Influence of treatments with growth retardants on the ornamental properties of Lagerstroemia indica L. plants

Abstract

The behavior of the species Lagerstroemia indica under the ecological conditions of the south-eastern part of Romania has been studied for several years at the Botanical Garden of Galati. The present experiment analyzed the effect of treatment with Alar 85 SG (growth retardant based on daminozide) on L. indica plants obtained from seeds and grown in pots under unprotected conditions. Based on the observations it was found that the reduction in plant height, the increase in the number of branches, the earliness of flower buds and flowering initiation, and the prolongation of flowering time of the plants were directly proportionally influenced by the concentration of the growth retardant used as 0.3% and 1%. The results recommend the treatment with Alar 0.3% as efficacious, considering that the effect on other characters ensuring flowering quality (inflorescence length, number of inflorescences / plant, number of flowers/inflorescence, density of flowers in inflorescences and flowering capacity of plants) was diminished by increasing the concentration to 1%.