Affiliation:
1. Department of Environmental Horticulture, Mid-Florida Research and Education Center, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, 2725 S. Binion Rd., Apopka, FL 32703, USA
Abstract
The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of weed placement on the growth of container-grown ornamental plants. Additionally, it also assessed the safety of applying herbicides beneath and on the slits of air-pruning containers using four common container-grown ornamental plants. The study was divided into three experiments, with uniform liners of pentas (Pentas lanceolata (Forssk.) Deflers) and golden dewdrop (Duranta erecta L.) in the first experiment and pentas in the second. The weed seedlings, consisting of either ageratum (Ageratum houstonianum Mill.) or eclipta (Eclipta prostrata L.), were positioned in one of three locations within the container, either directly beside the rootball of the ornamental plant, 2.5 cm away from the rootball, or inside the drain hole of the container. The third experiment involved four ornamental species, which were utilized to assess the safety of herbicide application either beneath or on the slits of air-pruning containers. The overall results of the first two experiments revealed that weeds growing either at the center or the sides of the ornamental plant rootball had significant competitive effects on the growth of the ornamental species. In case of the third experiment, no herbicide injury was observed on the ornamental species, with a minor decrease in the growth of loropetulam (Loropetalum chinensis ‘Ruby’).