Greenhouse Plant Containers
(book excerpts)The selection of containers for use in greenhouse production of potted flowering plants, bedding plants, vegetable crops, and hanging baskets is very important. The container not only influences plant development, but also on production costs and cultural practices. Most greenhouse operations grow a wide variety of species and therefore several different types of containers are required. Container choice for a plant species depends on root system morphology, target plant criteria, and the growing conditions. Containers offer growers several significant advantages. Growers gain handling convenience and increased flexibility for plant spacing. The use of container production also means that a grower can customize the growing media. The potential to modify chemical and physical properties in a container is much greater than directly planting into the ground in the greenhouse. However, container produced plants are more susceptible to physiological stresses than in-ground grown plants due to the limited root space, soilless substrate, and dependency on irrigation. Not all growing containers are equal. Some types of containers are better suited for some purposes than others. Likewise, containers don’t just differ in size. Containers are made of clay, metal, plastic, or eco-friendly materials; each material has its advantages and drawbacks.
Click on the following topics for more information on containers for growing greenhouse crops.
Topics Within This Chapter:
- Types of Greenhouse Continers
- One-Time-Use Containers
- Jiffy® PeatPellets
- Jiffy® Super Pellets
- Jiffy® Pots
- Rockwool Cubes and Slabs
- Paper Pots
- Zipset™ Propagation Trays
- Single, Free-Standing Containers
- Treepots™
- RootMaker® Containers
- Polybags
- Hanging Baskets
- Clay Pots
- Plastic Pots
- Exchangeable Cells Held in a Tray or Rack Containers
- Ray Leach Cone-tainer™ Cells
- Deepots™
- Book or Sleeve Containers
- Spencer-Lemaire Rootrainers™
- Rectangular Block Containers Made Up of Many Cavities or Cells
- Styroblock™ and Copperblock™
- Propagation Containers
- Plug Trays
- Flats
- Eco-Friendly Greenhouse Containers
- Plantable Containers
- Recycled Plastic Geotextile Containers
- Compostable Containers