Effects of Irrigation Frequency and A Water-Absorbing Polymer Amendment on Ligustrum Growth and Moisture Retention by a Container Medium
Amending a 2 pine bark: 1 Canadian peat: 1 sand (by vol) container medium with 0, 1.2, 2.4, 3.6 or 6 kg/m3 (0, 2, 4, 6 and 10 lbs/yd3) of a water-absorbing polymer, Moisturite3, did not influence the volume of water held at tensions less than 100 cm (39 in). Greenhouse-grown Ligustrum japonicum wilted when irrigated (920 ml/application; 31 oz) every 12 days; however, more frequent irrigation treatments (every 6 and 3 days) reduced shoot and root dry weights. Dry weights were not affected by polymer amendment rates nor were container medium temperatures different 1, 2 or 3 days after irrigation.
Contributor Notes
Florida Experiment Station Journal Series No. 7547. The authors gratefully acknowledge Claudia Larsen for her excellent technical assistance and Celanese, Inc. for financial assistance.
2Associate Professors, Department of Ornamental Horticulture.