The Vase Life of the Leaves of Selected Perennial Species after the Application of Growth Regulators

The aim of the study was to assess the post-harvest life of the leaves of <i>Hemerocallis</i> × <i>hybrida</i> ‘Agata’, <i>Limonium latifolium</i>, and <i>Heuchera hybrida</i> ‘Chocolate Ruffles’ after the application of growth regulators from the group of gibberellins (GAs) and cytokinins (CKs), ionic liquids (2-hydroxyethyl)dimethylethylammonium gibberellinate [Chol][Gib] and acetylcholine gibberellinate [Gib][Ach]), as well as quaternary ammonium salts with the gibberellinate anion (1-ethyl quinine gibberellinate [Q-C₂][Gib]) and 1-dodecyl acetylcholine gibberellinate [Q-C₁₂][Gib]). The leaves were conditioned for 4 h in aqueous solutions of benzyladenine (BA), <i>meta</i>-methoxytopolin (MemT) and its riboside (MemTR), gibberellic acid (GA₃), [Q-C₂][Gib], [Gib][Ach], [Chol][Gib], and [Q-C₁₂][Gib] at concentrations of 50 and 100 mg·dm⁻³. Conditioning of <i>Hemerocallis</i> × <i>hybrida</i> ‘Agata’ with MemT and [Chol][Gib] at both concentrations, [Q-C₂][Gib] (100 mg·dm⁻³) and [Gib][Ach] (50 mg·dm⁻³), extended the vase life of the leaves by 7–9 days. The application of [Gib][Ach] (50 and 100 mg·dm⁻³) and [Q-C₁₂][Gib] (100 mg·dm⁻³) resulted in the longest vase life of the leaves of <i>Limonium latifolium</i>. Conditioning of the leaves of <i>Heuchera hybrida</i> ‘Chocolate Ruffles’ with BA, MemT, and MemTR (50 and 100 mg·dm⁻³) extended their vase life by 9.5–51.3 days. BA at a concentration of 100 mg·dm⁻³ was the most effective. MemT (50 mg·dm⁻³), MemTR (100 mg·dm⁻³), [Q-C₂][Gib] (100 mg·dm⁻³), [Gib][Ach] (100 mg·dm⁻³), and [Chol][Gib] (50 mg·dm⁻³) inhibited the degradation of proteins in the leaves of <i>Hemerocallis</i> × <i>hybrida</i> ‘Agata’; [Chol][Gib] (50 and 100 mg·dm⁻³)—in the leaves of <i>Limonium latifolium</i>; all the conditioners except for BA—in the leaves of <i>Heuchera hybrida</i> ‘Chocolate Ruffles’. GA₃, MemTR, [Gib][Ach], [Q-C₁₂][Gib] at both concentrations, [Q-C₂][Gib], and [Chol][Gib] (50 mg·dm⁻³) inhibited the degradation of chlorophyll in the leaves of <i>Hemerocallis</i> × <i>hybrida</i> ‘Agata’. All conditioners except for [Gib][Ach] and [Q-C₁₂][Gib] inhibited chlorophyll degradation in the leaves of <i>Limonium latifolium</i>. All conditioners except for MemT and MemTR (50 mg·dm⁻³) inhibited chlorophyll degradation in the leaves of <i>Heuchera hybrida</i> ‘Chocolate Ruffles’. [Chol][Gib] (50 mg·dm⁻³) was the most effective.