GERANIUM STOCK PLANTS
Subject:
Pennsylvania Flower Growers #171
Abstract:
Culture-indexed geranium cuttings are now avail able from propagators in sufficient quantity at various times of the year so that the producer of 4-inch geranium need not maintain his own stock plants. How ever, for the grower who desires to produce his own cuttings, the tree-form method of managing geranium stock plants is suggested. It offers a number of ad vantages over the conventional method of handling stock plants. These include more cuttings of higher quality and plants that are easier to keep free from contamination by pathogenic organisms. In the conventional method of managing geranium stock plants, rooted cuttings are planted in 2'/i or 4 inch pots, then shifted to 6 or 8 inch pots or benched as the plants increase in size. These stock plants are pinched one or more times to promote branching. Terminal cuttings are harvested from all of the shoots when sufficient growth has occurred (Figure 1). If cuttings are not needed early in the season, these shoots are pinched at regular intervals. The usual practice is to grow conventional stock plants for 2 or more years. Unfortunately, these plants often are neglected during that time of year when cuttings are not needed. Although they may not receive much attention in terms of labor for watering, fertilization, disease and insect control, they do occupy space that might be used more profitably for other crops. Consider the space that geranium stock plants tie up from March through May. What could you produce in their place during these months?
Keywords: tree-form Cuttings are being stored on the pl tree-type stock plants Single-eye stem cuttings terminal cuttings
Libraries: Floriculture