Abstract
Stems of many woody ornamental plant taxa were collected in midwinter and hardened to their maximum capability under laboratory conditions. Hardiness levels were determined and compared to zone recommendations as listed in Hortus III and Rehder’s Manual of Cultivated Plants. Many woody plants had a greater midwinter cold tolerance than their hardiness ratings would infer.
Northwestern Yunnan is situated in the southern part of the Hengduan Mountains, which is a complex and varied natural environment. Consequently, this region supports a great diversity of endemic plants. Using field investigation in combination with analysis of relevant literature and available data, this paper presents a regional ethnobotanical study of this area. Results indicated that northwestern Yunnan has an abundance of wild ornamental plants: this study identified 262 endemic species (belonging to 64 genera and 28 families) with potential ornamental value. The distinguishing features of these wild plants, their characteristics and habitats are analyzed; the ornamental potential of most plants stems from their wildflowers, but some species also have ornamental fruits and foliage. Among the endemic genera, Pedicularis and Rhododendron have particularly high numbers of ornamental wild species, while Aconitum, Gentiana, Corydalis, Silene, Delphinium, Cremanthodium, and Saussurea also contain significant numbers of wild ornamental species. It is suggested that cultivation of these species may be beneficial, both commercially and to help conserve endangered endemic plant species.
Water quality is an important issue affecting usage of irrigation water drawn from RCBs in ornamental plant nurseries, because poor plant quality can result from poor water quality. Water quality characteristics are described by the status of water
Abstract
Quality, the degree of excellence which a thing possesses, varies with the evaluator for excellence to one may be mediocrity to another. After considerable thought and examination of the literature, I have concluded that the quality attributes of woody ornamental plants as affected by mineral nutrition practices are not well defined. First, how exactly does one proceed to evaluate quality in a woody ornamental plant? The effects of mineral nutrition on the quality of vegetables and fruits would appear to be more obvious. Yield, color, firmness, taste, keeping quality, and chemical components may be useful traits for evaluating quality under a given set of nutritional, cultural, and environmental conditions In general quality on woody ornamentals appears to be related to visually pleasing, salable plants. There are various reports of fertilizer sources and rates on growth or appearance. I will review a limited number of these and then discuss the results of a questionnaire which was sent to nurserymen around the country concerning fertilization and woody ornamental plant production.
Abstract
Cycocel (2-chloroethyl trimethyl ammonium chloride) inhibited shoot growth and increased number of flowers in azalea (1) and Gardenia jasminoides (2), while height of poinsettia (3) and chrysanthemum (4) was also effectively controlled by the application of the chemical. Some varieties of Bougainvillea grew dwarf and bushy with markedly improved flowering following application of Cycocel (5). In view of the great possibility offered by the growth retardants, an extensive investigation to study the efficacy of these chemicals on large number of species and varieties of tropical ornamental plants belonging to different families was begun. The results of the effect of Cycocel on growth and flowering of some popular ornamental plants belonging to family Malvaceae are reported.
Lesquerella (Brassicaceae) seeds contain high concentrations of hydroxyl fatty acids with long carbon chains, similar to imported castor oil. Although species within the genus are considered as an alternative oil crop, lesquerella plants have ornamental characteristics that may present a valuable landscape alternative for dry open spaces. Seeds of certain Lesquerella species are already a component of wild flower seed mixtures sold commercially. The purpose of this study was to describe ornamental aspects of selected accessions in the USDA Lesquerella germplasm collection maintained at the National Arid Land Plant Genetic Resources Unit. From 2003 to 2005, more than 140 accessions from 30 species were characterized for selected plant characteristics. The majority of lesquerella flowers were yellow, but some species, such as L. mcvaughiana, L. mexicana, L. ovalifolia, L. pallida, L. perforata, and L. stoniensis, had white flowers. Petal length ranged from 4 to 11 mm, and the number of flowers per an unbranched stem was from two to seven. While the duration of full bloom of many lesquerella plants was between 15 to 40 days, the full bloom of plants of 10 accessions lasted from 50 (PARL 166, L. argyrea; W6 20836, L. grandiflora; W6 20841, L. lasiocarpa) to 72 days (PI 596362, L. fendleri). Those traits make the plants suitable for planting in landscape borders, low hedges, or color patches. The main use of the USDA, NPGS Lesquerella germplasm collection (201 accessions) is in cultivar development of a new oil crop. However when considering the duration of bloom and the abundance of flowers, several accessions may be used as ornamental crops, especially in semi-arid and arid landscapes where water supply is limited.
transpiration) to integrated (biomass produced: total transpiration), all of which provide useful information regarding plant-water interactions ( Bacon, 2004 ). However, these measures may not be as important for ornamental growers, as growth alone may not be
appearing barren with limited vegetation. Intercropping ornamental plants within tea gardens emerges as a viable solution to enhance the landscape of tea plantations. Strategically combining tea trees with flowers allows the tea garden to showcase blooming
We have introduced and cultured for Pavidia Involucvata Baill in the arboretum of Forest Research Institute of Guizhou province. The both of the bionomics and ecological characters for this species also have observed detailed. The results shown that the conditions of areas of Guiyang is suitable for normal growth for this species. On the average, the height is 18m height and diameter breast high is 25 cm when 18 years old. At present this species has become one of the important ornamental plants in Guiyang areas, which has beautiful flowers and tree forms.
University of Florida, Institute for Food and Agricultural Sciences, Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants, 7922 NW 71st St., Gainesville, FL 32653. Published as Journal Series Number R-10419 of the Florida Agriculture Experiment Station. This