Articles
Exploring the potential of Ratibida columnifera as a garden perennial and cut flower crop
Article number
1467_9
Pages
67 – 76
Language
English
Abstract
Members of the genus Ratibida Raf. are native to North America, predominantly distributed in the central, south-central, and southwest United States of America (USA) and Mexico.
Of these herbaceous wildflowers Ratibida columnifera (Nutt.) Wooten & Stanl., variously known as Mexican hat, prairie coneflower, narrow coneflower, or rocket flower, offers substantial natural variation in vegetative and floral morphology and is occasionally offered in native plant and specialty nurseries.
Successful breeding efforts in the closely related genus Echinacea Moench have stimulated similar interests in cultivar development for garden and cut flower use with Ratibida. Collections of genotypes from across the native range of R. columnifera and subsequent screening in the southcentral USA have documented potentially useful phenotypic variation in growth habit, perennation, vegetative morphology, and floral characteristics associated with genotypic origin and seasonality.
Consumer surveys have identified preferred floral characteristics which resonate with potential customers.
Propagation research has identified optimal methodologies for seed storage, seed germination, and vegetative propagation in preparation for breeding studies and potential cultivar releases of genotypes with novel traits.
Current research efforts are investigating reports of self-sterility, developing methods for achieving controlled crosses, determining potentials for interspecific hybrids, assessing potentials of selected genotypes for cut flower production, shipping, and shelf-life, and refining nursery production protocols.
A summary of the current state of research in developing R. columnifera as a commercial nursery and floral crop and discussion of future research directions will be presented.
Of these herbaceous wildflowers Ratibida columnifera (Nutt.) Wooten & Stanl., variously known as Mexican hat, prairie coneflower, narrow coneflower, or rocket flower, offers substantial natural variation in vegetative and floral morphology and is occasionally offered in native plant and specialty nurseries.
Successful breeding efforts in the closely related genus Echinacea Moench have stimulated similar interests in cultivar development for garden and cut flower use with Ratibida. Collections of genotypes from across the native range of R. columnifera and subsequent screening in the southcentral USA have documented potentially useful phenotypic variation in growth habit, perennation, vegetative morphology, and floral characteristics associated with genotypic origin and seasonality.
Consumer surveys have identified preferred floral characteristics which resonate with potential customers.
Propagation research has identified optimal methodologies for seed storage, seed germination, and vegetative propagation in preparation for breeding studies and potential cultivar releases of genotypes with novel traits.
Current research efforts are investigating reports of self-sterility, developing methods for achieving controlled crosses, determining potentials for interspecific hybrids, assessing potentials of selected genotypes for cut flower production, shipping, and shelf-life, and refining nursery production protocols.
A summary of the current state of research in developing R. columnifera as a commercial nursery and floral crop and discussion of future research directions will be presented.
Authors
M.A. Arnold, M.L. Marshall, K.A. Hopkins
Keywords
prairie coneflower, Mexican hat, seed propagation, vegetative propagation, phenotypic variation, consumer preferences, plant breeding
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