Early Flurprimidol Drench Applications Suppress Final Height of Four Poinsettia Cultivars

Abstract

Plant growth retardants (PGRs) are commonly applied to control poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) stem elongation to meet a target final height. Two weeks after pinching, 4-fl·oz substrate drenches containing 0.0, 0.05, 0.10, 0.15, 0.20, or 0.25 mg·L−1 flurprimidol were applied to high-vigor ‘Orion’ and low-vigor ‘Polly Pink’ poinsettia (Expt. I); while drenches containing 0.0, 0.05, 0.10, or 0.15 mg·L−1 flurprimidol or a foliar spray containing 1250 mg·L−1 daminozide and 750 mg·L−1 chlormequat chloride were applied to high-vigor ‘Classic Red’ and low-vigor ‘Freedom Salmon’ poinsettia (Expt. II). Final height of ‘Orion’ and ‘Polly's Pink’ poinsettia was suppressed by 12% to 25% and 13% to 30%, respectively, as flurprimidol concentration increased from 0.05 to 0.25 mg·L−1. Final height of ‘Classic Red’ and ‘Freedom Salmon’ was suppressed by 11% to 30% and 10% to 19%, respectively, as flurprimidol concentration increased from 0.05 to 0.15 mg·L−1. Although the daminozide and chlormequat chloride spray had no significant effect on bract area index compared with untreated plants, bract area index was smaller for all plants treated with flurprimidol. However, the bract area to height ratio of all cultivars was not impacted by any PGR application, indicating aesthetic appearance was not negatively affected with smaller bract area. Time to anthesis was delayed by up to 4 days when 0.10 mg·L−1 was applied to ‘Classic Red’, although no significant delays were observed for the remaining cultivars. Based on these results, flurprimidol may be applied as an early drench to suppress height of poinsettia without adversely impacting finished plant quality or crop timing.