Proceedings Library

One of the most useful of the chemicals now available is oxadiazon (Ronstar or Ornamental Herbicide I). It controls a broad spectrum of annual grass and broadleaf weeds, including bittercress (Cardamine oligosperma) which has been a hard weed to control either by hand or with chemicals. Oxadiazon is available only in granular formulations that should be applied when nursery stock foliage is dry to avoid leaf burn. The granules should be washed off thoroughly with irrigation before the foliage becomes wet with dew or light rain.

Control of annual grasses and some broadleaf weeds will be strengthened if oxadiazon is supplemented with napropamide (Devrinol) or oryzalin (Surflan). Common chickweed and mouseear chickweed, in particular, are not controlled by oxadiazon.

Another weed that

We do not specialize in upright junipers, however, we do grow Juniperus chinensis ‘Robust Green’, and J. chinensis ‘Keteleeri’ to diversify our line of ball and burlap material. We have grown ‘Keteleeri’ for many years and like it for the simple reason that it has a full, compact growth habit right to the ground, as well as deep green foliage. ‘Robust Green’ has been a welcome addition over the last few years because of its dense and dark green color which complements its irregular form. Both cultivars seem to adapt to our changeable and sometimes harsh weather conditions in New England.

As did many nurserymen years ago, we used J. virginiana as an understock for grafting. It made an excellent understock, however, the ever present phomopsis blight problem made

Blume described it in 1855 as Ligustrum reticulata. Maximowicz in 1875 used the name Syringa amurense var. japonica. This name was also used by Franchet and Savatier in 1879. However, Hara is to be credited with the now valid name, Syringa reticulata.

In 1876 Dr W.S. Clark of the Agricultural School in Sapporo, Hokkeido, Japan sent seeds to the Arnold Arboretum where it was grown under the Accession #1111. One can surmise that considerable seed was sent because within 8 years nurseries such as Ellwanger and Barry of Rochester and H.H. Berger of San Francisco besides various nurseries in Europe listed the tree for sale. It is a small tree growing to 10 m. with a peeling shiny bark similar to cherry. It is usually multi-stemmed and flowers toward the end of June with immense, terminal white flower cluster

Asexual propagation by rooting allows for a greater recovery of the genetic potential of a tree more quickly than through

The propagation and growing of this attractive plant is not a very common practice in midwestern nurseries. This creates a good demand and we are always sold out before our season is over. There are only a few nurseries who grow it.

The procedures described are our own methods and derived from a trial and error procedure over a period of more than ten years. We have found it to be a somewhat difficult and inconsistent subject but by using large numbers and being persistent, we have always had a crop of plants for sale.

Growing conditions. It is one deciduous item we can grow and produce to saleable sizes in one season's growth. Our growing season in Southern Minnesota is normally about 115 days with precipitation averages of nearly 30 inches per year.

Our soils are a silt-loam type and very moisture retentive. We do not

Our trees are produced by a method called twig-grafting, developed originally by Halma and Frolick at UCLA a good many years ago. The details of our production methods, our history and our greenhouse operations are covered in an earlier paper at a western Region meeting in San Dimas in October of 1962. At this time we'll attempt only to give a brief review of things that have occurred from 1962 to the present date, and some changes that we have found necessary. Our production involves the use of fresh new twigs — those that first appear from the spring flush and are hardened off to the point where we begin our work in May or June. Cuttings are taken from both scion and understock mother

Prior to propagating any plant, there are questions or things to consider in the planning stage. First, what plants to propagate? Then, how many to propagate, how much propagation space is required, equipment and supplies needed, and the time involved? After these questions have been answered, then one has to

Juniperus virginiana from mid western sources will be crossed with Juniper scopulorum and will not resemble the true eastern red cedar. White pine is available from New York the lake states and the south. for planting in northern areas New York and lake states seed is the most desirable.

A seedling business that is going to be successful should provide a continuing supply of seed selections each year. This can be a problem if you buy seed on a year to year basis and there is a no crop situation on one or more plants. To prevent this problem a grower should provide himself with

The weather in the southwest corner of British Columbia is very wet in fall, winter and spring but we can usually expect a long stretch of hot, dry, weather during the summer. With this weather pattern in mind — we must steer clear of any mixes containing soil; they are just too heavy to withstand our three seasons of monsoons. Our mix MUST drain freely and the beds underneath the containers must also drain freely.

The mainstay of our mix is a sawdust:peat mixture in 3:1 proportions. Some growers add about 10% sand. Hemlock ot fir sawdust is generally used, as it is the most readily available and the least expensive of the common wood waste material. Bark or bark:peat mixes

Abundant blue-black, single-seeded berries are produced on upright spikes in the fall. Seeds are globose and the embryo is surrounded by copious, hard endosperm A deep blue-black skin envelopes a purple, pulpy inner matrix (collectively called pulp). Seed appears to be a logical method of propagation, although division, which is not only time consuming but expensive, is the only method referred to in the

MODERATOR BRIGGS: Why shouldn't methanol be used to make an IBA solution?

MICHAEL DIRR: Methanol has been mentioned as a solvent for a lot of the auxins. You could use it if you want, however, I would shy away from it because it is wood alcohol. Wood alcohol can cause blindness if ingested.

MODERATOR BRIGGS: What is Synergol?

MICHAEL DIRR: It is an English product that is an IBA-NAA COMBINATION.

ED LOSELY: I believe that the K salt of IBA is one of the primary ingredients in Synergol.

MODERATOR BRIGGS: What are some sources of IBA and NAA?

RICHARD ZIMMERMAN: My only experience is with tissue culture. In tissue culture we must have it. The amount is not important. Ed Bunker has reported that with Grevillea they take very soft cuttings and drop them in a bucket of water containing ½ cup sugar per 2 gallons of water. The cuttings are left in for 30 minutes and then wrapped in newspaper over night. He reported less wilting

Establishing a tissue culture production facility requires a considerable investment in time and money although methods for minimizing these costs have been described (6). In addition, the unit cost of micropropagated plants can be higher, sometimes considerably higher, than the cost of conventionally propagated plants. This cost may be acceptable, depending upon the purpose for which the plants are being

The root-shoot junction has been shown to be morphologically abnormal in cultured plants in several species. In Pelargonium × hortorum

Stock plants are grown in greenhouses or shaded slat sheds with light intensities of 1500–2500 foot candles and a temperature regime of 65–95°F. Under these conditions, most dieffenbachia tend to produce a seasonal flush of blooms from April through June. Aglaonemas usually begin to flower in May and continue through June. However, some plants that we wanted to hybridize never seemed to bloom

JACK ALEXANDER Syringa pekinensis, a native of China, is a small tree seldom reaching 25 feet. The most attractive specimens have exfoliating, cinnamon brown bark that peels off in strips. This characteristic varies greatly between specimens and the plant may display a cherry like bark similar to the Japanese tree lilac, S. reticulata.

To be assured of exfoliating bark we should propagate only from specimens exhibiting this characteristic. Cuttings are difficult-to-root and grafting or budding may be necessary for asexual propagation. Seed from attractive plants may yield satisfactory results and have the added benefit of variation, from which we might select superior clones.

The flowers of the Chinese tree lilac appear at about the same time as the Japanese tree lilac and are also creamy white The leaves of S. pekinensis are smoother, less oval shaped than S. reticulata and more closely resemble the leaves of the common

Several environmental factors affect foliar absorption. For example, an increase in temperature increases foliar uptake due, in part, to an effect on processes of penetration. In addition, there is a great

They liked the level land and the deep black clay which would make it easy to prepare growing beds Due to the levelness of the land they decided to reverse the block design; instead of the block's being crowned it would slope to the center. This would allow the roads to be built on the crown and assure good drainage of the roadway and block.

We contacted the Texas Highway Department and road building firms to see what preparation should be made to the base. They recommended lime stabilization. We put in 8 test areas where we incorporated lime at the rate of 10 lb/sq yd and compared them to areas with no

At the hub of the nursery is the propagation department. This branch of the nursery has been developed over the last two years and now occupies 9.6 acres Propagation is divided into three departments. cutting, potting and liner maintenance. Propagation produced 3 million potted liners for canning and liner sales in 1981. These liners were started as rooted cuttings, seedlings or divisions. In 1982 a grafting and a spore program will be initiated.

The containerized transplant has obvious advantages over a bare-root plant. Primarily, these are uniformity in plant height as well as root system and the absence of transplant shock because the roots are not torn apart when the plant is pulled.

The Speedling system can be used on virtually every transplant crop. In the early days, our production was limited to vegetables. It has now expanded to include ornamentals as well as tree seedlings.

The first Speedling plants were produced in 1967 in the patented Todd Planter Flat. Other growing containers were available. However, a cylinderical container

Saratoga Horticultural Foundation propagates four selected cultivars of Magnolia grandiflora, namely ‘Russet’, ‘Samuel Sommer’, ‘San Marino’ and ‘St. Mary’. The production schedule and budding techniques are the same for all of them.

The deciduous cultivars are propagated using summer cuttings under intermittent mist, on 3 to 5 sec/6 min. If wood is available, we use a 4– to 6– inch heel cutting. Mid-July or early August seem to give the best results. You cannot set a definite date by the calendar. The wood is ready when the terminal snaps easily We take the tip out of the cutting, which will generally leave a 2– to 3– inch cutting of the magnolias such as M. soulangiana, M. stellata, and most of the Kosar hybrids. M. soulangiana ‘Rustica Rubra’ cuttings will be much longer. I like to take the cuttings off field stock in vigorous

As with most any crop, it must be emphasized in the beginning that cultivar selection, scheduling, and production operations vary with the change of geographical location of the growing grounds. Temperature highs and lows, light intensity, as well as coastal conditions, air pollution, and other environmental factors all influence one's approach to bedding plant production. Our bedding product is not only grown year-round in California and Arizona, but a large portion of that product's production time is spent outside under mother nature's influence, over which we have little control.

For this presentation, I requested a brief statement from three department managers in our indoor division with regard to the needs you might address in your propagation, growing and shipping operations. These are their memos to me.

Mycorrhizae: form and function. In general, mycorrhizae are of two types: endomycorrhizae and B>ectomycorrhizae

It takes over 2 years to produce a salable rosebush. The production cycle begins in early November with cutting the budwood from desired cultivars. We use plants that will be dug and marketed this year. The mature wood is deleafed, wrapped in freezer paper, and then in damp newspaper, placed in plastic bags, and stored at 28°F until time to be used next May.

Next, the switches of rootstock are cut from the field that was budded this last year The switches are sawed into 6-inch long cuttings, de-eyed (lower eyes cut out leaving only 3 eyes on the top portion of each cutting), placed in bundles of 100, and put into large plastic bags for storing at least 2 weeks at 34°F before planting. In January, the cuttings are planted along the

In the last decade direct rooting has become standard procedure with many nurseries throughout the century. No particular nursery or nurseryman could claim the distinction of originating the system because a considerable number of nurserymen embraced the concept at the same time. Evidently the time for this significant development had arrived and many saw fit to give it a try. There is no particular time when one could say direct rooting was born because there have been isolated instances of the practice going on for some time. In a meaningful way the system was basically born during the seventies.

From the beginning there was a considerable saving of time and labor. There have been many refinements and developments

It is now time that we ask ourselves the question — What is trickle irrigation? One definition is that trickle irrigation is the daily maintenance of an adequate portion of the root zone of a plant at, or close to, field capacity during the growing and production cycle (1) For a moment let's take a close look at what is really being said in this definition. First, trickle irrigation works on the principle of the prevention of drought stress, as opposed to correcting an existing water stress. Never allowing a

CHARLIE PARKERSON: We have had trouble controlling Thielaviopsis in our nursery and feel containers may be one source of infection. We are wondering about a container made to collapse like the separators in old-fashioned egg cases. It could be made of light-weight plastic and thrown away after one use. That would eliminate the necessity of attempting to sanitize used containers with methyl bromide or by other methods that may or may not be effective. In addition, the collapsible feature would make storage easy and the fact that many cells could replace many separate pots would cut down tremendously on handling and filling time. Is anything like this on the market; and if not, would there be enough demand to justify its manufacture?

BRYSON JAMES: Are all other parts of your system clean? I have found Thielaviopsis in peat pots.

JAMES BERRY: Could it be we just don't use a strong

He has always been alert to new processes and procedures. Always among the first to experiment with new equipment and new supplies in an effort to produce a better plant. The propagation of plants by faster, more efficient methods is always a challenge. He has found a special challenge in tissue culture and is commercially producing many hundreds of thousands of plants by this method, including conifers, berry vines, apple trees, Kalmia, a long list of Rhododendron cultivars, and many other plants.

Generous with his time, he has been the prime mover in innumerable projects to benefit the nursery and florist industries, numerous youth groups, farm orgnizations, local schools and his

To me, the reasons for using a liquid hormone are many. Firstly, you can select the concentration best for the species or cultivars you grow. The best concentration for any given plant is varied because of climate, fertility, water, age of

Abbreviations used in the text:

Today Boskoop is a nursery center of about 900 hectares (2200 acres). In this center we have 1000 nurseries, of which 900 are strictly growers, and 100 are growers and exporters. Of these, 45 percent have a nursery of about half hectare (a little more than one acre). They are full-time nurserymen and are one or two person operations. The average exporter has more employees which he needs in the packing and shipping season. In the summer they work in the exporter's nursery in which specialty items are grown for customers in the countries shipped to. Most exporters only ship to one or two countries and they will visit their customers once or twice a year.

Export. About 75 percent of the nursery stock grown in Boskoop is exported to about 75 countries.

This paper is aimed mainly at rooting cuttings in the genera Grevillea, Melaleuca, Callistemon and Leptospermum, but I will finish with one or two observations and thoughts on micro cuttings of some foliage plants.

Of course it goes without saying that without the right cutting wood from parent stock, one has very little chance of getting good results. In work carried out in our nursery over the last ten years, we have developed some techniques in managing stock plants and getting very good results in the rooting of

My latest project has been starting a small scale tissue culture laboratory for rhododendrons. Tissue culture is a very complex and special way of propagation but at my age and with no more scientific knowledge than I have I can make it work. There is a vast future in tissue culture for many of you younger and more qualified people.

If you have any success at all with tissue culture it will not let you stay small. It multiplies and grows. To start with I took an old refrigerator, then installed heat cables on a thermostat, Gro-Lux lights on a timer, and a fan to circulate the air and keep it cool. In the refrigerator

Due to the great difficulty in rooting cuttings of Juniperus scopulorum, most cultivars have traditionally been propagated by grafting. Grafting, of course, is a very expensive means of propagation and, if possible, the rooting of cuttings would be a commercially preferred method. Through several experiments over the years we have learned to root several cultivars with a great degree of success so that many that formerly were grafted are now being produced by cuttings.

Through experimenting with rooting hormone concentrations we have improved the rooting percentages of certain cultivars to a point where it becomes economically feasible to eliminate

It is with those cultivars that fall in the above categories that this paper is concerned, such as all the Loderi hybrids, the various Naomi hybrids, and the cultivars with indumentum such as ‘Ken Janeck’, ‘Bureavii’, and R. yakusimanum.

Proper timing, to obtain just the right condition of the wood is even more important with difficult rhododendrons than it is with the rest of the genus.

Our method differs from that in the article, in that we use a potting mix of equal parts sawdust, peat, and pumice, and the cuttings are stuck in three inch square pots. Distributing the roots, by potting from the cutting flat, increases the losses greatly. Out of 20,000 cuttings stuck last year, the rooting percentage after 20 to 25 days averaged 85 percent. The cuttings were taken during July and August, and wood up to ¼ in rooted well. The rooted cuttings are moved to a cold polyhouse where they remain until the following spring. Approximately 50% of these break dormancy and put on new growth before winter dormancy. The balance either die or break into new growth by April first earlier. Our problem is how to make the

To avoid bud break, propagators have tried grafting and hot callusing in October or November, before the chilling requirement of the scion buds has been satisfied (3). Once callused, the grafted trees are placed in cold storage to satisfy the rest

Progress in the horticultural applications of plant tissue culture has been spectacular in the last 15 years (9,11). Aseptic methods of vegetative propagation have become standard procedures for production of pathogen-free materials and for the routine multiplication of many high-value ornamentals. A large number of species can now be regenerated in vitro by the induction of somatic embryos or adventitious organs and the technique of micropropagation is assuming special importance in horticulture (6).

The commercial value of aseptic methods for propagation of

Many of those lessons that we have learned have become basic knowledge to us, but unavailable to others if not recorded or communicated.

In my own case, having started in a very small way, and having built up a business that is supporting 13 people, it is not good enough for propagation knowledge to be directed solely from myself to my propagation staff. In the event of accident, possible hospitalization or even death, that knowledge is suddenly cut off and what was previously a flourishing business, could well get very quickly into trouble.

A few examples of where recorded information is vital, the result of lessons learned over many years, will be discussed. Plants in propagation do have many

Growers know that field-grown plants require good growing conditions: fertile, well-drained soil, proper watering, and nutrients. Tissue-cultured plants also require good growing conditions: controlled environment of heat, light, and chemical nutrients. Between these two very different growing conditions is a transition facility for preparing in vitro-propagated plants for growing on. The requirements for this facility differ according to the cultivar being grown.

This year we propagated 40,000 strawberry plants by tissue culture for growers who sell certified strawberry plants. We grew ‘Hood,’ ‘Benton,’ ‘Olympus,’

1. Plants very readily become infected with serious tuber-borne diseases such as leaf roll virus, which are then passed on to subsequent crops. These crops give low yields. The spread of the most serious diseases is via aphids and, for this reason, "seed" tubers are typically produced in areas low in aphids — for example the highland areas of New South Wales. It is also possible to eliminate the most serious virus diseases from individual shoot tips using apical meristem culture.
2. The second major problem with tubers is slow propagation, normally 7 to 10 fold per year, in field conditions. This severely limits the rate of introduction of new selections, or of apparently virus-freed

We also switched across to a sawdust mix using three parts red gum sawdust to one part coarse sand. Initially the sawdust used was from heaps 20 to 30 years old. We felt that this sawdust would be sufficiently composted but found that it did tie up nitrogen and plant growth was very slow.

We then began to liquid feed with Aquasol, but the response was negligible. We were then advised to liquid feed with ammonium nitrate.

wild populations of donor plants gave rooting percentages ranging from 6% to 93% whilst cuttings from mother stock plants showed a rooting percentage of 85%. Although the treatment of cuttings with auxin and the provision of basal heating can promote the rooting of Native Rose, greatest improvement in rooting can be achieved by careful selection and management of mother stock plants.

Initially we used electronic equipment for temperature control of the steam-air mix, the sensing of the soil temperature and the timing of the sequences. Unfortunately this equipment proved to be unreliable. When it functioned properly it was very good and, possibly with better equipment and more reliable technicians, this could have been the best way to go. However, after many frustrations over a long period we discarded this equipment and switched to more mechanical type units. The equipment used is available off the shelf from various suppliers. I mention the equipment I have used but do not imply that this is the only or the best equipment available. At least

The transmission of fungi by seed is important because it provides an efficient means of dissemination from one place to another and it allows carryover of the fungus in time. Because there is a close association of the fungus and seed there is maximum opportunity for progeny infection and the seed may help protect the fungus from unfavourable environmental conditions. The planting of fungus-carrying seed introduces the disease at random through an area producing well-distributed foci for primary infection (3).

Alternaria zinniae transmission in zinnia seeds occurs when senescent flowers on the plant absorb dew at night and remain wet the next day slowly becoming mouldy from a mixed microflora of fungi including Alternaria zinniae. This Alternaria

There was work done at that time, but until the chemicals and the media were developed, success was minimal. Finally, Dr. Wilbur Anderson, from the Northwest Washington Research and Extension Unit, Mt. Vernon, Washington, was able to start rhododendrons in tissue culture and make them multiply. Afterward, by manipulating chemicals and lights, more and more cultivars were added.

Three years ago our Production Department started to receive plants from the Tissue Culture Department. At first there were only small batches, but the explosion was waiting. In the spring of 1980 we were faced with thousands of tissue culture plantlets to root and grow on.

The first problem we had to face was how to root and grow the new plantlets. The plantlets coming from the test tube were very tender and completely different in character than plant materials normally worked with

Most city offices are closed from Friday to Monday and longer if there is a Monday holiday, leaving many inner offices in total darkness with no natural light whatsoever.

The plants that go into these buildings must be strong and well grown. Unfortunately when these plants are replaced with new ones, those coming out are not as strong and healthy as they were to begin with. These, however, are the plants from which we take the cuttings.

When the old, tired plants are returned to the nursery, they are stripped of their lower leaves and lined up to wait their turn to be cut up for cuttings. I like to leave those that have come from poor conditions for several weeks to give them a chance to firm up and

1. That the "greenhouse" be of sufficient size to allow for economic nursery operation.
2. That the "greenhouse" can easily be erected by 2 or 3 persons in a short time.
3. That the "greenhouse" be made out of light-weight material, simple in construction, and long lasting, with good light transmission.
4. That the "greenhouse" be well insulated and include a built-in ventilation system.
5. That the "greenhouse" be of a design which provides sufficient strength to withstand damage from the elements, especially hail.
6. That under ideal conditions, the "greenhouse" be self-sufficient in terms of energy input required for heating and cooling.

With all these objectives in mind, we looked at them one by one, and also in relationship to each other, and arrived at a structure which we consider meets most of our objectives.

Civilised man has for thousands of years been endeavouring to grow plants in such a manner as to improve yields and quality. The famous Hanging Gardens of Babylon was an early attempt at the culture of plants under artificial conditions.

The early history of soilless culture of plants is closely interwoven with the study of plant physiology. In 1600 a Belgian, Jan Van Helmont grew willow shoots in a protected pot of soil and applied only water. After five years there was practically no loss of weight of the soil and he believed that plants obtain their food only from water. Since then, of course, scientists have shown that plants need 16 elements, these being supplied by gases and soil constituents, as well as by water.

Today there are many horticultural books in which reference is made to the use of soilless medium. The main reasons for such interest in alternatives to soil are that plants in such a manner can be cultured more precisely and irrigation and

The New South Wales scheme has been in existence for ten years and was started as a result of pressure from a

Vegetable growers are very well served by their seedsmen and, although seed prices continue to rise, they still form a very small proportion of the total costs of production. Seedsmen are required by law to provide information on minimum percentage germination, and percentage purity. Seed must then conform to these percentages. Bedding plant and flowering pot plant seed may also carry similar guarantees, but it is less likely. Tree and shrub seed rarely has this

I took tip cuttings from healthy plants, making the cuttings as short as possible, 1½" to 2" of stem, with the leaves about 6" to 9" long. All cuttings were dipped in a solution of 83% Captan fungicide at the rate of 1.25 grams in 10 litres of water. I left the cuttings in the solution for two minutes, stirring them gently to avoid bruising.

Cuttings were then lifted out and left to drain for a few minutes; the cut ends were then dried with paper towelling and dipped in Seradix No. 1 cutting powder with 3% Captan fungicide.

I then put the cuttings into individual 2" tubes using a propagating mixture of 50% perlite and 50% German peat moss. As soon as the cuttings rooted, they were potted into 4" plastic pots, using a very open potting mix,

The stock plants are grown in a red clay loam soil at the nursery at a spacing of 1 foot between the rows and the plants. This is now thought to be inadequate; ideally the spacing should be 2 ft in each case. The stock plants are fertilized each spring with Nitrophoska "slow release" (15·4·12) which is broadcast around the plants at the rate of 1 kg per 4 square metres. In summer the plants are given a further dressing of sodium nitrate at the same rate.

The first cuttings are normally taken at the beginning of December (early summer) according to their hardness. Most of the cuttings are taken from the tips

Before looking at some individual topics, it will first be helpful to summarize some of the current trends in British plant propagation:

1. Nurseries specializing in individual crops, such as Clematis, are developing specialized growing systems — for example, liner production. This has been particularly noticeable with the formation of newer businesses and also in the rationalization that has occurred within some established companies.
2. The production of crops if Britain that are traditionally imported from abroad, for example, rose rootstock and tree seedling rootstocks.
3. Techniques to reduce fuel costs in propagation

Over 20 years ago, through the personal efforts and love of the tibouchina plants, they were imported from South America to Australia by Dr. George Hewitt and Mr. Bill Bewley.

Personally, I feel I have been honoured by the help and confidence these two fine men have instilled in me over the past 9 years or so. Consequently I have accepted and carried out the challenge to promote as many tibouchinas as I consider to be of merit for future propagation.

I do this, bearing in mind the importance of ready and popular sales by our retail nursery outlets.

In Alstonville, we have created hybrids from Tibouchina species, and have found many sports.

Firstly, get an old pair of secateurs and, in the centre of the cutting blade, grind out 5/16" deep by ¾" wide (8 mm deep and 20 mm across) and then sharpen that gap or radius in the blade to the same angle as the original blade. To the inside of the handle end, weld a piece of steel 65 mm long and 40 mm wide and in that piece of steel, put a tapered V, 25 mm wide and 30 mm long, which is serrated similar to a saw-tooth or multi-grip plier's teeth.

Next you need a sheet of aluminum foil similar in thickness and quality to take-a-way trays (difficulty is trying to buy this material from the manufacturers of take-a-way trays; you have to buy 28 lb rolls and months of proving you are not going to be in opposition to them). These rolls come in widths of about 200 mm, so you have to bend and cut them in half, making a sheet 100 mm × 100mm.

1. The ability of the cloth to be stretched tightly when being fixed to a structure, due to the fact that the fibres are claimed to not be affected by expansion or shrinkage, to any major degree, by weather changes.
2. The cloth which I used was black and was claimed to have a 2% ultra-violet inhibitor built-in (carbon black) which had shown in accelerated tests to lengthen the life span of the cloth by as much as 20%
3. Because of the knitted nature of the cloth it can be cut at random in any direction without the cloth laddering or coming unravelled along the edge
4. The cloth is available in either 6 or 12 foot widths, which gives added advantages on large construction.
5. The knitted pattern allows

The tremendous growth rate of the city of Canberra during the sixties and early seventies brought an increased demand for inexpensive eucalyptus seedlings to be used in large landscaping and forward planting projects.

The time-honoured method in which seeds were sown in trays and the seedlings pricked off into another container tied up considerable labour and took six to nine months before the expensive seedlings were ready for planting. This prompted us to perfect a method of direct sowing into inexpensive throw-away polythene tubes packed into reusable wire baskets. Twenty-five tubes fit into a basket of 30 cm × 30 cm.

Handling is reduced to a minimum by direct sowing into the tubes containing the growing medium. By using a balanced soil and nutrient mix we are able to produce 47 species of eucalyptus, (Appendix A) grown to a saleable size in about three months. By using heated glasshouses for the five cold months we can produce four crops each year.

Container. The throw-away

The question of why we should be concerned with plant hygiene is really the first and most important area that any propagator should be concerned with. Without a proper understanding of its necessity by both management and staff, no hygienic programs can be successfully introduced. The key words for this area which relate to the overall topic, are education and awareness.

A good example of the futility of one without the other, happened recently in the nursery. A young lad was taken on just after he had attended a Horticultural Refresher course, a good part of which did emphasize various aspects of hygiene. On this particular day, he had been

I have heard that comment made on any number of occasions. It is difficult to change from something you know well and which, in our case, has been a successful practice for over 60 years. This paper is a brief description of how we have begun the change to container growing of citrus.

For many years citrus in the Sydney area has been grown in the field to a stage of one full season's growth after budding. They are then pruned back significantly and dug bare-root. They are sold to orchardists or retailers, in the latter case they need to be placed in a "heeling in" bed, or grown-on in containers for another season and then sold as an "advanced" or three-year-old tree.

A T Eyles and Son were and still are involved in growing the tree to the two-year-old stage in the field. It is now felt, however, that a tree could be grown in a container in two years that would compete favourably with the three-year-old tree containerised after being

Several nutrient groups were also tested in a rooting medium containing indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) as the only auxin and there was an interaction between the nutrients and IBA.

Only BAP and PBA were able to induce adventitious bud formation and these cytokinins had, in common, a benzyl ring as a substituent in the N⁶ position

Interactions of auxins, cytokinins, riboflavin and other growth factors in producing various growth forms in culture are discussed.

Usually, every third year is an excellent seed crop, with a moderate to weak crop in the intervening years. Seed can be stored for up to three years if done properly. Most of our seed comes from Italy; but we do collect some locally when a good crop exists. Seedlings from local seed definitely are not as hardy.

Viable seed can usually be determined by a cut test. Greyish or off color radicals is an indication of bad seed. If this situation exists, a germination test is in order. They germinate quite readily on a wet paper towel on the windowsill.

Our first try at seedling growing over 20 years ago was to produce a two-year liner. At transplanting, mortality was high due to the poor root/top ratio and general sensitivity of the plant. It helps to prune branches and do little or no root pruning before transplanting.

The next approach to

The two cultivars grown in New Zealand and many other parts of the world are Heavenly Blue and Grace Ward. However, sometimes they are hard to propagate in any numbers and to form into well-grown bushy plants.

I have been growing these plants for many years, trying to find an easy way to mass-produced this spectacular rock plant and, like many others who have tried before, never managing to get a good strike. The cuttings often rot when under mist or only send out few thin roots with bottom heat. Semi-hardwood cuttings have never made such progress so I tried very small, soft tips. These seemed to be the best although not all of them rooted.

I

The role of the Centre can be seen as seeking to investigate problems affecting the nursery industry; these may be known problems, or problems which have not yet been recognized as such. To carry out its work the Centre may enter into co-operative research with other people or organizations, rather than attempt to do all of the work itself. In general it avoids becoming involved in work being undertaken elsewhere, except where it feels that a

However, in order to test the market for these selections, rapid propagation methods are needed.

I will endeavour to show you the differences within the different genera, as well as the propagation and cultural details of these particular plants.

Bromeliad habitats range from purely tropical areas to mountain altitudes of 4000m, from sea shore to densely forested areas, and from inland areas to the southern ocean islands.

Climate variation throughout the distribution area has forced the bromeliads to adapt in many ways. Bromeliads have been very versatile in the adaptions.

The world's most well known bromeliad is the pineapple (Ananas), which is grown intensively in Hawaii, Australia, and the Philippines, and exported over the world.

The introduction of these techniques and their acceptance in New Zealand is discussed.

The breakthrough came when we realised that the limiting factor was our low average temperature, thanks to our equitable maritime climate. Walnuts need a temperature of around 80°F for a period of three weeks to make a strong graft union and as you know, we seldom have a spell of weather as hot as this — thank heavens! California has a Mediterranean climate with moderate winters and very hot summers in the interior valleys, as does southern France where walnuts are grafted in the field as a matter of course. However, walnuts have the ability to callus in winter even though dormant and our grafting methods are based on this.

We like to use two-year-old black walnut

There are certain overlying considerations when choosing a covering and design:

1. The initial outlay.
2. The heat conservation properties of the total structure.
3. Repairs and maintenance, including re-cladding.

To put this another way, the operating costs of the proposed design per unit of area are a major deciding factor. This figure must, however, be balanced against any change in the yield or growth characteristics of the crop in a new environment. The necessity for and the cost of

In B.C., about 10 million Douglas fir seedlings are planted each year on the coast and at any time there may be 20 million

The first requirement was to find a 20 acre block of freehold land. Land that could be drained, close to native subtropical rainforest for shelter as a setting, while still remaining close to the railhead at Westport.

Having found a suitable block of land, we designed a landscape plan of the proposed nursery, aiming for a low maintenance attractive layout. The time to use a bulldozer is before planting trees, so time taken in advance design is well spent.

The next job was to plant shelter and dig drains to

The Rosebowl is awarded to a member who has made a significant contribution, either to plant propagation or alternatively to the I.P.P.S. in this Region. In presenting the Rosebowl to Brian Humphrey, the President commented that Brian had qualified on both counts. He has a considerable knowledge and experience in all types of plant propagation and has a special interest in some of the newer techniques. He has presented papers of significance to this Region and to the Eastern IPPS Region; he has contributed regularly in discussions in conferences and local meetings. Brian was our first President and, if it wasn't for his drive and enthusiasm in 1968 in inaugurating this region, the I.P.P.S. here might have taken many more years to get established.

Such an enormous decision cannot be made without facts — and realistic, factual costs of propagation are extremely difficult to come by from other people and even more challenging to work out one's own. It was to this end that we have tried to produce a logical, systematic schedule for the calculation of the cost of producing a cutting by conventional

At a time of uncertainty and financial constraint any capital investment has to be certain of obtaining a quick return on investment. In our case the results obtained by using the fog have surpassed our original expectation.

The use of fog in propagation isn't new and work with Fog Pots in Holland and Switzerland is well documented. Recent engineering technology, much of it derived from N.A.S.A. Space Research, has enabled this system to become a commercial reality.

It should be stressed that this equipment is of a far higher precision than anything so far seen and, as such, needs careful attention in its location, installation, and running.

In the United Kingdom the system is being used for green plants and nursery stock propagation, A.Y.R. chrysanthemum cutting propagation

Some native trees and shrubs raised from seed in the nursery may be represented by substantial hybrid populations, with varying significance for the grower and planter. However, the bulk of species raised from seed remain true-to-type, and the incidence of hybridization is far greater in cultivation, whether by chance or design.

Few people would challenge the view that we are, at present, in some danger of losing from our gardens a lot of the species and old cultivars that have been grown in them in the past. This is for a variety of reasons, but most of them hinge on the word ‘economics’. Indeed, sufficient concern was being voiced about this for the Royal Horticultural Society to sponsor a conference on the subject in 1978, the Proceedings of which were reported in an article by C.D. Brickell in the April 1979 issue of "The Garden". The National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens (NCCPG) was formed directly as a result of that Conference and since then has raised sufficient funds to be able to employ me, starting in March this year, to try to co-ordinate its work.

We have two main strategies by which

On our dairy farm, for example, we installed a Retriever unit in 1974. This is a water tank with a copper coil inside which uses the waste heat from the compressors for the refrigerated bulk milk tanks, and uses it to heat 60 gallons of water to 128°F from the ambient temperature of the day. We need water at 150°F to circulate and clean the milking pipelines, so we only have to buy the energy for the additional 22°F required. For an outlay of £740 in 1974, we are saving currently £1,250 a year in fuel costs.

Also on our dairy farm, we use old railway sleepers for silo walls, old motor car tyres to cover the silo sheets, wood shavings for cow bedding and we feed wet brewers grains to the cows as a part of their bulk winter ration.

In 1974 we started our container nursery on an acre of waste land, that is to say, land which was

From Le Havre, our first stop in France was at the famous Minier Nurseries near Angers, where we spent two rewarding days. We then pointed the car south towards Spain and crossed the snow-covered Pyrenees by the Somport Pass, 5,000 ft. high. Although this is a "Chaines Obligatoire" pass in winter, we had crossed several times before

Brian Morgan then outlined the main points at which cuttings are handled, as follows:

1. At the stock plant
2. Collection and storage of cuttings
3. Compost mixing and preparation of trays
4. Preparation and insertion (this is the "bottleneck" in the whole system)
5. Transportation to the propagation unit
6. Hygiene, e.g. application of fungicides.

Having identified the "bottleneck" as preparation and insertion of cuttings, Brian Morgan, through A.D.A.S. has developed a system which should be applicable to a wide range of nurseries, to speed up these operations. This has led to an increase of between 20% and 50% in increased throughput, to date.

The essential principle involved in the method is that once the cutting is picked up, it is never

New technology is the key to the changing face of the computer industry — and especially the development eleven years ago of the first microprocessor. By using the descendants of this rather slow and ungainly (in comparison with modern equivalents) device, computer designers have been able to produce small, versatile, and powerful machines which have been dubbed "microcomputers". Such is their popularity in business areas that the new

It is obvious to anyone that there is a marked change in the vegetation at the edges of ponds and lakes. As the soil above the water table becomes shallower the moisture content increases and oxygen levels drop. The first indication is that the only trees that thrive are those that need lower levels of oxygen, e.g. willow, alder, etc. Such vegetation is called "carr" vegetation. The highly variable flora of drier land gives way to sedges, rushes kingcups, and water docks.

Some plants are adapted to grow with their roots rooted below the water. Above the water their aerial stems photosynthesise as normal terrestrial plants. These plants, sometimes half in and half out of the water, are called EMERGENT PLANTS.

As we move further away from the bank and, if

Our nursery is situated near East Grinstead on acid soil and on a very steep north and east slope which suits our alpine plants, and we are sure if they grow with us they will grow anywhere in the country, because we get extreme winter conditions. it is quite normal for us to have several nights in succession of sub-zero temperatures, and occasionally, though we have escaped these past few winters, we get very heavy snow falls. We have been known to welcome the snow, and visitors to the nursery have sometimes been rather astonished to find our staff shovelling snow into our Alpine house to cover the plants, because that's what they are accustomed to in nature. They have a long resting period snugly tucked away under the snow and that is something we cannot offer them very often in this

As the theme of this year's conference is "The Gateway to The Future", I shall try to confine myself to some of the features that might be considered reasonably "new" to the nursery industry from the continent of Europe and provide some food for thought and ideas later. From the point of view of those members who participated, this will necessarily be something old; however memories may be jogged and it is quite possible that some of the features highlighted will not now be new to several well-established British nurseries.

I will be discussing items of equipment and one or two techniques that may be of value to the nursery industry in

1. What action is the Ministry taking to communicate the results of their cutting handling system to the industry?

B. MORGAN: ADAS has been closely involved with ATB on this handling system. We have had a Masters course at which 10 propagators from different nurseries attended and since then they have spread the word. The ATB have already held over 20 courses around the country attended by 130 people, and another 30 courses are planned for the future. The technique has been promoted at major conferences like BGLA and Four Oaks. A video film has also been made for refresher courses showing the hand movements involved in the technique. In addition, a booklet which is a training guide has been produced in conjunction with the ATB. This training guide will have an outline of the times taken to insert a 1000 cuttings of different plant types, i.e. heathers, rhododendron, conifers, and Berberis. Not just one time but a range of times embracing estimates of good, typical, and poor. What ADAS

E. racemosa was discovered in the vicinity of Franklin and Hart Counties, Georgia, by William Bartram in 1773 and was later named for Steven Elliot who prepared the "Sketch of Botany of South Carolina and Georgia". For a time E. racemosa was

When preparing the scions for grafting, around the first of February, we thought how nice it would be if we could root the healthy, well budded, lateral cuttings we were removing from the scion.

We decided that nothing would be lost if we tried, so we stuck approximately 200 cuttings in three different rooting media using several hormone powder combinations. By the end of May, three of the cuttings rooted. This was a success to me because I am a great believer that if you can get one to root the others should root, if taken at the proper time.

In June, when we were sticking our summer outdoor mist cuttings I found the key. I decided that when we finished sticking our dwarf Alberta spruce cuttings that I would stick the different

Assuming this is your first venture into the sexual propagation of plants, spend some time on researching the topic. Every volume in the Proceedings of our Society gives us several articles on seed propagation. In Volume 29, there were two splendid articles, one by Tom Wood (3) (GB & I Region) and one by Hugh Steavenson (2) (Eastern Region), both presented at the Western Region meeting in 1979 at Sacramento, California.

One can go back to the first meeting of the Society in 1951, and read Dick Fillmore's (1) words on this topic. After a review of IPPS papers, then purchase this book. "Seeds Of Woody Plants In The United States," Agriculture Handbook #450, Supt. of Documents, US Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402 (cost $13.60). This book covers seed data

The problem I confronted was vegetative propagation of

In the winter of 1946 we grafted 35,000 rhododendrons onto Rhododendron ponticum understocks and these were planted out the following spring. The early summer of 1947 was hot, wet, and humid with the result that catastrophic losses were sustained in not only the new batch of grafts but also more mature plants. Clearly something had to be done. Discussions with other growers indicated that plants of R. ‘Roseum Elegans’ produced by layering were apparently more resistant to the wilt disease than were similar plants grafted onto R.

In order to examine juvenility and its relationship to propagation, some definitions must be made:
     Juvenile — that stage in the life cycle of a woody plant during which flowers cannot be induced to form
     Adult/mature — that stage in the development of a woody plant during which flowering may occur
     Transition — that period between the adult and juvenile phases during which flowering may be initiated by the normal flower inductive treatments
     Phase change/maturation — the process that controls the development of the juvenile form into the adult

In all of these definitions, the sole basis of differentiation is flowering. In

A major requirement in developing uses for mycorrhizal fungi in the nursery industry will be to determine cost-efficient methods of producing plants infected with specific mycorrhizal fungi and no others. We feel that one of the most efficient methods of producing mycorrhizal plants will be through the inoculation of seedlings at time of propagation. During propagation, the amount of mycorrhizal inoculum required is minimal, and regulation of environmental conditions and/or cultural practices can

Modern plant propagation revolves around the use of IBA, NAA, and their derivatives. Both

We begin by taking an unbiased look at our operation. Are the facilities efficient? Is everyone producing an equal amount and is the amount enough? Assuming the facilities and procedures are efficient and the goals are in order then the area to concentrate on is labor efficiency. What amount of production can we reasonably expect from our workers? I think one answer lies in the use of production standards. A production standard is a tool used to measure the performance of a worker against premeasured production expectancies.

Production standards help us not only in gauging the productivity of employees but in many other

1. Of simple construction,
2. Economically feasible for commercial greenhouse production,
3. Reliable and efficient.

Therefore, a system was developed that employed a solar collector, a water storage system, and a simple form of passive energy transport. This system, when compared to an active solar system, is very inexpensive to construct and requires very little maintenance.

The rhododendron cultivar ‘Roseum Elegansrsquo; is still the best seller in the northeastern United States. It was introduced in England by Anthony Waterer some time before 1851. It's a dirty magenta-pink and it grows far too large for contemporary houses and gardens. But it's hardy and it roots easily. It's one of the group of so-called "ironclads" which means that it can be grown at

What I am about to describe to you is the way in which our company has collected many different clematis species and cultivars and the way in which a concept is being carried out: that concept is a mixture of the specialist collector, the plantsman, the nurseryman, and also with the businessman's view to making money What we have tried to do is combine all of these different angles the fascination of collecting, successful cultivation, and the mass production and modern selling techniques.

During the last 25 years, clematis