Pampas grass responses to ancymidol, paclobutrazol, and uniconazole substrate drenches

Plant growth retardant (PGR) substrate drenches (in mg a.i per pot.) of ancymidol at 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, or 4; paclobutrazol at 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16; and uniconazole at 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, or 4 (28,350 mg = 1.0 oz) were applied to pampas grass (Cortaderia selloana). Control of height growth during greenhouse forcing and the residual effects on plant growth in the landscape were evaluated. During greenhouse forcing, plant height exhibited a quadratic dose response to paclobutrazol and uniconazole, while ancymidol treated plants exhibited a linear response to increasing dose. All rates of uniconazole resulted in plant heights which were 56% to 75% shorter than the nontreated control, whereas paclobutrazol and ancymidol treatments resulted in 6% to 64% and 5% to 29% shorter plants, respectively. Severe height retardation was evident with ≥2 mg uniconazole. When the plants were transplanted and grown in the landscape (24 weeks after the PGR application), all plants treated with ancymidol, paclobutrazol, and ≤0.5 mg uniconazole exhibited heights similar to the nontreated control, suggesting no residual effects of the PGR for these treatments. Only plants treated with uniconazole at ≥1 mg remained shorter than the nontreated control in the landscape. These results demonstrate that plant growth regulators can be effectively and economically applied in the greenhouse production of pampas grass.