A 2001 survey of 102 nurseries that were members of the Georgia Green Industry Association was conducted to assess irrigation practices of container ornamental nurseries. Mean nursery size was 64 acres (26 ha) and mean annual revenue was about $3 million. About 50% of the irrigation water was from wells and the other 50% came from surface sources, such as collection basins. Irrigation in smaller containers, including #1, #3, and #5, was applied primarily by overhead methods, while larger containers (#7, #15, #25) made extensive use of direct application methods, such as drip or spray stakes. Frequency of irrigation in the summer growing months was about three times that of the winter season. Georgia nurseries use irrigation practices suggested in Southern Nursery Association best management practices, including collection of runoff water (48%), cyclic irrigation (44%), watering in the morning (92%), and grass strips between the production beds and drainage areas (60%).

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Spectacular flowers and shade tolerance are among the reasons for the azalea’s popularity as a landscape plant in North and Central Florida. They enhance the home landscape as foundation or mass plantings and as background or foreground plants, depending on their size. They are also sometimes pruned into single-trunked standards that serve as specimen plants. Generally, their open, relaxed growth habit is more suited to informal landscape designs. This revised 5-page fact sheet was written by Sydney Park Brown, Dewayne L. Ingram, and James T. Midcap, and published by the UF Department of Environmental Horticulture, January 2012. ENH37/MG019: Azaleas at a Glance (ufl.edu)

A production function was estimated for Ligustrum japonicum L. A medium comprised of 1 peatmoss: 2 sand: 2 pinebark with 10.8 g of fertilizer and 19.3 liters of water per container provides for the least cost production of a “salable” 70 g (dry weight) plant. The method is outlined for determining economic optimality for salable production.