ALEXIS WHITE

This week in lab we looked at how each crop had changed.  Most of the crops were flowering or had buds on them. 

My mixed container has grown a lot and the Ipomoea needed to be trimmed away from the center of the pot. 

We got to take home our tomatoes, cosmos, and alyssum.  We thinned our peppers to 1 seedling per cell and petunias to 3 seedlings per cell.  We transplanted 2 basil cells to 4.5″ pots. 

I had no new bugs on my sticky cards. 

I measured the crops for my crop portfolio.  Tango Dark Red Zonal Geranium was 20 cm tall and 30 cm wide.  Sophie Cascade Ivy Geranium was 27 cm tall and 60 cm wide.  ‘Miramar’ Chrysanthemum was 19 cm tall and 29 cm wide.  The Snapdragon mix was 76 cm tall and 24 cm wide. 

We did not have to do EC and pH readings this week. 

This week in lab I potted ‘Indian Summer’ Rudbeckia in 4, 1 qt pots.  I potted 1 plug per pot in Sunshine #1 media and watered them in with 200 ppm 20-10-20.  I put 2 pots on my bench and 2 pots on the LD night interruption bench.  I potted a vegetative annual mix including Superbells Tequilla Sunrise Calibrachoa, ‘Rustic Orange’ Coleus, ‘Nagano’ Heliotropium, Angelface Blue Angelonia, and ‘Margarita’ Ipomoea. The 5 cuttings were potted in a plus pattern in a 10” decorative pot  in Sunshine #1 media also.

Nutrition: My Rudbeckia and Vegetative Annual Mix are being fertigated with 200ppm 20-10-20.  All fertigation and irrigation rates are the same.  This week I took EC and pH readings on my Sophie Cascade Ivy Geraniums and my Easter Lilies.  The EC on my geraniums was 0.8 and the pH was 7.2.  The EC on my Easter Lilies was 1.2 and the pH was 7.1.

Cultural Treatments: This week I had to thin my seed flats to one seedling per cell using scissors.  When thinning I chose the healthiest, most mature seedling.  I had to tie another string grid on my snapdragons for support.  I had to disbud all my geraniums for the last time.  I removed blind shoots from my azaleas.  This week my Easter lily buds measured at 7 days to open.  If this were a crop for sale the temperature would need to be lowered to slow the opening of the buds.  I also had to disbud my Zinnias to encourage branching.   My Rudbeckia were divided between my bench and the LD night interruption bench, 2 were placed on each bench.

This week in lab we sowed tomato, cosmos, basil, petunia, ornamental pepper, and alyssum seed into 1 six pack for each.  The tomatos, cosmos, and basil needed extra media ontop for germination, while the petunia, ornamental pepper, and alyssum need light to germinate so we didn’t cover the seed with media.  We sowed them in Metro Mix 200 media.

I sowed 1 flat of ‘Durango Tangerine’ marigolds in Metro Mix 200 media with 2 seeds per cell and covered lightly with media. 

We potted 4, 5″ pots of zinnia ‘Profusion White’ into Sunshine #1 media. We put 1 plug per pot and watered them in with 200 ppm 20-10-20

We changed the fertilizer on chives, geraniums, and snapdragons to 200 ppm 20-10-20.  We tied another string grid on the snapdragons for support.  We removed the blind shoots from the azaleas and removed flower buds and dead leaves from the geraniums.  The Easter lilies were growing towards one side, so we rotated them.  I measured the buds on my Easter lilies and they were 7.5 cm long, which means they have about 11 days to flower. 

I took EC and pH readings on Tango zonal geranium and Roanoke mum.  Tango had an EC of .9 and a pH of 7.2.  Roanoke had an EC of 1 and a pH of 7.2. 

I found 1 new fungus gnat on my sticky card. 

I measured my 4 crops for the crop portfolio.  Tango was 12.5 cm tall and 28 cm wide.  Sophie Cascade was 18 cm tall and 32 cm wide.  Miramar was 13 cm tall and 28 cm wide.  and the snapdragons were 32 cm tall and 30 cm wide. 

This week in lab we sprayed B-nine at 2500 ppm on our mums. 

We removed any flower buds and dead leaves from both the  ivy geranium baskets and the zonal geraniuims and sprayed Florel at 350 ppm. 

We tied another string grid on the pot for our snapdragons. 

On the azaleas, we removed any blind shoots. 

We measured the buds on the Easter lilies, and my buds were 4 cm long and have 20 days to flower. 

I took pH and EC readings on Miramar mums and Avendia geraniums.  Miramar had a pH of 6.8 and an EC of .5.  Avendia had a pH of 6.6 and an EC 1.8. 

I found no new bugs on my sticky card. 

I also took measurements on my 4 crops for my crop portfolio.  Tango was 13.5 cm tall and 25 cm wide.  Sophie Cascade was 15.5 cm tall and 38 cm wide.  Miramar was 12 cm tall and 30 cm wide.  Snapdragons were 26 cm tall and 41 cm wide. 

This week in lab we moved the mums onto our bench to start short days and also respaced our bench. 

On the ivy geraniums we did a soft pinch on the main branch of each plant.  We disbuded them and attatched the hangers to the pots. 

We recieved 3 cultivars of azaleas, Prize, Scarlet, and Remembrance.  We did a blind shoot removal on each pot.  Prize was 24.5 cm tall and 45 cm wide.  Scarlet was 22 cm tall and 35 cm wide.  Remembrance was 15 cm tall and 41 cm wide. 

We tried to measure the visible buds on the Easter lilies.  We also did a sprench of Gnatrol for fungus gnats.

I took EC and pH readings on Sophie ivy geraniums and Easter lilies.  Sophie ivy geraniums had an EC of 1.4 and a pH of 6.2.  Easter lilies had an EC of .6 and a pH of 6.3. 

I counted 10 fungus gnats on my sticky card. 

I also took measurements of my 4 crop portfolio crops.  Tango red was 11 cm tall and 17.5 cm wide.  Sophie Cascade was 15.5 cm tall and 35 cm wide.  Miramar was 14 cm tall and 32 cm wide.  Snapdragons were 21 cm tall and 36 cm wide. 

This week in lab we potted up onion chives, made string grids for support on our snapdragon pots, and I took EC and pH readings on snapdragons and the ‘Boston Jr’ ferns.  We also sprayed our geraniums with pgr Florel 350 ppm. 

Onion chives-  We potted 4, 4.5″ pots with 5 cuttings into Sunshine #1 media.  We watered them in and they will be fertilized  with 200 ppm 15-16-17.  The chives were 18.5 cm tall and 26 cm wide. 

We removed flower buds and dead leaves from the ivy geraniums an sprayed pgr Florel 350 ppm. 

We pinched 7 nodes and removed dead leaves from the mums.

We spaced the geraniums and removed flower buds and dead leaves.  We also sprayed with pgr Florel 350 ppm. 

My EC and pH readings were done on snapdragons and ‘Boston Junior’ fern.  The snapdragons had an EC of 5.9 and a pH of 4.3.  The ‘Boston Junior’ fern had an EC of 6 and a pH of 2.5. 

 I counted 12 fungus gnats on my sticky card. 

I took measurements of my crop portfolio crops.  Tango Dark Red zonal geranium was 14 cm tall and 27 cm wide.  Sophie Cascade ivy geranium was 13 cm tall and 32 cm wide.  ‘Miramar’ chrysanthemum was 8 cm tall and 21 cm wide. Snapdragon mix was 17.5 cm tall and 33 cm wide. 

Marathon was applied 2/4/08 at the following rate: 1/3 tsp./pot for the zonal geraniums, mums, and Easter lilies.  2/3 tsp/pot for the ivy geraniums. Banrot was applied 2/4/08 at 8 oz./100 gal. to all geraniums, mums, Easter lilies, snapdragons, and ferns.

This week in lab we potted up ferns and snapdragons.  I also took EC and pH readings on the ‘Miramar’ mums and the ‘Avendia Mosaic Red’ geraniums. 

Ferns- We potted up 4 cultivars of ferns, ‘Boston Junior’, ‘Emerald Vase’, ‘Southern Maidenhair’, and ‘Rosy Maidenhair’. We used 2, 5″ pots for each cultivar, and each pot had 1 plug placed in the center of the pot in SunShine LC1.  We watered them in with clear water, but on the weekends they will be watered with 200 ppm 20-10-20. 

 Snapdragons- We potted up 5 cultivars of snapdragons, Potomac Appleblossom, Cherry Rose, Early Orange, Early Pink, and Early Rose.  We used 2, 14″ pots with 2 of each cultivar in each pot.  We placed 6 plugs around the outside and 4 plugs in the inside in SunShine LC1.  We put tomato cages in the pots for support.  We watered them in with 200 ppm 15-16-17. 

I took the EC and pH readings on the ‘Miramar’ mums and the ‘Avendia Mosaic Red’ geraniums. The ‘Miramar’ mums had an EC of 5 and a pH of 6.1.  The ‘Avendia Mosaic Red’ geraniums had an EC of 8 and a pH of 6.1. 

We did a leaf count on our Easter Lilies and we saw that we are unfolding 1.3 leaves per day and we need to be unfolding 1.5 leaves per day. 

I counted one fungus gnat on my sticky card. 

This week in lab we potted up mums, zonal geraniums, and ivy geraniums and  recieved Easter lilies.  We also picked our watering partner. 

Mums- We potted up 2 cultivars of mums, ‘Roanoke’ and ‘Miramar.’  We used 3, 6″ pots for each of the cultivars, and each pot had 5 rooted cuttings.  We evenly spaced the cuttings around the edge of the pot and angled out in ProMix BX soil.  We watered them in with 300 ppm 20-10-20 and placed them on the blackcloth bench. ‘Roanoke’ was 13 cm tall and 22 cm wide.  ‘Miramar’ was 8 cm tall and 21 cm wide.

Zonal geraniums- We potted up 2 cultivars of geraniums, “Tango Deep Red” and “Avendia Mosaic Red.”  We used 3, 5″ pots for the “Tango Deep Red” and 3, 6″ pots for the “Avendia Mosaic Red.” Each pot had 1 rooted cutting placed in the center of the pot in ProMix BX soil.  We watered them in with 200 ppm 15-16-17.  “Tango Deep Red” was 10.5 cm tall and 13 cm wide. “Avendia Mosaic Red” was 12 cm tall and 16 cm wide.

Ivy geraniums- We potted 1 cultivar, ‘Sophie Cascade’ into 2, 10″ hanging baskets.  Each hanging basket had 6 rooted cuttings placed in a trianglular pattern in ProMix BX soil.  We watered them in with 200 ppm 15-16-17. ’Sophie Cascade’ was 13 cm tall and 30 cm wide.

Easter lilies- We recieved 3, 6″ pots of Easter lilies.  We watered them in with 200 ppm 15-0-15. 

We also put our sticky cards out in the middle of our plants. 

My name is Alexis Dale White and I am a junior from Celina,TX. My favorite thing to do is fish. I have worked at a greenhouse, Shades of Green, doing propagation of native Texas plants for over 5 years. I have also worked at Ellison’s Greenhouse doing propagation. I would like to own a Tree farm someday.