Mohave Bracteantha
Before breeders start a new breeding program they evaluate what should be improved over existing varieties first. They select their breeding goals, and besides excellent garden performance and brilliant colors, they are probably focusing on fast-finishing early varieties. Other goals include : the flowers above the foliage even if watered and fed on a regular basis, little or no yellow leaves at the base of the plant even if kept dry or fed on the low side, excellent flower quality and fast overgrowing of old flowers, disease resistance, low water requirement and fast recovery from drying out.
Product management evaluated the need and potential of the market and together with the breeder they decided to select three different habits for the bracteantha Mohave series:
Mohave Grande. This habit is a more vigorous selection for larger pots and containers, available in Dark Rose and Autumn Bronze. They perform excellently outdoors and will flower all summer long. Five- to 6-inch pots or gallons are recommended. These more vigorous varieties require one pinch for a perfect plant habit.
‘Mohave Basket Yellow’. This variety is alone in the series with a mounding habit and medium vigor for baskets or large containers. It will fill the container quickly and performs extremely well outdoors. It can be grown as a single plant or mixed in. If grown in larger containers we recommend pinching; however, it is not required.
Mohave. Lemon, Golden Yellow and Strawberries ‘n Cream make up this habit. It is the selection for smaller pots and mixed plantings. All varieties have a low vigor, are self-branching and early flowering. Well-suited for 5- to 6-inch pots, they will finish in six weeks from a rooted liner (depending on area and climate).
Their intense colors and very different appearance make them great for mixed baskets and planters as well as for monochromatic containers. Mohave is perfect for container gardening and performs very well in the landscaping for spring, summer and fall sales.
Transplanting
Use 4- to 5-inch pots for Mohave and 5- to 6-inch pots for Mohave Grande. For Basket Yellow, use three plants per 12-inch basket. It is recommended to pinch Mohave Grande; all other varieties are self-branching. Crop time is about 6-8 weeks depending on location and time of the year.
Use well-drained peat moss-based substrate with perlite and a pH of around 5.8-6.2. Add a wetting agent or clay for better water holding ability.
Growing on
Start with a constant feeding program after roots have developed. Use 150-200 ppm nitrogen and a well-balanced fertilizer (like 20-10-20 + Micro). Avoid levels of nitrogen that are too high as this will enhance foliage growth and delay flowering. Watch your iron levels and pH.
Cool temperatures encourage branching, compact growth and flowering. After roots have developed, optimum ranges are between 64-72° F days and 54-56° F nights; keep an active climate and avoid going below the dew point as high humidity could benefit Botrytis.
Use cool morning treatments for a better habit and earlier flowering. Drop temperature two hours before sunrise to 50º F for a period of four hours, but maintain an average minimum day temperature of 60º F. If needed, raise night temperatures. Start after side shoots have developed.
Excessive drying out may enhance yellow leaves (lower part of the plant) therefore irrigate regularly; however, avoid wet feet.Bracteantha like high light levels of 5,000-6,000 foot-candles for best plant development and early flowering.
In most cases, PGR treatments are not necessary. Vigor can easily be controlled with irrigation and fertilizer techniques, temperature and light levels.
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