The genus is known from eastern-central Brazil, have yielded several of Hohenbergia that where most of the species are terrestrial in coastal areas. might offer new shapes and colors. As more directed col Portea petropolitana forms large beds of thin green leaves lecting and hybridizing takes place with a new awareness with black spines and tall reddish inflorescenses with bluish of interest in landscape applications, we can expect many flowers yielding blue berries. There are two forms avail new additions to our list of available species. able: P. var. petropolitana with a smaller, tighter floral head of more intense color, and; P. var. extensa, with a larger Literature Cited and lighter colored floral head. Other genera and many more species are now moving 1. Wilson, B. and C. Wilson. 1974. Bromeliads in cultivation. Hurricane into the southern Florida horticultural scene. Recent col House Publishers, Inc. Coconut Grove, FL. lections from the sandybeach area of the State of Salvador, 2. Anon. 1979. International checklist ofbromeliad hybrids. Bromeliad Society, Inc. Los Angeles, CA.

Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 100:163-165. 1987.

HELICONIA AS A POT

Dexter Ball Manatee Sound Farm P.O. Box 14516 Bradenton, Florida 34280 Another continues to use it in high light interiors. But all this has taken much work in educating clients. Mark says Heliconia's Florida introduction by Broschat and Don- that on one of his northern trips he saw clients put his selman at IFAS in Ft. Lauderdale as a cut crop in 1984 and heliconia in cool, low-light greenhouses in midwinter—the its subsequent metamorphosis into a pot crop is a textbook opposite of what H. psittacorum requires, which is high light case of what historians call the Law of Unintended Effect: and heat. It has been a long process but now Kraft is being That which someone sets out to do (in this case, two plant viewed as a grower who knows heliconia well. And the scientists after a new cut crop) winds up spectacularly dif customers are responding. ferent than first envisioned. Such is the way of research, Now Mark is testing heliconia species to offer ayear and, in this case, progress. For Florida cut crop growers, round assortment of blooms. He sees Heliconia angusta with few exceptions, it was a non-response (There is still a 'Holiday' a natural for winter 8-inch pot sales. He is look small high-margin, high-quality market which Florida ing at Tropical Nights® Pink' for spring sales since pink is growers can service. Hawaii, Jamaica and East Africa can a color people want then, and also 'Tropical Nights® not send to northern U. S. markets anythingnear the qual Tangerine' and 'Andromeda' for midsummer sales. ity which Florida growers can). Bill Colvin at Foliage Corp. of Florida in Plymouth is So Broschat and Donselman, listening to what growers in his third year of production. He gets $4.50 for a 6-inch are telling them, have now reduced their cut crop work pot plant and $1.50 for a 4-inch pot plant. As*a long-lasting and are testing ways of decreasing the size of heliconia pot blooming plant, which will continue to bloom under high . This area shows promise and is important to the light, it's a very successful item for Colvin. Although he future of Heliconia psittacorum, the species we are mainly thinks he'll see some price softening next year, he's de concerned with. The market wants a complete color range veloping new colors to help support margins in the future. of H. psittacorum in a 6-inch line produced year round. His main sale is to East Coast and Midwest garden centers, We're not there yet; we have the color range, but plants plus wholesalers who sell mainly to florists. are available only in summer, fall, and winter; rarely in the Lovell Farms in Miami has also been growing heliconia spring. since its Florida introduction. Jana Reid there emphasizes that heliconia is no different than any other new item: You've got to sell it. She compares it loosely to bird of Markets paradise when describing it to her customers. She has put Mark Friedrich at Kraft Gardens has been working on together several special promotions to regional grocery heliconia since its introduction as a pot plant. While he chains with very good results. All this marketing makes for sees heliconia's best use as a 6-inch pot he sees opportunity good margins—she's getting $8.00 for an 8-inch, 2-gallon in 8-inch. He thinks that for those growers willing to mar pot and $4.75 for a 6-inch pot. ket to their customers, and in heliconia's case this means Mark Wilson at Greendale Nursery in Miami puts teaching the customers, heliconia can be a continuing pro 'Golden Torch' and 'Andromeda' into 8- and 10-inch and fitable item. We're in a shake-out period, separating those 'Choconiana' into 6-inch pots. He sees a good continuing who are willing to really learn about a new crop from those market in the florist trade for 6- and 8-inch pot sizes and preferring to go on to other crops. Mark sees this happen ships these to customers in Europe where the margins are with every new introduction. He has stuck with it and is highest. He gets $4.00 for a 6-inch and $8.50 for an 8-inch apparently profiting. For example, he continues to profit pot. His customers like heliconia because it's new, exotic, ably sell 10- and 14-inch 'Golden Torch', a variety many compact and flowering. have discarded as too common, to select northern U.S.A. Bo Nye of Nye Brands in Lantana, Florida, is very and European accounts. One buyer planted it in a small pleased with his first crop and plans on expanding for Manhattan park and is getting enormous response. 1988.

Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 100: 1987. 163 In the San Francisco Bay Area heliconia is being trialed Light. I collect H pnttacorum at sea level in 12 000- as a hXvalue relatively low-volume florist crop. As Larry 14,000 footcandles in French Guiana just north of the Paulger the Vaughan representative who is introducing it equator. It loves full sun. Benny Tjia at the University of Sc^yfwSS^Sw items always go down, never Florida at Gainesville found a high correlation between says, ma g ^^ ^ ^^^ as a di bl t a d fe^^es Y ou'll pickup some qua, v fe g he ca,,s ~L^tp *, ^^ Keep in°mind that the above prices may not hold growers are growing in full sun to get bud count, then another vear and that they reflect the innovators' profit. covering for a couple ot weeks. SrLoveTl, Nye and Greendale all have extra costs in Fertilization. Since H psittacorum is terminally inflores- their trialing programs. For every successful new genus cent and blooms normally from fifth to seventh leaf stage, there are numerous failures. Those growers who in a year the sooner you get the plant to this P^h^more fer- or two decide to grow some 'Choconiana' or 'Golden tihzer you give it), the quicker you get blooms. That is one Torch' (varieties which will most likely drop in value first) school of thought. The other (of which Mark Wilson is a should not expect such high margins. proponent) believes in running them leaner. He s seen too F & many plants on the market grown in too much shade, with too much fertilizer and water. The answer is to regulate Culture fertilizer according to amount of light and temperature. Heliconia as a pot plant is commercially only three We get excellent results using Osmocote 18-6-12 at highest years old so we have a way to go before we perfect culture. label rate, 300 ppm supplemental liquid feed with minors Look for substantial improvements in this area over the at each watering plus twice a week foliar feed. But then we next year. Several important growers plus Broschat, Don- grow mostly in full sun and never in anything darker than selman and Tjia are working to reduce crop time and single-layer shade cloth. And we aren't in business to sell decrease size. potted plants (which could very well burn when given m- Timing. Look for a 12- to 24-week crop depending on sufficient water at the retail level). What our regimen season. The cooler and darker you run them, the longer shows, however, is heliconia's voracious appetite for nitro- will be the crop time. That is, if you start in December and gen. We have yet to burn one from too much feed. We run them at 60°F nights, look for a 20- to 24-week crop. If need experience in this area. For now we can say to watch you start them in May and have no problems with 70°F fertilizer closely in anything darker than 30% shade, nights and excellent light, you'll get a crop in 12 weeks, Planting and Spacing. Depending on season and indi- faster with experience. As Tim Broschat reported at the vidual operations, growers can plant rhizomes or plantlets Heliconia Society International conference in June of 1987 (stock comes in both forms depending on species and vari- in Hawaii, the limiting factor in winter seems to be mostly ety) directly into final pots, into interim pots or into rooting footcandles. You can run them at 75° nights and not get beds. There is not yet a standard method. Plant four or much more production than at 65°. The limiting factor five rhizomes or plantlets to a 10-inch, three or four to an outdoors in best light seems to be temperature. This is 8-inch, and three to a 6-inch pot. Each of these plants will important to central and south Florida in early spring and roughly triple during the next three to six months. When late fall. planting plantlets, remember that these plantlets are used Rooting. It is extremely important to start heliconia off only for establishing growth and not for sale when they correctly. Where growers have problems in rooting it is bloom. Cut these old plantlets off at soil level after new nearly always caused by heavy, wet soil. Heliconia require growth has occurred, when new plantlets have grown and a warm (70°F night), very light (peat/perlite) mix to start. are taking up water. This occurs roughly in the second or Growers using heavy pine bark mixes and not paying at- third month of growth. Space all sizes pot to pot until tendon to watering or planting depth are sure to run into plants start to crowd, about three or four months, then problems. Heavier mixes are good for growing on but not finish them off on 30- to 36-inch centers for 10-inch, 24- for rooting. inch centers for 8-inch, and 12-inch centers for 6-inch pots Planting depth can be crucial. If you're using a moist (less for those treated with paclobutrazol). These spacings or damp, not soaking wet, peat/perlite mix in a very warm assume very high light or full sun. house, plant rhizomes at original soil level. You can see Pests. You'll get some red spider mites in the green- this line on the rhizomes. If there is any question about house. Regular seven- to 10-day programs handle the giving the rhizomes a good environment, then plant on problem. We've seen some fungus identified as helmin- the shallow side. Cool, wet feet kill heliconia, especially thosporium which is easily taken care of with fungicide, young plants. We've also seen cucumber mosaic virus on some stressed Temperature. Heliconia psittacorum is a tropical plant. It 'Andromeda' and 'St. Vincent Red' (not related to any likes 70-75°F nights, especially when rooting when it is vul- 'Tropical Nights' variety). Burn all virus infected plants, nerable to cooler temperatures. After plants are estab- Research. With the work that Broschat, Donselman, Tjia lished you can run them somewhat cooler but be sure then and others are doing, we should get more precise culture, to watch your watering. Cool, wet feet kill heliconia. Be- To control plant heights our experiments have shown tween 60° and 70°F plants slow down, between 50° and effective dwarfing with paclobutrazol at 15 to 30 ppm. 60°F growth stops, and below 50°F damage starts. Keep in Apply paclobutrazol after plants are well established, about mind that these temperatures are for H. psittacorum, and 4 to 6 inches. Remember that as a spray paclobutrazol is do not apply to, for example, H. angusta 'Holiday' ('Christ- absorbed through the plant stems and will not spread mas') which can take cooler temperatures. within the plant. This means that the plant must be de-

164 Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 100: 1987. veloped enough so that spray comes in contact with all collective necks out on a crop that is just now gaining na areas of what will be the mature plant. New growth from tional grower interest. underground may not be affected in spray applications. Recommended Varieties, While several important dwarf Broschat and Donselman should give us much better varieties are one to two years away from introduction, we recommendations when their work is finished, we hope by can recommend now for 8- and 10-inch pots: 'Tropical the spring of 1988. They re starting over, looking at other Nights Tangerine* and 'Tropical Nights Pink', 'An growth regulators insteaf of only paclobutrazol (They're dromeda' and 'Golden Torch'. For 6-inch pots: 'Tropical also doing very interesting work on red ginger and banana Nights Tangerine' and 'Tropical Nights Pink' with pac which may lead to new crops for Florida growe). lobutrazol and 'Choconiana' without paclobutrazol. All Benny Tjia reports tentative results using paclobutrazol these are excellent warm-weather crops. For winter sales as a drench at 0.375 mg a.i. per 6-inch pot. He also likes (Christmas and Valentine's Day) look to H. angusa ('Holi the look of ancymidol as a drench since you apparently day' or 'Christmas'). Although this species is more difficult avoid paclobutrazol's rounded leaf effect (more noticeable to grow than H. psittacorum and is in extremely short sup at higher concentrations) and get better leaf spacing. He ply, it will take cooler temperatures and more shade than drenched 'Golden Torch' tissue culture plantlets received the above varieties of H. psittacorum. We strongly recom from Oglesby at about 8 inches and reports no delay in mend that growers trial 'Holiday' before getting into any flowering. All of this, of course, is tentative. Tjia is also real numbers. Manatee Sound Farm has detailed culture examining flowering control, along with Criley in Hawaii, information. In any case, at Christmas and Valentine's Day and production methods of rhizomes. wholesalers and retailers will go to great length to get 'Holi What is interesting in this area of heliconia pot research day' since the red and white blooms say two things: tropics is the velocity of change. Not quite four years ago heliconia and the holiday season. really started as a pot plant. Within those four years we've While we have much to learn about heliconia as a pot come to very nearly having a full color line of chemically plant (there are over 300 species, ten percent of which we controlled 6-inch pot size flowering plants. Compare this think have commercial application), we have enough infor to the time it took Yoder to develop year round mums or mation now on markets and culture to give innovative Ecke to develop the poinsettia. This heliconia success has growers a very profitable crop. Those growers approp substantially been achieved through Florida growers and riately working in new profitable crops stand to benefit researchers working in concert. Broschat, Donselman, most. As the adage goes: Be neither first nor last into some Tjia, Kraft, Lovell, Greendale, and Nye have all stuck their thing new.

Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 100:165-167. 1987.

SUCCESS IN WOODY PLANT TRIALS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

D. Scott Shultz provide a space on the back for the grower to keep cultural Walt Disney World Nursery notes. This section is labeled "Data Entries." All three of P. 0. Box 10,000 these sections need to be maintained in order for the plant Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830 species to be tested and evaluated properly.

Abstract. Many elements are necessary to have a successful Plant Cards woody test program. These include defining objectives, docu The first section of the plant card deals with informa menting results, and overall supervision of the program. tion that will be fed into our "Permanent Plant Recording Using these objectives enables different woody species to be System." This computer program allows us to sort by some tested and evaluated at the Walt Disney World Nursery. of the twenty-four bits of information that have been re corded on this plant (Table 1). This is useful for knowing The woody plant trials are an integral part of our hor ticulture program at Walt Disney World. We need woody Table 1. Data included in the Permanent Plant Recording System. plants to be tried and evaluated that are relatively new or

under used in the central Florida area. We have been suc 1. SCIENTIFIC NAME 13. DIRECT SOURCE cessful in this program by documenting our evaluations in 2. COMMON NAME 14. ORIGINAL SOURCE a way that can be retrieved by the growers, supervisors, 3. NAME RECEIVED 15. SOURCE ACCESSION NUMBER 16. HOW RECEIVED and interested industry professionals. 4. ACCESSION NUMBER 5. FAMILY 17. DATE RECEIVED 6. COLLECTION 18. NUMBER RECEIVED Documentation Systems 7. NATIVITY 1 19. DISPLAY LABEL 8. NATIVITY 2 20. DISPLAY COLOR Our plant cards are the "roots" of our entire documen 9. AUTHORITY 21. DISPLAY PERIOD tation system. From these cards, information is logged in 10. LOCATION 1 22. FORM 11. LOCATION 2 23. PHOTO that later "feeds" our "Permanent Plant Recording System" 12. LOCATION 3 24. DEAD FILE (1) and "Woody Plant Trials" booklet. These cards also

Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 100: 1987. 165