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Bedding plants are extensively used in urban landscapes. As high-quality water supply becomes limited in many parts of the world, the use of recycled water with high salt levels for landscape irrigation is being encouraged. Therefore, information on salt tolerance of bedding plants is of increasing importance. Two experiments were conducted, one in a 25% light exclusion shadehouse in summer (Expt. 1) and the other in a greenhouse in winter (Expt. 2). Plants were irrigated with saline solution at electrical conductivities of 0.8, 2.8, 4.0, 5.1, or 7.4 dS·m⁻¹ created by adding NaCl, MgSO₄, and CaCl₂ to tap water to simulate the composition of local reclaimed water. In Expt. 1, shoot dry weight (DW) at the end of the experiments was reduced in all species at 7.4 dS·m⁻¹ compared with the control (0.8 dS·m⁻¹). The magnitude of reduction varied with species and cultivars. The salinity thresholds of irrigation water in which growth reduction occurred were 4.0 dS·m⁻¹ for angelonia (Angelonia angustifolia) cultivars and ornamental pepper (Capsicum annuum) ‘Calico’ and 4.0 to 5.1 dS·m⁻¹ for helenium (Helenium amarum), licorice plant (Helichrysum petiolatum), and plumbago (Plumbago auriculata). Shoot DW and growth index of ornamental pepper ‘Black Pearl’ and vinca (Catharanthus roseus) ‘Rose’ decreased linearly as salinity increased. All plants survived in Expt. 1 regardless of treatment, except for ornamental pepper ‘Purple Flash’. No visual injuries were observed in Expt. 1 regardless of treatment. Leaf sodium (Na) and chlorine (Cl) concentrations varied with species and treatments. Ornamental pepper ‘Black Pearl’ had the highest leaf Cl concentrations at higher salinities compared with other species and cultivars. Leaf Na concentrations in licorice plant and plumbago were in the range of 10 to 30 g·kg⁻¹ DW, higher than those in other species. In Expt. 2, shoot DW was reduced by salinity treatments in ornamental pepper ‘Black Pearl’, plumbago, and angelonia but not in other species. The three ornamental peppers, ‘Black Pearl’, ‘Calico’, and ‘Purple Flash’, exhibited slight foliar injuries on some plants in Expt. 2 as a result of high salinity in the root zone in the highest salinity treatment. Ornamental pepper ‘Black Pearl’ was most sensitive to salinity stress. In general, the bedding plants tested in this study are moderately tolerant to salt stress and may be irrigated with saline water up to 4.0 dS·m⁻¹ with little reduction in aesthetical appearance.

Understanding the responses of plant growth and secondary metabolite synthesis to different light wavelengths is important for optimizing lighting conditions for vegetable production in indoor vertical farms. Basil (Ocimum basilicum) ‘Improved Genovese Compact’ (green leaf) and ‘Red Rubin’ (purple leaf), green mustard ‘Amara’ (Brassica carinata), red mustard ‘Red Giant’ (Brassica juncea), green kale ‘Siberian’ (Brassica napus var. pabularia), and red kale ‘Scarlet’ (Brassica oleracea), which are high-value and multifunctional culinary herbs and leafy greens, were used to characterize the effects of red (R), blue (B), and green (G) wavelengths on plant photosynthesis, morphology, biomass production, and secondary metabolites accumulation. Light quality treatments consisted of three R and B light combinations, R₈₈B₁₂ (the proportions of R and B wavelengths were 88% and 12%, respectively), R₇₆B₂₄, and R₅₁B₄₉, and two white light combinations, R₄₄B₁₂G₄₄ (the proportions of R, B, and G wavelengths were 44%, 12%, and 44%, respectively) and R₃₅B₂₄G₄₁. Experiments were conducted in a walk-in growth room with a photosynthetic photon flux density set at 224 μmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹ and a 16-hour photoperiod. Results indicated that the net photosynthesis in purple basil and green kale were positively correlated with B proportions (BP), and that higher BP increased the relative chlorophyll concentration in purple basil and red kale. In contrast, higher BP suppressed stem elongation and leaf expansion and reduced shoot biomass in all tested species except red mustard. Higher BP increased phytochemical concentrations but decreased the total amounts of phytochemicals per plant. For all basil and brassica (Brassica sp.) cultivars, the inclusion of G wavelengths decreased shoot biomass compared with that of plants grown under R and B light combinations with similar BP. Inclusion of G wavelengths stimulated stem elongation in green basil and green mustard under 12% BP; whereas it suppressed stem elongation in purple basil, green kale, red kale, and green mustard under 24% BP. The effects on phytochemical accumulation were species-specific for the inclusion of G wavelengths. Considering biomass production, nutritional values, and working environment for growers, a white light with lower BP and G proportions is recommended for culinary herbs and Brassica leafy greens production at vertical farms.

Dendrobium officinale, endemic to China, is a rare and endangered medicinal herb. As a result of its high economic value, slow growth, and diminishing wild population, protected cultivation is preferred. However, little information is available on its growing environment and photosynthetic characteristics. In this study, the photosynthetic patterns of D. officinale were investigated under various environmental conditions by measuring the net CO₂ exchange rates continuously for several days or weeks. Under non-stressed growth chamber conditions with 12-hour light and 12-hour dark periods, D. officinale had concomitance of C3 and crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) photosynthesis patterns. Different degrees of CAM in D. officinale, expressed as the percentage of CO₂ exchanges in the dark period to the daily amount of CO₂ exchanges, were observed depending on environmental conditions. With decreasing substrate water content, a typical CAM pattern was found, and concomitance of C3 and CAM patterns was found again when plants were rewatered. The accumulation of leaf titratable acidity during a dark period increased as substrate dried out but decreased again as plants were rewatered. A shorter light–dark cycle (4-hour light and 4-hour dark periods) led to a C3 pattern alone. The substrate moisture and light–dark cycle were inducible factors for switching between C3 and CAM patterns in D. officinale. These results indicate that D. officinale is a facultative CAM plant and the C3 pathway can be induced by controlling the growing environment. Further studies are needed to identify the optimal environmental conditions to enhance the growth of D. officinale.

The onion processing industry produces hundreds of thousands of tons of onion waste annually. Normally, onion peel waste is dumped in landfills, which creates additional sources of greenhouse gases. Research has validated that onion peel is a concentrated source of bioactive compounds; therefore, it can be turned into useful agricultural products such as soil amendments and possibly biostimulants. This study conducted three experiments to investigate the plant growth-promoting potential of an onion juice concentrate (OJC). The first experiment explored whether the application of OJC could increase plant growth of Bermuda grass, lettuce, and bok choy. The second experiment evaluated the effects of foliar and subsurface drench applications of OJC on bok choy and lettuce growth. The third experiment investigated the interaction between OJC application methods and fertilizer type on bok choy and radish growth. The results indicated that foliar applications of OJC of 1% to 2% concentrations increased the yield of bok choy and its overall growth. Subirrigation with OJC, however, enhanced the root growth of bok choy, lettuce, and radish. Notably, the combined approach of foliar and subirrigation applications further promoted the growth of both bok choy and radish. Comparing across experiments, longer OJC application periods emerged as a promising strategy for amplifying its growth-promoting benefits. Overall, our findings suggest that OJC holds promise for promoting sustainable agriculture. This potential comes from its ability to enhance both the growth and yield of vegetable crops like bok choy, lettuce, and radish while simultaneously reducing waste.

The influence of daily light integral (DLI) before vernalization and vernalization temperature and duration on growth and flower development was determined for seed-propagated perennials Aquilegia ×hybrida Sims `Remembrance', Coreopsis grandiflora Hogg ex Sweet `Sunray', and Lavandula angustifolia Mill. `Hidcote Blue'. Seedlings were grown under two DLIs (4 or 14 mol·m<sup>-2</sup>·d<sup>-l</sup>) for 5 weeks before being vernalized at -2.5, 0, 2.5, or 5 °C for 2,4,5, or 8 weeks. `Remembrance' and `Sunray' plants were vernalized in the dark, while `Hidcote Blue' plants were vernalized in light at 5 to 10 μmol·m^-2·s^-l for 9 hourslday. After vernalization, plants were forced under a 16-h photoperiod in the greenhouse at 20±2 °C. `Remembrance' plants flowered uniformly when vernalized at 0 to 2.5 °C for 2 weeks or longer, and flower number, plant height, time to visible bud or to flower were generally not influenced by vernalization temperature or duration. No `Sunray' plants flowered without vernalization, and only a low percentage flowered with 4-week vernalization. Compared with low DLI, a 14 mol·m^-2·d^-1 before vernalization delayed flowering by 7 to 20 days in `Remembrance', but there were no substantial differences in flowering characteristics of `Sunray'. `Hidcote Blue' plants were best vernalized in the light at 5 °C for 8 weeks to obtain rapid and uniform flowering and the highest number of inflorescences. Flowering and survival percentages of `Hidcote Blue' were much lower for plants at 14 mol·m^-2·d^-l DLI compared to 4 mol·m^-2·d^-1.

The influence of vernalization temperature and duration and devernalization treatments on subsequent growth and flower development of Campanula `Birch Hybrid' and Leucanthemum ×superbum Bergman ex J. Ingram `Snow Cap' was determined. In the vernalization experiment, plants of `Birch Hybrid' were vernalized at 0, 2.5, 5, 7.5, or 10 °C for 2, 4, 6, or 8 weeks. `Snow Cap' was vernalized at 0, 2.5, 5, or 10 °C for 2, 4, 6, or 8 weeks. In another devernalization experiment, plants of both species were moved to a high temperature (30/10 °C, day/night) growth chamber for 2 or 4 days at various times during or after the 6-week vernalization period. A 6-week vernalization was necessary to obtain 100% flowering in `Birch Hybrid', and 8 weeks of vernalization decreased time to flower by 7 to 10 days compared with 6-week vernalization. Exposure to high temperature for 2 days during or immediately after vernalization did not devernalize `Birch Hybrid' plants, while a 4-day exposure decreased flowering percentage in some treatments and delayed flowering by 7 to 10 days. There were no significant differences in flowering characteristics of `Snow Cap' plants vernalized at 0 to 5 °C for 4 to 8 weeks. A 2-week vernalization at 0, 2.5, 5, or 10 °C or 4 to 8 week vernalization at 10 °C delayed flowering by 5 to 10 days compared with those vernalized at 0 to 5 °C for 4 to 8 weeks. Exposure to high temperature for 2 d did not devernalize `Snow Cap' plants regardless of exposure times, but a 4-day exposure delayed flowering by 4 to 5 days in some treatments. Combined, the data indicate that `Birch Hybrid' has an obligate 6-week vernalization requirement and `Snow Cap' has a facultative 4-week vernalization requirement that can be fulfilled in the 0 to 10 °C range. Exposure to temperatures of 30 °C (9 h·d^-1) for 12 out of 42 days did not devernalize either species but in some cases caused a small delay in time to flower.

Artificial lighting is widely used in controlled environment plant production to enhance plant growth and quality. However, high light intensity with artificial lighting is costly, and often causes increase of leaf temperature and, thus, leaf burn. We investigated the effects of photosynthetic photon flux (PPF) and photoperiod on the growth and morphogenesis of lettuce plug transplants under ambient and enriched CO₂ levels. Three days after seeding, the plants were cultured under four PPF levels (100, 150, 200, and 300 μmol·m^–2·s^–1), two photoperiods (16 and 24 hr), and two CO₂ levels (400 and 800 μmol·mol^–1) for 18 days in growth chambers. Light source was fluorescent lamps. The air temperature around the plants was kept at 20°C. The results showed that dry weight of the plants increased linearly as PPF and daily integrated PPF (product of PPF and photoperiod) increased under both CO₂ levels. At the same daily integrated PPF, higher CO₂ level and longer photoperiod led to higher dry weight of the plants. CO₂ enrichment increased significantly dry weight of the plants. The ratio of T/R and specific leaf area of the plants decreased quadratically as daily integrated PPF increased under both CO₂ levels. The ratio of leaf length to leaf width of the plants decreased quadratically as PPF increased under the two photoperiods and CO₂ levels.

Salt-tolerant landscape plants are needed for arid and semiarid regions where the supply of quality water is limited and soil salinization often occurs. This study evaluated growth, chloride (Cl) and sodium (Na) uptake, relative chlorophyll content, and chlorophyll fluorescence of three rose rootstocks [Rosa ×fortuniana Lindl., R. multiflora Thunb., and R. odorata (Andr.) Sweet] irrigated with saline solutions at 1.6 (control), 3.0, 6.0, or 9.0 dS·m⁻¹ electrical conductivity in a greenhouse. After 15 weeks, most plants in 9.0 dS·m⁻¹ treatment died regardless of rootstock. Significant growth reduction was observed in all rootstocks at 6.0 dS·m⁻¹ compared with the control and 3.0 dS·m⁻¹, but the reduction in R. ×fortuniana was smaller than in the other two rootstocks. The visual scores of R. multiflora at 3.0 and 6.0 dS·m⁻¹ were slightly lower than those of the other rootstocks. Rosa odorata had the highest shoot Na concentration followed by R. multiflora; however, R. multiflora had the highest root Na concentration followed by R. odorata. All rootstocks had higher Cl accumulation in all plant parts at elevated salinities, and no substantial differences in Cl concentrations in all plant parts existed among the rootstocks, except for leaf Cl concentration in R. multiflora, which was higher than those in the other two rootstocks. The elevated salinities of irrigation water reduced the relative chlorophyll concentration, measured as leaf SPAD readings, and maximal photochemical efficiency of photosystem II (PSII) and minimal fluorescence (F_o)/maximum fluorescence (F_v/F_m), but the largest reduction in F_v/F_m was only 2.4%. Based on growth and visual quality, R. ×fortuniana was relatively more salt-tolerant than the other two rootstocks and R. odorata was slightly more salt-tolerant than R. multiflora.

Oleander (Nerium oleander L.), native to southern Asia and the Mediterranean region, is a fast-growing evergreen shrub planted widely in the southern United States. A greenhouse study was conducted to quantify the growth and physiological responses of two cultivars, Hardy Pink and Hardy Red, and two breeding lines, EP1 and EP2, of oleander to a 12-week cyclic drought stress. Drought stress was imposed by irrigating the plants to near container capacity and then withholding irrigation until predetermined container weights were reached. Compared with the control where plants were well-irrigated throughout the experiment, shoot dry weight (DW) was reduced by 52%, 41%, 34%, and 11% in EP1, EP2, ‘Hardy Red’, and ‘Hardy Pink’, respectively. Root-to-shoot DW ratio was higher for the drought-treated plants than the control, regardless of cultivar or breeding line (hereafter, clone). The increase in root-to-shoot DW ratio from the drought treatment was highest in EP1, followed by EP2, ‘Hardy Pink’, and ‘Hardy Red.’ New shoot growth was greatest in ‘Hardy Pink’, followed by ‘Hardy Red’, EP1, and EP2. The number of newly developed shoots during the drought treatment period was 6.8, 3.0, 0.7, and 0.0 in ‘Hardy Pink’, ‘Hardy Red’, EP1, and EP2, respectively. As substrate volumetric moisture content decreased from 30%, leaf net photosynthetic rate (P_n), evapotranspiration rate (E), and stomatal conductance (g_s) decreased in all clones. A curvilinear relationship between P_n and g_s was found in all clones. EP1 had a lower maximum P_n (P_m) than those of ‘Hardy Pink’ and EP2 but was not different from that of ‘Hardy Red’. Predawn leaf water potential began to decrease rapidly when substrate moisture content dropped below 15% in all clones. During the dry-down, compared with the control, increases in minimal fluorescence (F₀) or decreases in maximal fluorescence (F_m) and F_v/F_m (F_v = F_m – F₀) in drought-stressed plants were observed in all clones, indicating some damage in photosystem II from the drought treatment. However, compared with growth parameters, the differences in physiological responses to drought stress among the clones were much smaller. ‘Hardy Pink’ was more tolerant to drought stress than ‘Hardy Red’ and the other two clones in terms of productivity because it maintained greatest growth during the drought-stress period. However, EP2 and EP1 may be more tolerant if survival is concerned because they had a higher root-to-shoot DW ratio with minimal new growth.

Use of reclaimed water to irrigate urban landscapes will likely increase because fresh water supply is diminishing and the population continues to grow in the semiarid southwestern United States. Salt tolerance of two native landscape woody ornamentals, Texas mountain laurel (Sophora secundiflora) and Mexican redbud (Cercis canadensis var. mexicana), was investigated in a greenhouse experiment. Seedlings of the two species were grown in two substrates mixed with composted mulch and a commercial potting mix at two ratios and irrigated with saline solutions at three salinity levels: 1.6 (control, nutrient solution), 3.0, or 6.0 dS·m⁻¹ electrical conductivity (EC). There was no interaction between substrate and EC of irrigation water. Foliar salt damages such as leaf drop, leaf curl, and edge burn were observed in Mexican redbud when the plants were irrigated with solutions at EC of 3.0 and 6.0 dS·m⁻¹. No symptoms were observed on Texas mountain laurel plants, although plants irrigated at EC of 3.0 and 6.0 dS·m⁻¹ were smaller compared with controls. Shoot growth and elongation of both species were reduced by the elevated salinity of irrigation water, and the reduction in Mexican redbud was greater than Texas mountain laurel. Leaf photosynthesis rate and leaf stomatal conductance were also reduced in Texas mountain laurel by the elevated salinity of irrigation water. Tissue Na⁺ and Cl^– concentrations were higher in Texas mountain laurel irrigated with water of elevated salinity.