Experience the Suntory Difference! ✓ Unmatched early season color ✓ Unique reblooming ability ✓ Thrives in cool conditions
dry as possible. Senetti has a large, vigorous root system and will require large volume of water regularly as the crop matures. Feeding After the initial transplant, provide Senetti with a strong application of 250 ppm nitrogen with 20-10- 20 during the first four weeks of production. Senetti is also a heavy iron feeder, so keep soil pH be- tween 5.5 and 6.0 with a monthly drench of STEM from Peter’s Excel for additional micronutrients. Senetti’s vigorous root system will require a lot of water on bright and warm days. This should be done with clear water only. Three weeks prior to sale, switch to a phospho- rous fertilizer (l0-30-20) to support flower production. Plant Growth Regulators Senetti is very responsive to B- Nine (daminozide), which can be used at 2,000 ppm every 14 days, depending on the crop timing. Florel (ethephon) can also be used at the rooting stage to promote lateral shoots. If our rooted lin- ers do not come as pinched and breaking plants, do a single pinch. Plants will naturally break and pro- duce well-shaped plants. Pests & Diseases Aphids are the number one pest for this crop, but spider mites and whíteflies can also be present dur- ing production. Scout for thrips as flowers develop. Powdery mildew can be an issue during the cool crop production, so keep humid- ity levels low in the greenhouse. A preventive drench with Subdue MAXX and Cleary’s every eight weeks will prevent root rot.
Helpful Hints from Chris Spanton Sutton Consumer Products, United Kingdom
Senetti has strong bright colors consumers love, especially as we come out of winter into spring. For the grower, it can be grown cold and will command a high price at wholesale and retail. Don’t be tempted to sell it cheap. It must be sold in bloom and minimum of 20+ flowers, so consumers can see the “wow” factor. Don’t grow it in 4-inch pots. You need at least 6 to 8-inch pots to give the wow factor and get the price it deserves. Senetti can be programmed to flower under short or long days. Pot it before Christmas and it can be grown cold in the greenhouse with pansy and primrose. Grown at 35-40˚F, the crop would flower naturally in late March. It is temperature responsive. If you grow Senetti at 50-60˚F, it will finish 3-4 weeks earlier, but you will need more plant growth regulators (PGRs) to control the growth. Use B- Nine right up until the crop starts showing color, otherwise the crop will get too tall. Allow air through the crop to prevent insects and diseases. The more space you give Senetti and the bigger the pot, the more it will grow to fill the container size. You can get away with one plant in an 8-10 inch container with the potential to carry up to 200 flowers at one time. Senetti is very self-branching and only requires one pinch as a plant, either as a liner or in the final pot. As an added bonus, Senetti has the ability to rebloom. Just cut the plant back 50 percent in height after flowering, and in 4-6 weeks, it will be in flower again, provided it is well fed. As a crop it is an iron lover, so supplement feeds with iron regularly. Otherwise, magne- sium deficiencies will show late in the crop, as demand for feed will be high as it comes into flower with the warmer growing conditions.
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