Abstract
Fifteen-cm (6 in) pots containing a peat-lite medium and no plants were leached with varying amounts of water for soluble salts (SS) analysis. Volume of water applied to pots within ranges tested was not an important factor when determining leachate soluble salts. Dieffenbachia maculata (Lodd) G. Don ‘Compacta’ and Schefflera arboricola H. Ayata (Dwarf schefflera) were fertilized with different sources and rates. Good quality Dieffenbachia were grown with a range of 2750 to 7700 kg N/ha/year (2500 to 7000 lbs/A/yr) with SS of leachate from 341 to 9750 micromhos/cm and 128 to 1243 from a 2:1 by volume method. Dwarf schefflera grew best with a range of 1100 to 6050 kg N/ha/year (1000 to 5500 lbs/A/yr) and SS of leachate from 1384 to 11796, and 2:1 extract from 159 to 1512. Level of conductivity varied considerably within treatments and was not a good indicator of desired soil fertility. Further tests showed that the pour-through method was best when percent of soil moisture varied between 33 and 100%.
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