Use of controlled-release fertilizers (CRF) has been recommended to the landscape service industry as a best management practice for establishing landscape plants. However, application practices vary considerably among professionals and recommendations are lacking for the appropriate type (tablet vs. granular), application rate, and timing of CRF to establish herbaceous perennials. In this study, cigar plant (Cuphea ignea), daylily (Hemerocallis ‘Stella de Oro’), gaura (Gaura lindheimeri ‘Siskiyou Pink’), lantana (Lantana camara ‘New Gold’), mexican heather (Cuphea hyssopifolia), purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), and rudbeckia (Rudbeckia fulgida ‘Goldsturm’) were fertilized with granular CRF (GF) 15N–3.9P–10K (8 to 9 month) at 0, 1, 2, or 4 lb/1000 ft2 nitrogen (N) at transplant (no fertilization, GF1, GF2, and GF4, respectively), a split application of GF with 1 lb/1000 ft2 N applied at transplant and 1 lb/1000 ft2 N applied 5-months later (GF2-split), or tablet CRF 16N–3.5P–10K (8 to 9 months) at two tablets per plant (7.5 g) at transplant (TF2). Plant size and visual quality (VQ) at 5 months after transplant (MAT) were improved by fertilization for all perennials except ‘Stella de Oro’ daylily. Compared to GF2, GF4 improved the growth of perennials of larger size and greater biomass production (i.e., cigar plant), but did not further improve their VQ. All perennials grown with TF2 had similar size and quality as those grown with GF2 at 5 MAT. At 15 MAT, no difference was found among fertilizer treatments for surviving perennials except cigar plant. Split application (GF2-split) did not improve overwinter survival or second-year plant growth and quality for most species when compared with GF2. On the basis of these results, we recommend applying two tablets (7.5 g) of 16N–3.5P–10K per plant at transplant to establish the perennials tested in this study.

Yellow nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus) is one of the most troublesome and widespread perennial weeds infesting landscape plantings in the United States. Few selective herbicides are available for managing this weed. A combination of organic mulch with preemergence herbicide may improve control efficacy at tuber emergence and reduce the need for subsequent postemergence applications. However, limited information is available on potential interactions between herbicide placement and mulching and their effect on yellow nutsedge control and landscape plant growth and quality. In this study, control efficacy of preemergence herbicide s-ethyl dipropylthiocarbamate (EPTC) applied at 0, 4, or 6 lb/acre above or under pine straw, pine nuggets, or shredded cypress mulches were evaluated in landscape beds infested with yellow nutsedge and planted with ‘Mystery’ gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides), ‘Stella de Oro’ daylily (Hemerocallis), and ‘Big Blue’ liriope (Liriope muscari). Pine nuggets provided greater yellow nutsedge control compared with shredded cypress during the first 6 weeks after treatment (WAT) in mulch-alone plots. All mulch-alone plots had similar yellow nutsedge shoot densities and were 40% to 60% less than untreated bare soil plots from 6 to 12 WAT. Control efficacy was greater when EPTC was applied under mulch compared with above-mulch applications regardless of mulch products. In addition, EPTC at low rate resulted in similar control as high rate when applied under mulch. No injury was observed on any ornamental plants treated with EPTC. Mulching improved growth, flowering, and overall visual quality of gardenia, but reduced number of flowers in daylily and aboveground biomass in liriope at some sample dates though their visual qualities were unaffected. Based on these preliminary data, EPTC applied preemergence before mulching a new landscape bed or replenishing an existing bed can improve yellow nutsedge control without injuring selected ornamental plants.

Precision vegetable seeders were found to have unexpected variation in seed spacing uniformity. A belt seeder and vacuum seeder were evaluated using cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. capitata group) seeded at different seed spacings to determine if seeder uniformity improved with increasing seed spacing. Seeding uniformity of the belt seeder was not affected by seed spacing, but uniformity of the vacuum seeder was. Variation in seed spacing with the vacuum seeder was consistent in absolute units, thus seed spacing nonuniformity (expressed as a percentage of theoretical spacing) decreased with increasing seed spacing. Operating the vacuum seeder with the air pressure seed release mechanism disengaged improved seeder precision. Uniformity and precision of the belt seeder were better than that of the vacuum seeder.

Stanhay, Carraro, and Gaspardo precision vegetable seeders were evaluated for seeding uniformity with seeds of five vegetable crops—cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. Capitata group), carrot (Daucus carota L.), cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.), onion (Allium cepa L. Cepa group), and spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.). Five measurements [mean, percentage of misses, percentage of multiples, quality of feed, and precision (defined as the coefficient of variation after misses and multiples were discarded)] were used to evaluate seeder uniformity. Using all five measurements provided a more complete determination of the metering uniformity of the seeders than was possible in prior work when only mean and coefficient of variation were used. The belt seeder (Stanhay) was effective at singulating spherical seeds (cabbage) and nearly spherical seeds (onion)as the most precise vacuum seeder (Carraro). Seeding uniformity of all seeders with elongated (carrot and cucumber) or angular (spinach) seeds was inadequate for precision seeding.

A nutrient recirculation system (NRS) was used to assess the ability of four ornamental and three wetland plant species to remove nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) from stormwater runoff. The NRS was filled with a nutrient solution with total N and P concentrations of 11.3 and 3.1 mg·L−1, respectively, to simulate high levels of nutrient contaminations in stormwater. Nutrient removal abilities of herbaceous perennial ornamental plants, canna (Canna ×generalis Bailey) ‘Australia’, iris (Iris pseudacorus L.) ‘Golden Fleece’, calla lily [Zantedeschia aethiopica (L.) Spreng], and dwarf papyrus (Cyperus haspan L.) were compared with those of wetland plants arrow arum [Peltandra virginica (L.) Schott], pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata L.), and bulltongue arrowhead (Sagittaria lancifolia L.) in three experiments. ‘Australia’ canna had the greatest water consumption, total biomass production, and aboveground N and P content followed by pickerelweed. ‘Golden Fleece’ iris had higher tissue N concentrations than canna but much lower biomass production. Dwarf papyrus had similar total biomass as pickerelweed but less shoot biomass. N and P removed from the NRS units planted with canna (98.7% N and 91.8% P) were higher than those planted with iris and arrow arum (31.6% and 31.5% N, and 38.5% and 26.3% P, respectively). NRS units planted with dwarf papyrus had similar nutrient recovery rate as pickerelweed, but much less total N and P were removed as a result of less water consumption. The NRS units planted with calla lily had lower nutrient removal than canna and pickerelweed. Our results suggest that canna is a promising ornamental species for stormwater mitigation, and harvesting the aboveground biomass of canna can effectively remove N and P from the treatment system. However, more research needs to be done to evaluate factors that might affect plant performance in a floating biofiltration system.