Conclusion Plant maintenance and growth management are important factors in maintaining the quality, longevity, and overall performance of summer container annuals. Overall, the results indicate that the decision to use hard cutback or PGR should be based on the desired outcome, timing, and individual variety response. • Hard cut back appears to be the stronger tool for substantial rejuvenation, increased branching, improved density, and extending the useful display life of many vigorous annuals. • PGR applications may be better suited for situations where more gradual growth control is desired and maintaining continuous flowering is a priority. • For home gardeners, these findings provide practical guidance for managing plants that become overgrown or begin to decline later in the summer. • For growers and retailers, the results demonstrate an opportunity to use variety-specific maintenance and growth- regulation strategies to help plants remain compact, attractive, and high-performing throughout the summer season.
Future Trial Considerations The trial will be repeated next year with modifications intended to produce a more measurable response from the PGR treatments and further refine growth- management recommendations with the goal to develop more precise, variety-specific recommendations that can be used by both growers and home gardeners to maintain attractive, compact, and long-lasting summer containers.
Melissa Winchester Innovating Manager
33 www.mastyoungplants.com
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