Postharvest characteristics of Santonia ‘Golden Lights’ a new hybrid cut flower from Sandersonia aurantiaca×Littonia modesta

Abstract

Abstract Santonia ‘Golden Lights’ is a new cut flower crop developed in New Zealand by hybridising Sandersonia aurantiaca with Littonia modesta. Vegetatively propagated tubers give rise to flowering flowering stems that carry up to 30 individual orange trumpet-shaped flowers attached to a single leafy stem. The flowering stems can be harvested at a relatively immature stage (2–3 flowers orange) and have a vase life of ca. 10 days in water. There was no advantage gained by the addition of sucrose to vase solutions and continuous treatment with 2% sucrose or pulsing for 24 h with 10% sucrose caused leaf damage. The addition of cytokinin or gibberellic acid to vase solutions prevented leaf chlorosis, which was the major postharvest disorder encountered in these trials. Santonia is sensitive to fluoride and levels as low as 0.5 ppm cause leaf tip necrosis.