Dianthus Barbatus Barbarini Series
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culturec onnection perennial solutions Dianthus barbatus Barbarini Series With its compact habit and consistency, this popular series of Sweet William always delivers. ianthus barbatus Bar- mance for commercial growers. place them in a warm environment barini is a popular Barbarini is a fi rst-year-fl owering where temperatures can be main- series of Sweet William perennial/biennial that can easily tained at 62-68° F for germination. that delivers consistent be produced and sold in bloom Starting dianthus inside of a germi- By Paul Pilon and uniform perfor- throughout the entire growing nation chamber will increase both D season from April through Sep- the germination rate and percent tember. Additionally, it makes a germination, while decreasing the great fall fl owering plant that can time necessary for all of the seeds be overwintered and will bloom to sprout. It is benefi cial to maintain again the following spring. high humidity (90 percent) until the With its compact habit (6-8 inches cotyledons have emerged. tall) and uniform fl owering, the Bar- The seeds germinate in fi ve to barini series is ideal for production eight days. Following germination, in small container sizes (4- to 6-inch gradually reduce the humidity. pots) and can be easily scheduled Seed should be grown from 62-64° for specifi c ship dates. There is a F. Reduce the moisture levels wide variety of cultivars available somewhat, allowing the growing including Lilac, Purple, Purple medium to dry out slightly before Picotee, Red, Red Picotee, Red Rose watering to help promote rooting. Bicolor, Rose, Salmon, White and Increasing light levels after germi- a mixture of these color cultivars nation will prevent elongation. Fer- called the Formula Mixture. There tilizer can be applied once the true is great consistency between these leaves are present, applying 75- to cultivars in regard to plant habit 100-ppm nitrogen every third irri- and uniformity of bloom. gation or 50 ppm with every irriga- They perform well throughout tion, using a balanced water-sol- USDA Hardiness Zones 3 to 8, uble source. At these temperatures, Above: ‘Barbarini Red Picotee’ Below: ‘Barbarini Red’ where they reach 8-10 inches tall in Barbarini will fi nish the plug stage the landscape. With its attractive, in four to fi ve weeks. full size Sweet William–type fl ower heads and extended bloom time, Production Barbarini is well suited for peren- The Barbarini series is well nial borders, mass plantings, patio suited for commercial production planters and mixed containers. in quart and 1-gallon containers. It performs best when grown in Propagation a moist, well-drained growing Dianthus Barbarini can easily media; most peat-lite or growing be started from seed, available mixes containing peat and bark are from Syngenta Horticultural Ser- well suited for Sweet William pro- vices. Propagators commonly start duction. Most growers transplant a them in small, 288- or 220-cell plug single plug in the center of the pot. trays and sow three seeds per cell. The growing medium should be Light is not required for germina- even with the top of the plug after tion; covering the seed lightly with transplanting; planting the plugs germination mix or vermiculite too deeply may lead to poor estab- will help retain adequate moisture lishment and crown rot in some around the seed during germina- instances. It is best to produce them tion. Moisten the seed fl ats and under high light levels; avoid pro- Brought to you by culturec onnection ducing them under shade. nitrates, or as needed using higher then allow the soil to dry slightly and keep them slightly dry during They are light to moderate feeders. rates. Controlled-release fertilizers between irrigations. production. If additional height con- Providing high or luxury fertility also can be incorporated using a low Under certain circumstances, trol is necessary, they are respon- levels will cause them to appear lush rate. Maintain pH levels at 5.5-6.2. It such as high plant densities and sive to paclobutrazol (Bonzi, Paczol and may delay fl owering. Growers is best to grow them on the slightly humidity levels, it may be necessary and Piccolo) using foliar sprays at commonly deliver nutrients using a dry side, which helps prevent unde- to implement strategies to control 45 ppm or the tank mixture of dami- constant liquid fertilization program, sirable elongation. When irrigation plant height. As mentioned above, nozide (B-Nine or Dazide) at 2,500 feeding at rates of 75- to 100-ppm is necessary, water them thoroughly, avoid providing excessive fertilizers ppm plus uniconazole (Concise or Sumagic) at 5 ppm. Applying one or two spray applications at seven-day intervals should provide adequate height control. Insects and Diseases There are only a few prob- lems with insects or diseases that growers are likely to experience. Aphids, leafminers, thrips and whitefl ies may appear, causing only a minimal amount of injury to dian- thus. Of these insect pests, aphids are usually the most prevalent. The primary diseases growers should watch for are leaf spots caused by the fungal pathogen (Mycosphaerella dianthi) and rust (Puccinia arenariae). Mycosphaerella leaf spots appear as yellow to almost white leaf spots with purple edges. None of these insects or diseases require preventive control strategies. Growers should have routine scouting programs to detect their presence OFA MEMBERSHIP early and to determine if and when control strategies are necessary. Cul- YOUR BUSINESS ADVANTAGE: tural methods such as providing good air circulation and keeping the foliage s Instant access to education dry by not watering late in the day will greatly reduce the occurrence of s Networking opportunities with peers and fungal diseases. allied industries s OFA Short Course: U.S. floriculture’s premier Forcing Dianthus barbatus Barbarini cul- educational and trade show event tivars can easily be grown and sold s Valuable cost savings in bloom and most commonly are produced for retail sales in the late s Have a voice in your industry through spring and early summer months. involvement in OFA This is a fi rst-year-fl owering peren- s Creating demand for flowers and plants MAKE OFA YOUR ASSOCIATION www.ofa.org (614) 487-1117 Barbarini Mix Write in 709 48 GPN November 2008 www.gpnmag.com culturec onnection nial and can be grown without pro- when they are grown at cool tem- plugs can also be acquired from nial Solutions: A Grower’s Guide to viding a cold treatment. However, it peratures with high light levels. many reputable perennial plug Perennial Production. He can be is a cold-benefi cial plant and fl owers producers or plant brokers. GPN reached at (616) 366-8588 or paul@ faster in the spring when vernaliza- Availability perennial-solutions.com. tion is provided. For early spring Seed of Dianthus barbatus Bar- Paul Pilon is a horticultural con- sales, it is benefi cial to provide ver- LearnMore barini series is available to growers sultant, owner of Perennial Solu- For more information nalization to large plugs (72-cell or through Syngenta Flowers (www. tions Consulting (www.perennial- related to this article, go to larger) or containers, which reduces syngentafl owersinc.com). Seed and solutions.com), and author of Peren- www.gpnmag.com/lm.cfm/gp110805 the production time by a couple of weeks. Providing vernalization also reduces the need to produce them under long days. Flowering plants of Barbarini can be produced with or without vernalization throughout =Zgsb`^kl^qm^glbo^[^]]bg` the entire growing season (typically ieZgm\hee^\mbhgblZoZbeZ[e^_khf April through September). It fl owers eb\^gl^]ikhiZ`Zmhklmakhn`ahnm most rapidly when grown with Ghkma:f^kb\Z' long days and high light levels. As Calibrachoa mentioned above, providing a cold Call your broker for details. treatment will allow them to fl ower under shorter photoperiods. ™ There are three approaches to producing fl owering containers of NOA Barbarini cultivars. The fi rst entails planting unvernalized plugs into the fi nal container during early to mid-fall, allow them to bulk up slightly, vernalize them, and force them to bloom in the early spring. The second strategy involves trans- planting vernalized plugs into the fi nal containers during the late winter and forcing them into fl ower. The last method entails planting unvernalized materials planted in Noa™ Yellow Cream the early spring through summer months and producing them for same-year sales. Methods using vernalized mate- Flowers in short days (10 hours) rials require slightly less produc- tion time than when unvernalized Flowers open early in the morning starting materials are used. For Blooms from early spring until late autumn example, vernalized plants can be forced into bloom in six to seven Strongly branched, compact trailing growth habit weeks at 65° F, whereas unvernal- ™ ized plants would take eight to nine The Noa series is splendid for baskets, pots, mixed weeks at the same growing temper- containers and window boxes placed outdoors in sunny areas atures. The best quality is achieved Noa™ZEVMIXMIWFPSSQMRKVIEXTVSJYWMSRSJI\UYMWMXI¾S[IVW Brand 08 09 Noa™ Mango Eye Noa™ Mega Pink Danziger - “Dan” Flower Farm Moshav Mishmar Hashiva 50297. P.O.Box 24 Beit-Dagan, Israel Tel: 972-3-9602525, Fax: 972-3-9605896, E-mail: [email protected] www.danziger.co.il Write in 711 www.gpnmag.com November 2008 GPN 49.