Adam Brec PLNT-351 Winter 2017 Prof D.J Donnelly, McGill

Serrisa foetida

Serissa foetida is often referred to as Serissa japonica, Snow Rose or Thousand Stars. Part of the family and a common in Asia, it gets its name ‘foetida’ because of the unpleasant smell generated when bruised. It comes with different colored arranged in 4-6 lobes, but the in the McGill greenhouse has purple/white flowers.

A planting activity in the green house Angular stem cuts at 3/5 of a cm below the node; about 8-12 cm in length were used. The lower 1/3 of the shoots and all flowers were removed. High humidity is recommended to propagate Serissa (McDowell, 1965; Tomlinson, 1990.) so the mist frame was used. Good substrates for the mist frame are perlite or turface. Rooting hormone known to maximize propagation potential (Tajima, 1939.), so the used of Stimroot #1 (0.1 mgL-1 ) was evaluated. Finally, success with the hydroponic system has been observed (Yahun, 2010), so this was tested also. Table 1: Treatments + sample size Medium Sample (n) Samples with Stimroot Perlite 40 20 Turface 40 20 Water 20 none

Materials needed • 2 Styrofoam pots • 1 hydroponic styrofoam pot • Stimroot #1 (0.1 mgL-1 ) • clippers, knife • Serissa foetida • Turface • Perlite • Water

Results Table 1: Results fro propagation of Serissa foetida by stem cuttings in the mist frame or in the mini hydroponic unit. Treatment Treatment Substrate 1 2 Comments No IBA IBA Perlite in 16* 17* Nice roots mist frame 20 20 Nice roots Turface in 19 15 rotting, Variable root system mist frame 1* 4* Very little roots, leaf rotting Hydroponic 20 Smaller roots than perlite and turface A total of 20 cuttings were used per treatment *These cuttings remained on the bench for a long time and were more prone to desiccation. Discussion and conclusion The results indicate that perlite, compared to turface, is a better substrate for propagation of Serrissa foetida by stem cuttings in mist frame. This is because a higher number of cuttings successfully rooted in perlite. The mist frame, compared to hydroponics, is a better tool for propagating Serrissa foetida by stem cuttings. The roots of the cuttings in the hydroponic unit were as long the ones from the mist frame, but way fewer lateral roots were present. Finally, the use of Stimroot #1 did not significantly increase the rooting percentage, or the structure of the root system. Improper propagation for softwood stem cutting will result in a lower success rate. The successful number of propagules were reduced when cuttings were left on the bench for too long .

About me I am a life science student specializing in multidisciplinary studies, with a focus on animal and plant science.

References Cited

McDowell J. 1965. Bonsai: culture and care of miniature trees. 1st ed. Lane Books, Menlo Park, California.

Tajima Y. 1939. Experiments on effects of growth hormones on parthenocarpy and rooting of cuttings in horticultural . Journal of Horticultural Association of Japan. [n.d.; 23 Jan 2017]; 10:281-300. https://ovidsp.tx.ovid.com/sp- 3.23.1b/ovidweb.cgi?&S=KOLKFPIOFCDDHHGANCHKCGLBPIKAAA00&Complete +Reference=S.sh.20%7c1%7c1.

Tomlinson H. 1990. The complete book of bonsai. Abbeville Press, New York.

Yahun R., C. Jiao, T. Qing, W. Chunyan, T. Fuyi and Y. Sichuan. 2010. The researches in water cutting propagation of four landscape plants of rubiaceae. Chinese Agricultural Science. [n.d.; 20 Jan 2017]. http://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTotal- ZNTB201007039.htm

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Raina Fan for the quick movie making tutorial and that mysterious stranger who watered my plants on the weekend and holidays.