m 



Since 1890 

 all your needs: 



iMc/u//^ 



wo. Box 160. King of Pnaaia. PA i 

 (215)205-4200 



SCOTT A. STEWART 



421P>rtiStrM(WMt 



nU: 806-664-4078 



NEW HAMPSHIRE PLANT GROWERS ASSOCIATION 



WINTER MEETINC 1995 



Wednesday, January 18, 



Granite Street Bar & Grill 



iVJanchester, NH 



See the bach cover \or information 



MICHAUD 



Nurseries & Greenhouses, Inc. 



Route 85, PO Box 334, Exeter, NH 03833 

 (603) 772-3698 



Wholesale & Retail 



Annuals, Perennials, Nursery Stock, 

 Landscape Supplies 



75 CHESTNUT HILL, RTE 190 

 STAFFORD SPRINGS, CT 06076 



W. H. MILIKOWSKI, INC. 



GREENHOUSE SUPPLIES & EQUIPMENT 



PLANTS BULBS SEEDS 



ALL YOUR GREENHOUSE NEEDS 



GROW WITH US 



Conn. 203-684-5811 

 Out of Stale 800-243-7170 



OCTOBER NOVEMBER 



PPGA HIGHLIGHTS 



Stock Plant Recommendations 



Since stock plants provide the starting material 

 for the entire next crop, their quality and care is 

 very important 



Start with clean new stock, virus-indexed if possible 

 Provide a clean area for them. Removal of weeds and 

 sanitizing with a dilute bleach solution is the minimum 

 treatment that should be done in an area with no his- 

 tory of problems with thrips or bacterial infections. Areas 

 where thrips or bacteria have been a problem must be 

 fumigated 



The goal of stock plant management is to keep the 

 plants actively growing and healthy Use a soilless me- 

 dium with excellent drainage, such as a mixture based 

 on 60% peat moss, 20% perlite and 20% vermlculite, with 

 dolomitic lime added for pH adjustment 



Monitor the fertility level of the media Regular track- 

 ing of electrical conductivity (EC) levels allows you to re- 

 spond to conditions in the pot, and will eliminate many 

 problems. Generally an EC of 0.9 to 1.0 mS (12 extrac- 

 tion methodi provides sufficient nutrients for healthy 

 growth 



Avoid using oversized containers — 6-inch pots should 

 be adequate for New Guinea impatiens, and 7 or 8-inch 

 pots for geraniums 



The presence of buds or flowers on cuttings causes 

 problems in propagation, so keep stock plants vegetative. 



Prevent flowering in short-day plants such as poinset- 

 tias by lighting them during the night 



Long-day plants must be shaded to provide long 

 nights, or treated with chemical plant growth regulators 

 to prohibit flowering An ethylene source such as Florel 

 can be used to maintain vegetative growth Wait 2 weeks 

 after the treatment before taking cuttings 



For production of flowering plants, ethylene treat- 

 ments should stop weeks before sale of New Guinea 

 impatiens, and 7 weeks before sale of fuchsia or gerani- 

 ums Gibberellic acid and Cycocel also can improve cut- 

 ting quality, and will not reduce the yield of cuttings 

 harvested 



The effectiveness of all growth regulators is strongly 

 influenced by environmental conditions, cultivar, and the 

 age of the plant Its a good idea to trial these chemicals 

 on a small number of plants first, and record the re- 

 sults, 



Prevent fungal diseases on the stock plants, not in 

 the propagation beds Spraying fungicides on the rooting 

 cuttings, and then turning on the mist, is very ineffec- 

 tive In addition, try to minimize the number of visitors 

 or salespeople that come into contact with your stock 

 plants 



Adapted from a presenUition by Mithem Sawaya. Focus Green- 

 house Management PPCA Conjerence. October. |QQ3, Tampa. 

 Florida Transcribed bi) Qathy 'Whitman, mchigan Slate Mniver- 

 sitij [from PPGA Uews. September. 10041 



25 



