LIMING AND FERTILIZING OF SPHAGNUM PEAT FOR CONTAINER PLANTS

Container growing of tree plant nursery stock was first introduced in Norway in 1957 by Mr. Arne Rusten. Since then container growing has been in use at the nursery of the Agricultural College of Norway. Systematic experiments with sphagnum peat as a growing medium for container plants were begun in 1965.

Sphagnum peat has, in recent years, become an important growing medium for greenhouse and nursery plants. The majority of the container plants in Norwegian nurseries are cultivated in peat.

Peat is a uniform growing medium free from diseases and nutrients. This makes it easier to give recommendations for liming and fertilizing. However, comparatively few experiments have been carried out with limed and fertilized peat for trees and shrubs. Dr. Penningsfeld (1964) has done valuable experiments with liming and fertilizing of peat for ligneous plants. Baker (1957) in the U.C. System for Producing Healthy Container Grown Plants gives also recommendations for the liming and fertilizing of peat. It was nevertheless found desirably to carry out similar experiments with the kind of peat available in Norway.

This paper gives details of experiments with liming and fertilizing of peat done at the Institute of Dendrology and Nursery Management at the Agricultural College of Norway.