There’s ample advice in the industry on potted mums’ postproduction

care and handling. But the literature gets a little fuzzy when it comes

to more obscure pot crops such as kangaroo paws or cutting-edge cultivars

the likes of ‘Sahara Wind’ hibiscus. Pamper a plant all you want,

it won’t respond with its best performance and longest shelf life unless

it gets what it needs — in the greenhouse and outside it. And research

on plant-specific, care-and-handling practices is key. No one knows better

how important it is that the industry’s postproduction knowledge keeps

pace with plant introductions than postproduction guru Dr. Terril Nell.

Since 1996, Nell’s been leading a research team in Endowment-funded studies

pinpointing individual, flowering-potted-plant crops’ postproduction preferences.

Early in their studies, Nell and his team found that cultivar selection

and production practices (especially plant feeding) impact heavily on potted

plants’ performance outside the greenhouse. A crop’s developmental stage

on shipping, plus transport temperature and duration wield strong influences

on plant longevity, too. More specifically, the team has found that storing

potted lilies for more than 3 days is risky, while abusing display kalanchoes

with low light usually isn’t. Studies on cyclamen, gerberas, and kalanchoes

are complete. And tests on winter-flowering begonias and hydrangeas will

be concluded soon. Exacum, gloxinia, lisianthus, and hibiscus are undergoing

tests now. Over time, the team intends to evaluate each of the crops listed

in the FMA/SAF Grades and Standards guidelines and the much-used Kiplinger

guide Flowering Plants for Interiors.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT RESEARCH-PROJECT LEADER:

Dr. Terril Nell, Postproduction Physiologist, University of Florida

E-MAIL: tan@gnv.ifas.ufl.edu>