New Directions For Scheduling Bedding Plants
Greenhouse Product News
March 2007
By John Erwin and Erik Runkle
Many factors affect flowering times. Researchers at the University of Minnesota and Michigan State University are developing ways growers can use those factors to flower their crops at specific times.
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Grower 101: Diagnosing Bedding Plant Nutrient Deficiencies
Greenhouse Product News
December 2006
By Paul Nelson, Brian Whipker, John Dole, Dharmalingam Pitchay, James Gibson, Amy Rhodes and Brenda
The different nutrient deficiencies in bedding plants exhibit a range of symptoms. Learn the common symptoms of a number of deficiencies, such as nitrogen, copper, boron and more, to aid in diagnosis.
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The Cut Flower Seed Trials
Greenhouse Product News
April 2006
By John DoleBy John Dole
Growers and trialers present the latest trial results
on some of the best new seed varieties.
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Unusual From The Cut Flower Trials
Greenhouse Product News
April 2006
By John Dole
Today’s cut flowers come in many more forms than the standard seed varieties. Learn how to extend your offerings with these perennial and woody cuts.
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Bellis perennis Bellissima Series
Greenhouse Product News
April 2006
By Paul Pilon
This vigorous series of English daisies forms compact,
low-growing rosettes that produce large, double flowers in early spring.
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PGR Liner Dips On Bedding Plants
Greenhouse Product News
December 2005
By Matthew Blanchard and Erik Runkle
Michigan State University research of PGR liner dips on five species of bedding plants provides suggested rates and information for greenhouse production.
crop culture report: ‘Tropicanna Gold’
Greenhouse Product News
June 2005
By Ian Smith
‘Tropicanna Gold’ provides an enticing combination of green and gold stripes. Leaves are a dark gray-green to light yellow-green with alternating interveinal yellow-green stripes, which fade to creamy yellow as the plant matures. Interveinal stripes begin at the midrib of the blade and extend upward and outward towards the outer edges or tips of the leaves, with the shape and color of the stripes being irregular. Makes great cut foliage.
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Pushing Penstemon
Greenhouse Product News
May 2005
By Rick Schoellhorn
If you haven’t seen one before, penstemon looks a little like a gloxinia flower on an angelonia chassis; with a pale or white throat and rich colors on the outside of each flower. I think the releases of the vegetative types are really going to open the market for this genus.
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Sumagic on Bedding Plants
Greenhouse Product News
April 2005
By Cathy Whitman, Mike Olrich and Erik Runkle
Usage of this highly active PGR on bedding plants
is a risky move; find out how to use it, when it’s best used and how much is recommended
based on this MSU research.
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SubLIME Dracaena
Greenhouse Product News
April 2005
By Rick Schoellhorn, University of Florida
Getting our consumers to do a double take in shady locations has always been a big problem because most of our product is designed to succeed in the blazing sun.
Solenia Begonia
Greenhouse Product News
March 2005
By Karl Batschke
Consumers will be rewarded with a blanket of blooms in all but the most extremely hot regions.
Nepeta ‘Blue Ice’
Greenhouse Product News
March 2005
By Paul Pilon
This new variety is an exception in its species, making it suitable for use as a groundcover or in rock gardens, borders and containers.
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Holiday Companion Plants
Greenhouse Product News
December 2004
By Rick Schoellhorn, University of Florida
Sure, poinsettias are the holiday crop,
but is there a market for other holiday crops
to accentuate poinsettias or even just stand alone?
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2003 Bedding Plant Trials
Greenhouse Product News
December 2003
Jim Klett, Colorado State University; Robert Lyons, NC State University;
The Colorado State University trials were held at HighSchool Park and W.D. Holley Plant Environmental Research Center, both on thecampus at Fort Collins, Colo. May and June temperatures were cooler, and therewas adequate rainfall. While some universities recorded high rainfall, others reported high temperatures and other factors. Here, in GPN's third annual trial report, are the best trial performers for 2003.
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Avalanche Petunias
Greenhouse Product News
August 2003
Jason Riley
It is common knowledge that trailing petunias can be a dog on the bench, growing into each other and causing a tangled mess. You won't have this problem with the Avalanche series, and they won't take as much bench space as other trailing petunias. Fairly cheap and easy to grow, fast crop time and a heavy demand. If you do it right and make a couple of turns, the Avalanche series can be a high-quality, profitable crop, which isn't usually the case with this commodity.
Finishing Bedding Plants and Perennials
Greenhouse Product News
July 2003
Roger C. Styer
It's time to recap problem areas. My top five encompass the growers' greatest concerns. These top issues are where I spend most of my time with clients.
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Pick of the Pack Trials, Part II
Greenhouse Product News
July 2003
Carrie Burns, Catherine Evans and Bridget White
The seed market's advancements, showcased in this year's Pack Trials, have brought unique traits and improvements to seed varieties that are frequently found in vegetative varieties. Now we are graced with unique crops such as seed hibiscus and double aquilegia. So, without delay, check out these and other innovative seed varieties we saw as we traveled the coast. Enjoy!
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Temperature and Light on Bedding Plants
Greenhouse Product News
July 2003
Lee Ann Pramuk and Erik Runkle
Last year, we began to research the effects of temperature and light intensity on four popular bedding plants: salvia 'Vista Red', celosia 'Gloria Mix', marigold 'Bonanza Yellow' and impatiens 'Accent Red'. Our objectives were to determine how temperature and daily light integral influence plant growth and development of these species. From this information, we can predict how changing your environment will influence the timing and quality of your bedding plant crops.
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Controlling Black Root Rot of Bedding Plants
Greenhouse Product News
May 2003
Steve Nameth
Black root rot (BRR) is a common and destructive fungal disease that attacks a variety of greenhouse bedding and pot crops. Stressed plants are more susceptible to infection, making stress prevention key to controlling the disease.
Best-of-Class Marigolds
Greenhouse Product News
May 2003
Rick Kelly, Rick Schoellhorn, Zhanao Deng and Brent Harbaugh
Instead of numerous cultivars, the University of Florida trials focus on only one and its different varieties. Last year, marigolds were the university?s trial target.
Winner's Circle
Greenhouse Product News
May 2003
Sarah Pahnke
The award-winning varieties selected by All-America Selections (AAS), All-America Rose Selections (AARS), Fleuroselect and FloraStar embody all the desirable characteristics growers want. The winners of the 2003-2004 growing season have completed extensive tests, usually over a two-year period and in multiple locations, where judges use a standardized grading system to evaluate the varieties' traits, including disease-resistance, hardiness, color and novelty. This process ensures that only the most extraordinary plants receive awards.
Using Topflor, Part II: Perennial Plants
Greenhouse Product News
February 2003
Joyce Latimer, Holly Scoggins and Velva Groover
We have had the opportunity to test the Topflor formulation of flurprimidol on several perennials and have some very promising results to present to you.
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Dianthus 'Bouquet Purple'
Greenhouse Product News
January 2003
Paul Pilon
Dianthus 'Bouquet Purple' has been produced as a bedding plant or cut flower for a few years, and it is still underutilized as a perennial crop. Bouquet Purple has many desirable perennial characteristics such as: quick finishing time from plugs, easy flowering that can be scheduled, hardiness in USDA Zones 4-10 and few known cultural problems. Bouquet Purple is a seed-propagated, interspecific F1 hybrid that produces lavender flowers on strong, well-branched stems. Throughout the country, it has been a terrific performer and has been named winner of the 2000 Minnesota Select Perennial award and the 2001 Mississippi Medallion award.
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Nemesia and Diascia
Greenhouse Product News
January 2003
Rick Schoellhorn
Both nemesia and diascia are in the same family as snapdragons. So cool temperatures are fine for production, photoperiod doesn't appear to be an issue, and both groups of plants appear to be fairly frost-tolerant once hardened off. So here are a couple of easy-to-grow crops you may want to fit into your production and early spring retail orders to give spring sales a boost. Like calibrachoa, these crops are changing quickly and have a diverse genetic background, so consider this a primer on succeeding with two strong spring crops.
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Using Topflor, Part I :Bedding and Potted Plants
Greenhouse Product News
January 2003
Brian Whipker, Ingram McCall, James Gibson and Todd Cavins
Plant growth regulators (PGRs) are commonly applied to container-grown plants to control stem elongation and produce high-quality, compact plants. Flurprimidol is a "Type 2" PGR, which is similar in its mode of action to A-Rest, Bonzi and Sumagic. Flurprimidol has been labeled as Cutless for turf use in the United States and commercially introduced as Topflor in Europe for greenhouse crops. Cutless has been trialed extensively by Auburn University researchers on nursery crops such as butterfly bush, holly and Mexican sage with growth control comparable to Bonzi and Sumagic.
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2002 Bedding Plant Trials
Greenhouse Product News
December 2002
Jim Klett; Bob Lyons; Rob Berghage & Alan Michael, & Brent Pemberton
In GPN's second annual bedding plant trial report, Colorado State University, North Carolina State University, Penn State University and Texas A&M University give you the inside scoop on a few of their best performers. Look for additional, detailed trial comparisons from the University of Florida in upcoming issues.
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University of Florida Field Trials
Greenhouse Product News
October 2002
Rick Schoellhorn
The spring field trials at the University of Florida this year contained 180 cultivars of vegetative annuals, both those more common to southern production and also several focus areas. The goal of these trials is to promote plants that are tolerant of extreme high heat and humidity, conditions common across the southeast sunbelt from Florida to West Texas. Obviously, the season here begins very early in the year and, for some plants, ends a lot earlier as well. The results of these trials can be used to help growers refine their late-season selections where heat and humidity have the biggest impact on crop quality.
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Report from Spring Trials: Helichrysum and Vinca
Greenhouse Product News
August 2002
Rick Schoellhorn and Erica Berghauer
At the University of Florida trials, a section focuses on some of the component plants often used in mixed containers. For 2002, we selected Vinca major and Helichrysum. The idea was to come up with basic production guidelines for these crops based on southern cultivation and also to evaluate their field performance for landscape use.
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Begonia Basket Options from the Pack Trials 2002
Greenhouse Product News
June 2002
Rick Schoellhorn, University of Florida
Why begonia basket options? As we move into a retail market that is always looking for instant gardens, this group of plants provides a huge selection of varieties for both Northern and Southern growers.
PDF Version
Vegetative Victory
Greenhouse Product News
June 2002
Terri W. Starman and Kristen L. Eixmann
This year at the Pack Trials in California, growers got a sneak preview of the many exciting new species of vegetative annuals that will be on the market next year (see pages 24 and 100 for details). So if you haven’t started growing vegetative annuals, it’s time to start because they are not going away.
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Culture tips for Ramblin’ Trailing Petunias
Greenhouse Product News
March 2002
By Jeannine R. Bogard
A recent addition to The Flower Fields program, the Ramblin’ series will expand to seven colors for 2002 with the addition of ‘Lilac Glo’, ‘Neon Rose’ and ‘Salmon Capri’. Take Ramblin’ trailing petunias to the limit by offering these exciting colors for both your early spring and fall season petunia programs.
Plectranthus: Coleus’ Cousin
Greenhouse Product News
February 2002
Richard Schoellhorn
With all the well-deserved attention that coleus hybrids are
receiving for their landscape and interiorscape performance, it seems like a good time to take a look at some of the closer relatives of coleus that have the same strong characteristics and solid performance.
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Using PGRs on Plugs
Greenhouse Product News
February 2002
Roger Styer
Chemical growth regulators will still need to be used on many crops. The key is to understand which growth regulator works best on which crop, under what circumstances and at which levels. Knowing when to apply the right chemical for a particular crop is usually learned by painful trial and error. Varieties may react quite differently to the same chemical.
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Producing Vegetative Petunias and Calibrachoa
Greenhouse Product News
February 2002
John M. Dole, Brian E. Whipker and Paul V. Nelson
In the following article we will discuss how to cost-effectively grow petunias and calibrachoas with an emphasis on the areas we have been researching: propagation and growth (vine) control.
Culture Tips for Regal Geranium
Greenhouse Product News
January 2002
Karl Batschke
Regal geraniums (Pelargonium x domesticum) have been popular garden and patio plants since hybridization of this class began in the 1830s. The class combines the genetics of as many as nine pelargonium species. After introduction into the United States in the late 1800s, Regals became well-liked and were commonly called ‘Martha Washington’ geraniums after a popular variety of the day.
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Using Gibberellins to Prevent Leaf Yellowing in Cut Lilies
Greenhouse Product News
January 2002
Anil P. Ranwala and William B. Miller
The potential use of growth regulators, especially gibberellins and cytokinins, has not been studied adequately in cut lilies. Our previous studies have shown that spray treatments with GA4+7 alone or in combination with BA (i.e., Fascination, Valent USA) remarkably reduce cold-induced leaf yellowing in pot hybrid lilies and gradual leaf yellowing in Easter lilies. We have also seen positive effects on flower longevity in these hormone-treated plants. These observations warranted the investigation of potential use of these chemicals in cut lilies.
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2001 Bedding Plant Trials
Greenhouse Product News
January 2002
Rick O. Kelly, Brent K. Harbaugh, Rick K. Schoellhorn, and Robert D. Berghage and Alan H. Michael
Here, in GPN’s first
annual bedding plant trial report, the University of Florida reveals the
findings of its specialized, seed-propagated pansy and viola trial, while Penn
State University unveils the best of its multitudinous seed- and vegetatively
propagated cultivars.
PDF Version
Cool Temps and Bright Light Treat Pansies Right
Greenhouse Product News
December 2001
James E. Faust & Kelly P. Lewis
Understanding how temperature and light impact pansy growth and
development is useful to design growing environments, identify production
problems and schedule crops properly.
PDF Version
Manipulating Dahlias
Greenhouse Product News
December 2001
Garry Legnani and William B. Miller
Night interruption lighting during dahlia plug production
can shorten crop time and inhibit tuberous root growth. It is important to keep
in mind that the critical day length for tuberous root formation is 11-12
hours.
PDF Version
GROWER 101: Disease Primer, Part III: Fusarium
Greenhouse Product News
November 2001
Jim McLaughlin
An unstoppable force and dreaded opponent for any grower, Fusarium is difficult to spot and even more difficult to protect against. Fusarium can ruin a beginning grower’s love for floriculture. Not only is it hard to find the fungus, but it also strikes quickly and causes almost instant damage to your plants. The following helpful hints will arm the beginning grower with the tools he or she needs to identify Fusarium and stop its growth.
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Black-Eyed Susan: A Novelty Potted Plant
Greenhouse Product News
November 2001
Meriam Karlsson
Rudbeckia, or black-eyed susan, is a well-known perennial garden plant. A combination of pinching and growth regulator application achieves the most uniform flower development for dwarf rudbeckia cultivars produced as potted plants.
PDF Version
Culture Tips for Lobelia ‘Aqua’
Greenhouse Product News
November 2001
Matt Boyles
A new introduction to American Takii’s lineup of unique plants is the Lobelia erinus ‘Aqua’ series, and the following will help the grower produce the best lobelia possible.
PDF Version
What's Up with the Plug Industry?
Greenhouse Product News
October 2001
Roger Styer
Plugs are the starting point for many greenhouse crops. As such, any problem with the plug industry ripples through growing operations large and small. Roger Styer's analysis of the plug industry is a much-needed awakening for the entire floriculture industry.
PDF Version
Are Potted Sunflowers for You?
Greenhouse Product News
September 2001
John M. Dole, Brian Whipker and Laurence Pallez
Pacino, Elf and Teddy Bear offer the best height, floiage/flower balance and postharvest life. NC State research shows you how to produce them for optimum results.
PDF Version
Figuring Out Fertilization
Greenhouse Product News
September 2001
Marc van Iersel, Bodie Pennisi and Paul Thomas
Understanding how to perform a few simple tests can help your fertilization program from interfering with your crop schedule and save your margins.
PDF Version
Size Control for Lantana
Greenhouse Product News
September 2001
Jim Barrett and Rick schoellhorn
Lantana may be gaining popularity with consumers, but its spreading habit is causing headaches for growers. Here are some treatments to stop lantana spread.
PDF Version
Herbs Amid the Foliage
Greenhouse Product News
September 2001
Brandi Danielle Thomas
A history of Disney-inspired experimentation led one grower off the well-worn tropical path toward a bright future in specialty plants.
PDF Version
Flower bulb Transportation and Handling
Greenhouse Product News
August 2001
William B. Miller
You may not give much thought to the journey your bulb shipment takes from the fields in Holland to your greenhouse. Being aware of the steps in the process can help you identify and prevent potential problems before beginning.
PDF Version
Providing Fall Pansies with Proper Nutrition
Greenhouse Product News
July 2001
By Brian E. Whipker, Todd J. Cavins and James L. Gibson
By testing your pansies’ root substrate, you can steer clear of unnecessary nutrient deficiency or toxicity symptoms and keep your crops on schedule.
PDF Version
How much Light do Bedding Plants Really Need?
Greenhouse Product News
July 2001
Veronda B. Holcombe, Kelly Lewis and James E. Faust
Producing the best quality plants at the best possible price requires a basic understanding of light requirements – and how to compensate for less than perfect light quality.
PDF Version
Crop Culture Report: A Daisy A Day
Greenhouse Product News
January 2001
By Kathy Kron
Perhaps it’s because of the renewed interest in all things seventies. Perhaps it’s just the story of a good flower making a comeback. Regardless, Gerbera Daisies are now seen in a variety of uses from flower arrangements to annual beds to mixed patio containers.
Using Phosphorus Starvation to Regulate Growth
Greenhouse Product News
January 2001
Douglas Cox
Nutrient deficiency is most often thought of as a problem, but new research shows that withholding phosphorus from some bedding plants can result in a desirable reduction in height.
PDF Version
Let’s Put the Si Back Into Soil
Greenhouse Product News
December 2000
By Jianjun Chen, Russell D. Caldwell, Cynthia A. Robinson and Robert Steinkamp
Silicon is not often listed among the essential nutrients for plant growth, but recent studies show that increasing silicon exposure can result in stronger plants and increased disease resistance.
Common Misconceptions About Substrates
Greenhouse Product News
January 2000
By William C. Fonteno
Mixed up about substrates? Learn to control chemical contamination while making the best use of new substrate mixes.
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