Lasthenia california ssp. macrantha

Natalie Walker HORT 5051: Plant Production II Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Taxonomic Classification  Lasthenia californica DC. ex Lindl. ssp.

macrantha (A. Gray) R. Chan  Perennial goldfields  Asteraceae family  Historical Significance

http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=LACAM3&photoID=lama6_003_ahp.tif

Taxonomic Description  Annual dicot  Compact, mounded  Simple, freely branched stems  Fibrous roots  Narrow, unlobed linear leaves  Bright yellow flower heads (Ray & Disk flowers)  Silver-gray glabrous fruits and seeds with awl-

like scales

Native Geographic Distribution  North America •  California •  Oregon

 Zones 6-10 http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=LACAM3&photoID=lama6_003_ahp.tif#

http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-taxon=Lasthenia+californica+ssp.+macrantha

Propagation Methods  Seed Production Fields  Treatment  Sowing  Germination  Harvest

Experiment   Objectives

•  Observe the effects of different soil medias on seedling development

  Methods •  Transplanted seedlings into two different soil media

types

  Results •  Little affect observed at their stages

  Discussion •  Crop scheduling requires more time before

experimental results may be observed

Seeds  96 seeds sown in a 288-cell plug tray on February 19, 2013

Seedlings  Poor germination  18% germination

rate

Transplant   Transplanted 12

seedlings (6 seedlings per media) on April 22, 2013 into 4-inch pots

  LC8 Professional Growing Media & Metro-Mix Professional Growing Media

Growing On  Performance

between soil types

Crop Schedule   Plug Production

-use 288-cell plug tray and well-drained, disease free seedling media Stage 1-Time of radicle emergence (7-14 days) Stage 2- Stem & cotyledon emergence (7-10 days) Stage 3- Development of true leaves (14-21 days) Stage 4- Ready for transplant (7 days)

  Growing On -transplant into 4” standard pots with a Professional growing media -provide day time temperatures of 15°C and night time temperatures between 10° and 13°C -Fertilize weekly with a standard 15-0-15 fertilizer -No PGRs are necessary

Total Crop Time: 16-20 weeks

Market Niche/ Benefits  Coverage; groundcover  Prolific flowering  Bright color  Attracts wildlife and pollinators  Low maintenance  Water conservation

http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-taxon=Lasthenia+californica+ssp.+macrantha

Improvements  Hardiness  Reduced time from germination to

flowering  Spreading habit

Questions?