Assessment of the usefulness of selected media used in the rooting process of lavender cotton shoot cuttings

Abstract

Lavender cotton (Santolina chamaecyparissus L.) shoot cuttings, obtained from two-year-old mother plants, were rooted in five different media under an unheated foil tunnel. Two ready-made and widely recommended media were used: Hartmann peat substrate and Ceres peat-coconut substrate, as well as three prepared mixtures: high peat + mineral soil, high peat + perlite and high peat + sand. The influence of medium type on the number of rooted cuttings and the quality of the root system was assessed for two cultivation times during a three-year study after eight weeks from the date of cutting. As far as the ready-made rooting substrates are concerned, Ceres peat-coconut substrate turned out to be better when compared with the Hartmann substrate. The number of high quality rooted cuttings was larger when media containing high peat mixed with either mineral soil or sand were used in comparison with the mixture of high peat and perlite.

Adventitious Rooting of Lavandula x intermedia Cuttings

“…Furthermore, successful selection of a propagation substrate is mainly dependent upon biological attributes of the target species (Zheng et al 2020), and the adaptability of a species to a substrate's physiochemical properties (Lemaire 1995). Similar to our results, mixtures of organic and inorganic media components have been found to provide an excellent rooting medium for many plant species (Pascual et al 2018, Szczepaniak et al 2016, Zheng et al 2020. Our results are similar to rooting experiments of Mazare et al (2007), who investigated vegetative propagation of white spruce (Picea glauca Moench 'Conica') cuttings.…”

“…Our data corresponds with a honeybush (Cyclopia subternata Vogel) rooting experiment in which Mabizela et al (2017) report peat moss to be a poor rooting medium. A number of other studies reveal cuttings of many species do not root well within a peat moss medium (Mazare et al 2007, Szczepaniak et al 2016. Perlite medium likely had greater aeration and porosity when compared to peat moss (He and Yi 2014, Lemaire 1995, Mazare et al 2007, Pascual et al 2018.…”

“…addition, Szczepaniak et al (2016) found when rooting cuttings of lavender cotton (Santolina chamaecyparissus L.), cuttings rooted in a peat moss/sand medium had a greater number of roots when compared to cuttings rooted in either peat moss, or a peat moss/perlite mixture. Comparable to our data, Szczepaniak et al (2016) report lavender cotton cuttings produced longer roots when placed in a peat moss/sand medium when compared to cuttings placed in peat moss, or a peat moss/perlite medium. Ranjbar and Ahmadi (2017) found miniature rose (Rosa hybrida L.) cuttings had a greater number of roots when sand was added to a perlite and tea waste compost medium (1:2:2).…”

“…Media selection will also influence cutting rooting success (King et al 2011, Mabizela et al 2017, McIvor et al 2014, Szczepaniak et al 2016. Zheng et al (2020) exposed carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus L.) cuttings to three cocopeat/perlite formulations (1:1, 1:2, 1:3) (throughout this paper, media mixing ratios will be expressed on a volumetric basis).…”

“…Therefore, each media might be considered suitable for rooting certain species (Adugna et al 2015, Davies et al 2018, King et al 2011, Kukkonen and Vesterg 2009. However, adding sand to peat moss increases medium permeability, and may potentially improve medium quality for rooting of cuttings (Kukkonen and Vesterg 2009, Szczepaniak et al 2016, Westervelt 2003.…”