylids, gall midges, etc.

The basic technology behind biological control is independent of the crop, so the lessons learned in one branch of horticulture can usually be modified to suit another. For non-edibles, programmes which integrate biological and chemical controls, are more usual because of the wider range of selective pesticides available. The U.K. is fortunate that any pesticide approved for use on an edible crop can automatically be used on a non-edible crop grown under similar conditions. An example is the recently

Achieving high rates of success in rooting leafy cuttings is strongly dependent on the provision of a suitable environment. Improving existing propagation environment technology offers the prospect of bringing new plants to the market by enabling nurseries to propagate cuttings that are currently considered too difficult. There are two obstacles to such progress: the difficulty of identifying the optimum conditions for a particular plant, and the difficulty of describing that environment in a way that others can reproduce reliably in their own facilities. This paper outlines new approaches to overcoming both of these obstacles.

The selection, propagation, production, and marketing of any new plant is a long process. This paper will not cover every detail of the process but will highlight some of the key points and expand them.

Debutante^® Dahlias (Debutante^® Dahlias is a Registered Trade Mark) is a new range of genetically dwarf, true double-flowered dahlias raised in New Zealand by Dr. Keith Hammett. They are classed as Miniature Decorative by the National Dahlia Society. In New Zealand they are known and raised under the name Baby Dahls. Dr. Hammett first began to collect, raise, and hybridise dahlias in the mid 1960s. He emigrated to New Zealand in 1967 where he worked as a plant pathologist for the New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. In 1973 Dr. Hammett acquired a 10-acre property which he has since developed as a plant breeding operation actively working with a wide range of material including Lathyrus, Dahlia, Dianthus, Petunia, Clivia, Polyanthus, Chrysanthemum, and

In the last 6 years there has been a dramatic increase in the number of large-scale coordinated plant promotions and these now account for 40% of Farplants' total sales. As the retail market becomes increasingly competitive garden centre buyers, who are already spoiled for choice, will become much more selective. Inferior promotions will quickly fall by the wayside but those which have been well planned will stand the test of time. As garden centre groups and multiples continue to expand, so too will the demands on their suppliers. Therefore, those growers who do not gear up to supply top quality, well-marketed plants in real volume and on time, will get left out in the cold.

Between the two World Wars, the introduction of new cut flower cultivars was relatively simple, although grossly inefficient. Breeders had very small nurseries and existed by selling seedlings outright to leading commercial growers and by selling cuttings to amateur growers. The flower growers who bought these seedlings would discover that only a small percentage of them fulfilled the requirements of the commercial market and it took time to find the best cultivation techniques and to gain the confidence of the markets. However, once successful, most of the other growers would produce them and good cultivars (such as Dendranthema ‘Mayford Perfection’, ‘Friendly Rival’, and ‘American Beauty’) tended to last for years.

This paper will look at different forms of intellectual property, that is patents, designs, copyright, and trade marks. Particular attention will be given to trade marks, contrasting this form of protection with variety rights and varietal names. The information contained in this paper is based on U.K. practice, although customs and laws in other countries and states are much the same.

Patents relate to inventions, that is the way things work, as opposed to how they look. The typical cartoon showing a line of people queuing outside the Patent Office with contraptions they have invented is apocryphal but incorrect. The Patent Office only deals with written documents (though sometimes machinery is demonstrated to an examiner in order to persuade him or her of the merits of a particular invention). To gain a valid patent an invention has to be novel and non-obvious.

Generally you must file a patent before you disclose your invention to the public anywhere in the world.

How does your system measure up? For fixed overhead sprinkler systems, which are still the most popular system in the industry, there are irrigation standards that you can calculate for each lock.

Your irrigation system should have:

• Mean application rate — less than 15 mm per hour
• Coefficient of uniformity of sprinklers — more than 85%
• Scheduling coefficient of application — less than 1.5

What is the significance of these measurements? Well let’stake them one at a time. If you apply water at less than 15 mm h^-1 then it is likely

Good labels helps producers to present plants so that they appeal to consumers, many of whom are thirsting for information and need to be convinced that the plant they're looking at is indeed one they should buy. A name label alone is simply not enough. Even a £10 camera comes with comprehensive instructions and advice for getting the best out of your purchase.

Labels can supply that reassurance with helpful care information, illustrating features, and benefits (such as flowers, fruits, or autumn colour not immediately obvious at the time of sale), and of course can include a brand, a guarantee, or an endorsement (such as the

After a period of rapid growth during the 1980s, garden centre retailers have been facing the challenge of a static market. The response has been a marked increase in the number of acquisitions and buy-outs and the development of initiatives such as loyalty cards by retailers aiming to retain or increase their market share.

The trend towards market segmentation (Table 1), which started 20 years ago, has resulted in three well-defined types of outlet for garden plants (Table 2). Together these are responsible for about two-thirds of the retail market as a whole.

Specialist retailers such as plant nurseries, which are driven by

Looking back over old catalogs, the first new plants I introduced to the U.K. were Cornus florida ‘Barton White’ and ‘Sweetwater’ and Pieris ‘Brouwers Beauty’. These were all from the U.S.A.

At the same time I introduced the first plants of my own: Potentilla fruticosa ‘Orangeade’, an upright form with bright orange-red flowers and P. fruticosa ‘Pretty Polly’, a pink that holds its color in the sun better than most.

In 1984, I introduced Spiraea japonica ‘Lisp’, Golden Princess™ spirea, a chance seedling found in a local garden, but thought to be a cross between S. japonica ‘Gold Flame’ and S. japonica ‘Little Princess’. This was shown at the Chelsea Flower Show by Blooms of Bressingham. This was the first plant I had protected by Plant Breeders Rights (PBR) that

Putting my life as a bum behind, it was a little while later in the late 1970s when I got the bug again to look for plants and over the years collected plants in many areas in South America, East Africa, several times in China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and lately in Laos.

I am a nurseryman, not a scientist; therefore, I look at plants more for their ornamental and medicinal value than for their scientific classification or other application.

Since I began traveling I have witnessed the mass destruction of flora throughout the world by deforestation and other means. We have lost countless plant species and countless other forms of life. We have lost many opportunities to gain knowledge. We have greatly impoverished our planet and are continuing to do so at an enormous rate.

One of the main purposes of Piroche Plants

Magnolias are often called aristocrats among landscape plants. This is because of their lovely, large flowers and glossy leaves. The number of available hybrids has exploded in recent years. My talk will focus on selection in two specific areas of deciduous magnolias, what I call the "tree magnolias" and the "yellow flowering" magnolias.

It is a privilege to speak to you today about developing new plants for northern gardens. My talk today will cover plants hardy in Zone 4 and colder regions. Since so much of the stock grown in the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia is shipped to colder eastern zones it is important that you propagate hardy cultivars on hardy rootstocks. For over 30 years I have worked with these northern plant materials and those experiences have given me an appreciation for plant breeders who have made dramatic strides over the past 30 years. For example, there were only one or two large shade tree cultivars available for colder zones when I entered the field. Clonal propagation was very limited outside of flowering crabapples and possibly a few elms. Today there are 20 to 30 available shade trees for Zones 2 and 3. Now if we hear a complaint it is that we have too many cultivars for the limited market available.

As a plant breeder and nurserymen you first need to know that if you

WILBERT RONALD: Rootstocks need to be a focus for future studies and more needs to be done. Problems, such as chlorosis resistance, need attention.

ANONYMOUS: Are you doing any work with summer-blooming magnolias?

PAUL REIMER: Most of our work has been done on the spring-flowering ones. However, we are doing some work with Magnolia sieboldii.

ANONYMOUS: What was the name of the silver dogwood?

WILBERT RONALD: ‘Ivory Halo’. It is patented in the U.S. and registered through C.O.P.F. Plants in Canada and it's in Europe as well.

Before we begin let us decide what we mean by native plants for the purpose of this presentation. By native plants we mean plants found growing naturally in a certain area. They include native perennials, shrubs, and trees. These are the plants present in that area before other plants were introduced, intentionally or unintentionally, from elsewhere. These native plants evolved in their natural habitat over time and they can be assumed to be the most optimum plants for the sites where they are found. Along with the plants evolving in their particular area other life forms have evolved with them, such as mammals, birds, and insects, as well as more primitive life forms, including fungi and soil organisms which, together with nonliving elements, form complex ecosystems.

Native plants have an important role to play in maintaining the diversity of ecosystems in the less disturbed outlying areas where forestry and agriculture dominate, as well as in the urban areas. In

1. The amount of available water. One dam and the town water supply. The dam was not enough for our needs and the town supply too expensive for overhead irrigation.
2. Plants are generously spaced making overhead watering very wasteful.
3. A system of rows and blocks of plants made a drip system easy to design.
4. The length of time plants remained in one position was a minimum of 18 months.
5. Use of a large polybag container suited the use of drippers.
6. Although it was much more costly to install drip irrigation, it meant that water was not a limiting factor.

One block was set up as a trial simply connected to the town water and manually turned on and off. This worked well apart from, as you would expect, the manual on/ off. An automatic controller was

From our experience, the first step the nursery should take if interested in mycorrhizae is to seek the services of an expert in the field. We learned early that our expertise in propagation is completely different from the expertise required to produce healthy inoculum and maintain a program for making plants mycorrhizal. The expert at Tree of Life Nursery is Dr. Ted St. John, who has been on staff for about 10 years.

After experimenting with methods of inoculum production, we determined

MIKE EVANS: Yes. It is labelled in California as a soil conditioner with the name VAM80.

LAINE MCLAUGHLIN: Do we have reason to think that this same fungus will work up here in the northwest or will we have to start from scratch?

MIKE EVANS: That's a good question; will it work here. Bob Linderman at Oregon State is one of the premiere researchers in the world and we've been in contact with him. We're working on some strains of Glomus that will tolerate acid soils, but G. interadices has not been very promising under acid conditions. It grows best in the pH 6.5 range and even slightly alkaline soils.

HANK BROKAW: I would like to know if you find different concentrations of the mycorrhizae with different depths in your 15-gal containers? If so, to what do you attribute that?

MIKE EVANS: Yes, we do find different concentrations. We discard the entire top (3 inches of medium) simply because there are not many roots there

Plant nurseries are looking for ways to help conserve water and solve environmental concerns regarding water quality and runoff. In addition, water costs are increasing and water use regulations are more restrictive. Managers must determine which irrigation systems and production methods best fit their nursery. First, consider the basic practices that have been shown to conserve water and reduce runoff (Kabashima, 1993). These practices are based on improved irrigation systems, irrigation scheduling, and using tail-water return systems. Secondary consideration should be given to plant water use, water application, and the plant environment. Usually, these methods are effective in conserving water only after implementing the previous practices.

Container plants require large amounts of water when compared to field-grown plants and, of course, the disposal of this water can be a huge problem. On a hot summer day up to 1 inch of water is applied daily on our container plants. On

WARD PRYSTAY: Yes. We chose to use the gravel as a control in the experiment. We didn't want to have either system influenced by the presence/absence of gravels or the presence/absence of an organic soil. Subsurface-flow wetlands have to be designed with an extremely porous medium to allow flow of accumulated debris or solids within the system. For low-carbon wastewaters like nursery or greenhouse effluents, having a organic soil would be beneficial.

BRUCE BRIGGS: It's been observed in the past that the waves of rippling water was more effective than recycling with a pump. Have you observed this?

JOHN BYLAND: No. We felt that using aerators or splashers was such an easy solution that could be done quickly.

JIM CONNER: I'm using secondary effluent water right now from a wetlands area. The wetlands, of course, are removing nitrogen

At Traas Nursery our primary product is dwarfing and semidwarfing fruit-tree rootstock. We currently raise 12 different cultivars of Malus for apple rootstock, Prunus avium F12/1 for cherry rootstock, Cydonia A (often called Quince A) for pear rootstock, and Prunus insititia Saint Julien A for plum and large stone fruit such as peaches and nectarines. The range of size control available in our Malus line varies from approximately 25% to 80% of standard. All our stock is vegetatively produced from clonal selections, either by mound-layering, stooling, or hardwood cuttings. No seedling stock is raised at all. The advantages of clonal production as opposed to seedling production is well known. Uniformity is critical when planning new orchards of high density plantings. With some plantings as high as 3500 trees to the acre, there is no place for trees that do not develop to a uniform size, particularly if they grow larger than anticipated. Our main markets are nurseries that

Briggs Nursery produces 7 million plantlets from tissue culture on an annual basis. At any given time 2 to 4 million plants are either in rooting or in a production phase.

At Briggs Nursery plants are always being sold or moved and by utilizing facilities and personnel on a year-round basis the empty houses are continuously being refilled.

The threat or potential for diseases, weeds, liverwort, and/or mosses is always present. Some of the disease organisms that are a concern are: Botrytis, Fusarium, Rhizoctonia, Cylindrocladium, Phytophthora, Theiophis, powdery mildew, downy mildew, rusts, leaf spots, and mushrooms.

Where disease organisms originate, how they spread, and what causes flare-ups remains a mystery. The nursery has used consultants and research people to help pinpoint sources of contamination. Their recommendation is always the same: maintain cleanliness and use good water management.

With experience, the perennial propagator becomes aware of some of the keys to successful propagation. This involves an intimate knowledge of each taxon, a daunting task with the thousands of different plants that a large nursery

Specimen Trees Wholesale Nurseries Ltd. is located in Pitt Meadows, a part of the greater Vancouver area in southwestern British Columbia. The nursery is comprised of 480 acres, 16 acres in container, 6 acres under poly greenhouse, and a 9000-unit pot-in-pot system.

We produce four species and 13 cultivars of magnolias (see List A). Approximately 2000 units of each magnolia taxa are produced in rooted plugs, #2 pot, or #15 pot. Field-grown stock is grown from 1.25 in to 3.5 m in size.

The greatest hurdle we have overcome over the past 8 years, is the successful propagation of magnolias from cuttings, making them a viable crop for our business. Magnolia cuttings are readily rooted, however, the overwintering of the cutting has proven most

SANDY HOWKINS: We leave the rooted cutting in the plug until it has started vegetative growth. One of the reasons we feed it is so the root system does get used to a salt-based fertilizer. When you transplant the cutting still in the peat plug into a container medium containing 10 lb of fertilizer per yard, the plant is protected somewhat by that peat plug.

LAINE MCLAUGHLIN: Do the peat pots come with hoes poked into them?

SANDY HOWKINS: Yes.

ANONYMOUS: Can you use the same procedures for evergreen magnolias?

SANDY HOWKINS: Yes, you can. The only difference is that we do cut the leaves and we only take off the top 1/3 and the cutting has 5 or 6 nodes.

New Zealand (N.Z.) forests have suffered a systematic destruction of the forest cover from the time of settlement 4000 years ago that was only accelerated by colonization 150 years ago.

This destruction, particularly of coastal and lowland forests on more accessible sites was principally for timber and clearing for agricultural production. This has ceased in recent years with a ban on all indigenous logging except from certified sustainably managed forests. Fortunately, extensive areas have been set aside in national parks, national forests, and reserves. Of the 6 million ha, 1 million ha remaining is privately owned. However, the publicly protected lands are not fully representative of the whole range of N.Z. landscapes, natural areas, and ecosystems. Some of the under-represented areas are the estuaries, freshwater wetlands, scrublands, tussock grasslands, and lowland forests.

In recent years, conservation has become of much wider interest to the public in general and many

The propagation, growing, and marketing of plants for garden and environmental planting have seen many changes. The customer is tempted to purchase plants with eye-catching sales promotion displays and makes that vital purchase on impulse and not necessarily by experience. The garden plant buyers and managers, many of whom have trained and been recruited from the food and retail side of the large corporate businesses, are familiar with quality management systems. They demand complete assurance that the supplier provide on a set date a specific quality plant.

These trends are set to continue which in turn presents the propagator, the nursery grower, and the supplier with new challenges and standards in order to be successful in supplying the market.

A small group met in December 1994 to develop a system to demonstrate their commitment to supplying the customer with consistent quality and service. The group of five primary liner growers formed the

ROBERT APPLETON: My particular covenant is at about 200 m. There is an alpine species that goes right to the bush line. We could easily find Podocarpus that would go right to the bush line. I don't know what zone that is, but it is pretty northern. You would be talking about a frost period for every month of the year. One of the advantages for that type of plant is that it is very small and would have a great deal of ornamental value in gardens.

ARDA BERRYHILL: David, how do you, as an extension officer, fit into that scheme and is it open entry?

DAVID HUTCHINSON: I fit in by helping each nursery get a program focused on the business side of doing the code of practice. That is, get the staff together and go through the training programs to see that they can meet their commitment. I do that on a contractual basis with each company. I do not do the actual inspections; that's left to a third party.

BRUCE

One of the most interesting characteristics of the tree is its shedding, paper-like bark, revealing a smooth and satiny, olive to reddish-brown trunk.

The range of the tree extends north to approximately 50°N latitude (200 km north of Vancouver, B.C.) and as far

CHRISTIA ROBERTS: You need high-quality seeds. Soak them in 10 mM GA solution for 24 h. Sow them into plugs. Pre-chill them at 0 to 5C for 4 weeks. Germinate them in a greenhouse kept at 15 to 18C and expect 85% germination.

BRUCE BRIGGS: We've noticed that seeds sown in vitro tend to have slower shoot growth than those germinated the conventional way. Have you seen this?

CHRISTIA ROBERTS: I didn't compare outside versus axenic germination. I germinated all my seeds axenically to observe germination without any disease or rotting and I was looking for a consistent source of high-quality explants for tissue culture studies.

MARTIN GRANTHAM: I know that cytokinins can be of use in getting seeds to germinate under suboptimal conditions given that any dormancy had been satisfied and I wondered whether you tried them with the Meconopsis.

CHRISTIA ROBERTS: I did not try it. I would stay with the use of

COMMON NAME: Victorian brooch lungwort

ORIGIN: Pulmonaria vallarsae ‘Margery Fish’ × P. rubra ‘Barfeld Pink’. The name came from the berry-colored large blooms with ruby-red calyces on the silver background. The clustering and colors give mind to a Victorian brooch.

HARDINESS: U.S.D.A. Zones 4 to 9.

HABIT AND GROWTH RATE: ‘Victorian Brooch’ produces a low (9 inch) mound of numerous, highly silvered leaves with a unique undulating margin derived from its P. rubra heritage. Flowers very early.

ORNAMENTAL FEATURES: ‘Victorian Brooch’ incorporates the best traits from its parents: From ‘Margery Fish’, ‘Victorian Brooch’ inherited silvered leaves and a strong, though compact growing habit; from P. rubra, ‘Victorian Brooch’ inherited a unique flower color not seen before in Pulmonaria. Bloom period in Oregon was nearly 2½ months long!

CULTURE: Most Pulmonaria are drought and shade tolerant. Lusher conditions produce lusher plants and can open the way for mildew problems.

Alloxylon flammeum, also known as a tree waratah, is closely related to the NSW waratah (Telopea speciosissima R. Br.). The primary horticultural use of waratah is for cut flower production, with blooms being highly

In 1980 we began to grow Osteospermum using a pink and a white cultivar obtained from another nursery where they had been grown without success. Our production was until 1985 based on these two cultivars. During this time we often bad a large percentage of dead plants during the propagation and production phases. Propagation occurred by cuttings which were planted directly in the sales pot with one cutting per pot. After approximately 14 days the cuttings had formed roots and the acclimatization could be started. A weak root system, especially in the pink cultivar, resulted in sales problems and we had many complaints. Despite warnings from the sales organization we considered, however, that Osteospermum had the potential to become a success.

In 1985 we collected the cultivars available in English nurseries and gardens in order to test their production potentials. These plants were of very variable quality and became the basis of our first breeding attempts.

Leaves supply cuttings with necessary carbohydrates for the life processes. Leaves are also important for supplying the cuttings with hormones needed for root formation. Leaf abscission or leaf drop will, therefore, make it difficult for cuttings to undergo changes necessary for the development of a new root system. It is, therefore, of great interest to obtain increased knowledge of factors which may initiate unwanted leaf drop.

Leaf drop which occurs in the fall is initiated by a decreased flow of auxin out of the leaf. The decreased auxin level initiates synthesis of ethylene in the nodal region, and this ethylene activates enzymes that degrades the cell wall at the base of the petiole and subsequent leaf drop. The increased ethylene level also initiates senescence of the leaf which enables the plant to mobilize all the nutrients present in the leaf before the leaf falls off. The validity of this has been shown, not only by measurements of auxin and ethylene

Midwest Groundcovers is a wholesale plant nursery that grows and sells landscape plants to customers in the Chicagoland area as well as the entire midwest region of the United States. We have nurseries near St. Charles, Illinois and Glenn, Michigan consisting of approximately 320 acres of land, 2000 hoop houses, and 70 heated greenhouses. The St. Charles nursery is primarily container production and the Glenn Farm nursery is primarily field production of groundcovers and perennials. Over 500 taxa of plants are produced for sale in container sizes ranging from 2-inch flats to 5-gal pots. These crops include groundcovers, shrubs, evergreens, roses, perennials, grasses, and vines. The 1997 production schedule included 15 million cuttings, 6.5 million plants in flats, and 2.5 million plants in pots. Space for producing container material at St. Charles has been pretty much entirely developed. At Glenn Farm, production space for both the container crops and field

The firm started in Spring 1980 as a part-time nursery on a rented area, without starting capital. Today we produce about 20,000 shade and ornamental trees and about 10,000 lilacs. We employ 4 to 5 persons all year round. It has from the start been our goal to produce trees of high quality with due respect to the environment.

To increase consumer satisfaction, growers have to produce high-quality plants which are compact, stress tolerant, and free from diseases. This often does not harmonize with growers attempts to keep the production period as short as possible by growing bedding plants with optimum light, temperature, and a surplus of fertilizer to maximize growth rate. Such conditions often produce plants with elongated, lush shoots. However, this is at the expense of root development, and in turn poor stress tolerance. Therefore, it is recommended that before shipping growers harden their plants by giving a short period of lower temperature and reduced fertilizer and water at the end of the production cycle (Serek, 1990). This practice encourages root growth at the expense of shoot growth and is advantageous because plants with well developed root systems which exploit the medium uniformly and with room for further growth are best at withstanding the fluctuations in soil moisture

A whole range of important agricultural and horticultural species are monocotyledonous plants. These include food, forage, industrial, and ornamental crops (Table 1). Somatic embryogenesis is possible in many monocotyledonous species, but with more or less success. Although our knowledge since 1958, when somatic embryogenesis was first reported, has increased considerably concerning the factors controlling initiation, development, maturation, and germination of somatic embryos, it is still far from routine in most plant species.