Ornamental Bedding Plants

About this book

Traditionally, bedding plants are those plants used to provide colour in summer garden beds. Although some writers include any herbaceous plant started under controlled environmental conditions and sold for outdoor use, embracing a number of fruit and vegetable crops, in this book ornamental bedding plants include tender herbaceous ornamental annuals and biennials only. As with other titles in this series, the aim of Ornamental Bedding Plants is to present scientific principles that underlie production practices. The author discusses traditional and plug methods of production, the latter having revolutionized mass market production during the last decade. The principles of propagation and growing on, including the role of nutrition and media, temperature, light, supplemental carbon dioxide and growth regulators, are described. Aspects of postproduction, diseases and pests, and mechanization, are also considered. There is also an appendix providing production guidelines for 15 major bedding plant species, including begonia, impatiens, petunia, marigolds and pansies. Written by one of America's foremost horticultural scientists and writers, Ornamental Bedding Plants is invaluable for plant producers or growers, as well as for students of ornamental or amenity horticulture.

Contents

1: Introduction
2: Occurrence by family
3: Horticultural uses
4: Breeding and selection
5: Commercial methods of bedding plant production - traditional and plugs
6: Physiology and Propagation
7: Seed propagation
8: Commercial practices for seed germination
9: Other means of propagation
10: Growing-on
11: Nutrition and media
12: Temperature
13: Light
14: Supplemental carbon dioxide
15: Growth regulation of bedding plants crops
16: Finishing
17: Postproduction
18: Postproduction of plugs
19: Postproduction of the finished bedding plant
20: Diseases and Pests
21: Control of diseases and pests
22: Disease and pest organisms
23: Mechanization of production
24: The future
25: Appendix: Guidelines for commercial production of 15 bedding plant crops
   a: Antirrhinum majus (Snapdragon)
   b: Begonia semperflorens-cultorum (Wax begonia, fibrous begonia)
   c: Begonia tuberhybrida (Tuberous begonia)
   d: Catharanthus roseus (Madagascar periwinkle, Vinca)
   e: Celosia argentea (Cockscomb, Celosia)
   f: Impatiens walleriana (Impatiens)
   g: Impatiens x hybrida (I. hawkeri) (New Guinea impatiens)
   h: Lobelia erinus (Lobelia)
   i: Pelargonium x hortorum (Annual geranium)
   j: Petunia x hybrida (Petunia)
   k: Primula x polyantha (P. acaulis) (Primrose)
   l: Salvia splendens (Salvia)
   m: Senecio cineraria (Dusty miller)
   n: Tagetes erecta, T. patula (African, French marigold)
   o: Viola x wittrockiana (Pansy)
26: References
27: Index

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