The Response of Long-day Herbaceous Perennials to a Night-interruption at Low Night Temperatures

Abstract

A 4-hr night interruption (NI) is an effective way to promote flowering in many long-day herbaceous perennials. Some perennials are grown outdoors in the early spring and often are exposed to low night temperatures. Long days delivered by NI lighting ineffectively promote flowering under low-temperature conditions in some long-day species. The objective of this experiment was to determine the effectiveness of NI long-day lighting treatments delivered at different night temperatures in promoting flowering of several herbaceous perennials. Ten herbaceous perennial species were grown under natural short days augmented with a 4-hr NI. Night temperatures were 2.5, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25°C with day temperature of 25°C for all treatments. Plants were transferred to 9-hr days at a constant 20°C after 7 weeks of treatment. Results on flowering percentage, date of visible bud and flowering, node count, flower bud count, and plant height at flowering will be presented.