Online sales of plants are relatively new compared with other products. An online survey was used to measure online and in-store plant/flower spending from 1290 participants. Participants were satisfied with their online plant/flower purchases and spent $31.86 more on plants/flowers through online retailers than in stores. Participants’ social media use increased their in-store plant/flower spending but not online spending. Using Amazon, Google, and farm-direct online retailers increased both in-store and online plant/flower spending. Demographic characteristics did not influence online or in-store spending, except income which had a positive effect.
Apricots are the first fruit species to bloom each spring in northern New Mexico, with blooming dates ranging from early to late March—or as late as 10 Apr. in 2010—depending on the cultivar and weather conditions each year. Apricot is well known
leaves. Hand or chemical defoliation can be carried out at different times, shifting the harvest date to a more lucrative period. The removal of senescent leaves weeks before natural abscission moderately advances harvest as a result of earlier blooming
). All the detailed flower bud survival counts and dissection were done at the Alcalde Center, but we checked the peach and apricot flower bud winter damage during blooming time at Los Lunas. Most cultivars had four trees at both locations (some cultivars
replication. A flower stem was considered ready for harvest when an inflorescence had a third of its florets blooming. Flower stems of snapdragon were harvested on a weekly basis. Total flower stem length and length of the inflorescence were recorded at each
This paper describes the climatic and cropping conditions in the major peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch] producing areas in the southeastern United States in 1996. The peach and nectarine crop was the smallest since 1955 due to a series of unusually cold temperatures in February, March, and April. Crop set was not strictly a function of late blooming. No variety produced a full crop across the region. Many reputedly hardy peaches cropped poorly. The only peach or nectarine varieties that produced substantial crops in multiple locations were `La Premiere', `Ruston Red', and `Contender'. Cropping ability of some breeding selections shows that peach frost tolerance may be improved further.
Velvet flower (Salpiglossis sinuata, Solanaceae) can be used as an excellent demonstration plant for horticultural crop breeding classes. Salpiglossis produces large trumpetlike flowers exhibiting an assortment of corolla colors and pigmentation patterns. The pistil is large (3 to 4 cm or 1.2 to 1.6 inches long) with a sticky stigmatal tip and flowers can be easily emasculated prior to anthesis. The large pollen grains are shed in tetrads which can be separated and placed on the stigmatal surface. It takes eight to nine weeks from seeding to blooming, with a prolific flowering cycle that comes in flushes. Numerous seeds (about 750 per capsule) are obtained in three weeks after self- or cross-pollination. The influences of three genes that control flower color and pigmentation pattern can be conveniently demonstrated with their dominant and recessive alleles. The R gene controls flower color with red (RR or Rr) being dominant over yellow (rr). The D gene controls the density of pigmentation with solid (DD or Dd) color being dominant over dilute (dd) color. Corolla color striping is controlled by the St gene with striped (stst) being recessive to nonstriped (StSt or Stst) pattern. By using diploid lines of genotypes RRDD (red, solid), RRdd (red, dilute), or rrdd (yellow, dilute) and their crosses, students can easily observe a dominant phenotypic expression in the F1 hybrid and the digenic 9:3:3:1 segregation ratio in the F2 progeny. Another gene (C) that controls flower opening can also be used to show its influence on cleistogamous (closed, selfpollinated, CC or Cc) versus normal chasmogamous (open-pollinated, cc) corolla development. In addition, the induction and use of polyploid (4x) plants in plant breeding can also be demonstrated using this species.
(not the diameter of petals like other fruit species), and an average of 20 fully bloomed flowers for each cultivar was recorded. Flower blooming time (when the sepals start to separate) was observed several times from June to July during 2012–14. Leaf