Impacts of Growth Substrate and Container Size on Cutting Production from ‘Snow Angel’ Coral Bells Stock Plants

Stock plant productivity is an important concern for growers of ‘Snow Angel’ coral bells (Heuchera sanguinea) because this variety produces a limited number of basal cuttings. The objective of the study was to determine the best growth substrate and container size combination to maximize productivity of stock plants. A secondary objective was to determine if the stock plant treatments influenced the rooting of vegetative cuttings. The study used three different container sizes (2.8, 11.4, and 14.6 L) and four commercial soilless substrates that were primarily composed of the following: bark, peat, and perlite (substrate 1); bark, peat, and vermiculite (substrate 2); bark, peat, and coarse perlite (substrate 3); and peat (substrate 4). Two stock plant experiments were conducted using the same 12 treatment combinations, and a subset of those stock plants was randomly selected for the rooting studies that immediately followed each stock plant experiment. Stock plants responded to substrate treatments differently depending on the batch of substrate in which they were grown. The most successful stock plants, which produced more cuttings per plant and per square foot, as well as larger cuttings, were those grown in substrate 3 (Expt. 1) and substrate 2 (Expt. 2). Regardless of the substrate, the highest number of cuttings per square foot was obtained from stock plants grown in 2.8-L containers, indicating that the smaller containers allow for the most efficient use of space when growing ‘Snow Angel’ stock plants for 6 to 8 months. The rooting of vegetative cuttings was successful (98% to 100% of cuttings rooted after 4 weeks under mist) for all treatment combinations, although higher numbers of visible roots were produced during the second study and may be due to larger fresh weights of cuttings.