Abstract

Media consisting of composted cotton waste (CW) alone and CW in combination with bark or peat moss or both were evaluated for producing two tropical foliage species. Asian bell tree (Radermachera sinica (Hance) Hemsl.) grew satisfactorily in media with 25% or 50% CW, but had less dry weight when produced in CW-amended media with 50% bark. Australian umbrella tree (Brassaia actinophylla Endl.) had less dry weight when produced in media having 50% or more CW. Australian umbrella tree responded the most favorably to the medium containing 25% CW, 50% bark and 25% peat moss which resulted in the poorest Asian bell tree. Plant response to media consisting of CW appeared to be species dependent. Although there were differences in the initial pH of leachates collected from potting media, the differences were small at the termination of this experiment. The electrical conductivity of the leachate varied considerably among various media.