The finding that these species performed best under subirrigation conditions was not unexpected because early research on the culture of littoral and obligate wetland species revealed that best growth was achieved in flooded sand.

Golden club and lemon bacopa grew best when plants were cultured in potting substrate and maintained under subirrigation. The plants were grown for 16 weeks, then they were scored for quality and height before a destructive harvest.īlue-eyed grass and arrow alum performed best when subirrigated and cultured in potting substrate or sand. These substrates were amended with controlled-release fertilizer and were watered using either overhead irrigation or subirrigation. Plants were grown in pots with drainage holes that were filled with potting substrate, topsoil, coarse builders' sand, or a 50/50 mix of topsoil and builders' sand. These experiments were designed to provide guidelines for growers who are interested in capturing part of the growing niche market for littoral-zone plants without costly infrastructure upgrades. All four species are perennials native to the United States and are easily propagated by division. Gettys and Moore conducted experiments focusing on four littoral zone species: arrow arum, blue-eyed grass, golden club, and lemon bacopa.

This problem can be viewed as an opportunity and may be addressed by determining how to cultivate these species using the greenhouse techniques that are employed to culture landscape plants. There is strong demand for the native littoral zone (shoreline or shallow water) plants required to execute these projects, but many wetland nurseries are unable to produce sufficient quantities of 'right-sized' plant material due to inadequate facilities and infrastructure.

These projects call for a mixture of plant types and sizes to create the diverse architecture needed to provide good habitat for native animals. Projects that focus on restoration, mitigation, and enhancement of aquatic and wetland regions provide valuable ecosystem services and habitat for native flora and fauna. This study attempts to determine what methods would effectively benefit the large-scale production of aquatic plants as a possible resource of bolstering the improvement of the ecosystems. Wetland restoration is critical for improving ecosystem services, but many aquatic plant nurseries do not have facilities similar to those typically used for large-scale plant production. Their discoveries are shared in the article Greenhouse Production of Native Aquatic Plants available Open Access in the February issue of HortTechnology.

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