ISHS Acta Horticulturae 541: IV International Symposium on New Floricultural Crops
NEW BEDDING PLANTS AND REQUIREMENTS IN URBAN LANDSCAPE DESIGN |
| Authors: | S. Vabrit, P. Kasearu, U. Moor |
| Keywords: | weather resistance, colour of blossoms, annual ornamental plants, landscaping value |
| Abstract:
An overview is given of the characteristics of bedding plants, determining their suitability in urban landscaping. The necessities of urban landscape design and the causes why many new ornamental species and varieties do not meet the needs are analysed thoroughly. Data collected during 8 years from the experimental collection of ca 400 taxa of annual ornamental plants at the Dept. of Horticulture, Estonian Agricultural University (58º41’ NL, 25º55’ EL) form the basis of this research. The influence of precipitation and air temperature on the growth parameters, durability and quality of blossoms of bedding plants newly released to European market has been investigated. E.g. there is a significant correlation between colour and diameter of blossoms and tolerance to rainfall. A lot of new varieties with white blossoms of species like Petunia hybrida, Phlox drummondii are intolerant to rainy weather prevailing sometimes in Estonia. Bedding plants like Anchusa capensis ‘Blauer Engel’, Agastache foeniculum, Verbena canadensis which are little known and cultivated in the Baltic’s have shown good results in terms of bedding in urban areas. Desirable characteristics of new ornamental bedding plants and requirements of urban landscape design based on the results of the experiments will be discussed. | |
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