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.

For two years (2006 − 2007), seedlings and young plants of Helleborus lividus Aiton were grown in containers with a peat substrate, which was deacidified with calcium carbonate at the following doses: 2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 10.0 g dm-3. The plants were divided into two groups in each variant of CaCO3 dosage, one fertilized with a solution of a lower (0.1%) and the other with a higher (0.3%) concentration of Peters Professional PL Special (15:11:29). Helleborus lividus growth in the first year of cultivation depended on the calcium carbonate dose. Taller plants, with a higher number of leaves, were produced using calcium carbonate at a dose of CaCO3 2.5-5.0 g dm-3. In the second year of cultivation good quality plants - taller, with higher numbers of leaves and shoots, were produced when grown in a substrate with 2.5-7.5 g CaCO3 per dm3. The application of solutions of various concentrations in top dressing did not have an effect on the growth of Helleborus lividus in the first year of cultivation, while in the second year taller plants, with more leaves as well as flowers and buds, were produced when applying a 0.3% fertilizer solution.

No abstract

A b s t r a c tAn experiment was conducted on the effect of substrate type on growth of Corsican hellebore (Helleborus argutifolius Viviani). Plants were grown for two years in pots with substrates whose components included Klasmann highmoor peat and Hartmann highmoor peat, mineral soil, expanded clay and perlite at various volumetric ratios. Vegetative growth and flowering were observed in hellebores. It was shown that substrates exhibited a varied effect on plant growth. Corsican hellebore in a substrate with a considerable addition of mineral soil was lower, but more branched, and it did not form inflorescences. An optimal medium for growing H. argutifolius in pots was Hartmann's de-acidified peat + mineral soil (1:1 v:v). In this medium vegetative growth of plants was extensive, flowering was early and abundant, and long peduncles were produced.

AbstraktWstęp. Coraz większy asortyment roślin o ozdobnych liściach znajduje zastosowanie do okrywania powierzchni gruntu zamiast trawnika. W pracy przedstawiono przydatność nowych odmian żurawek (Heuchera L.) do uprawy w miejscach słonecznych w terenach zieleni miejskiej. Materiał i metody. Ocenie poddano 25 odmian żurawki. Rośliny posadzono w gruncie w rozstawie 40 × 40 cm. W czteroletnich badaniach wykonanych w latach 2010-2013 określono na podstawie średnicy roślin okrycie gleby. Wyniki. Spośród wszystkich badanych odmian pełne okrycie powierzchni gruntu nastąpiło w drugim roku uprawy u 12% odmian, w trzecim roku u 40%, a w czwartym roku u 76%. Na skutek zasychających liści u 'Amber Waves', 'Creme Brule' oraz 'Southern Comfort' w drugim i trzecim roku nastąpiło zmniejszenie powierzchni okrycia gleby, a w konsekwencji stwierdzono zaschnięcie roślin. W trzecim roku uprawy niewielkie zmniejszenie się powierzchni okrycia gleby w porównaniu z rokiem wcześniejszym obserwowano również u odmian: 'Beauty Color' (o 11%), 'Ginger Ale' (o 28%), 'Raspberry Ripple' (o 23%) oraz 'Regina' (o 1%), jednak w czwartym roku stwierdzono u nich już prawie pełne okrycie gleby. Wnioski. Co roku licznie pojawiające się nowe odmiany żurawek nie są oceniane pod kątem możliwości zastosowania w terenach zieleni miejskiej. Podjęte badania wykazały przydatność większości badanych odmian jako roślin okrywowych, jednak warto prowadzić obserwacje, sadząc rośliny w różnej rozstawie i na kilku stanowiskach.