CULTURE OF HARDY WOODY ORNAMENTALS IN PURE-MINERAL CONTAINER SUBSTRATES

Growing trials over a period of 18 months, with nine types of hardy woody ornamental plant, were used to evaluate the efficacy of pure-mineral container substrates, incorporating lime and resincoated controlled-release fertiliser, using overhead irrigation.
Fine and coarse perlite both with (1:1 mixes) and without fine vermiculite were compared with peat.
The effect of amending container design to include a basal reservoir for pure mineral substrates was also assessed.

For non-ericaceous plants all seven treatments (substrate/container design combinations) produced plants of saleable quality throughout the trial.
Whilst for individual plant types there were some differences in plant quality due to treatment, there were no systematic trends across the six plant types tested.

For ericaceous plants quality was ranked significantly better in peat than in mineral substrates, in which some plants were below saleable quality.
Differences in the performance of the mineral-based treatments were more systematic than for non-ericaceous plants with fine perlite being most productive, and mixes containing vermiculite being generally poorest.

The above findings are discussed in relation to the physical and nutritional characteristics of the substrates.

International Symposium on Growing Media & Plant Nutrition in Horticulture

C.A. Smith, P. MacDonald, A.M. Sword

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1995.401.19