Abstract
The effects of the duration of covering treatment and the period of using a far-red-intercepting film (FR-intercepting film) while raising seedling on the future growth and flowering of certain bedding plants were investigated. The plant heights of scarlet sage (Salvia splendens Sell ex Roem. & Schult.), cupflower (Nierembergia hippomanica Miers. var. violacea Millan.), Madagascar periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don), French marigold (Tagetes patula L.) and pansy (Viola × wittrockiana Gams) and the flower stalk length of pansy kept under the FR-intercepting film for 3 weeks after potting were significantly shorter than those of the control plants. Flowering of scarlet sage, cupflower and French marigold kept under the FR-intercepting film for 3 weeks after potting was delayed. The plant height of snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus L.) kept under the FR-intercepting film for 4 weeks after potting was significantly shorter than that of the control plants. A decrease in the internode length between the 3rd and 5th nodes was considered the cause of the shorter plant height. These findings indicated that in certain bedding plants (scarlet sage, cupflower, Madagascar periwinkle, French marigold, pansy and snapdragon), covering treatment using the FR-intercepting film for only 3–4 weeks after potting tended to prevent succulent growth.
