2017 ASHS Annual Conference

Chenopodium oahuense is a Hawaiian endemic plant that varies in growth forms. This underutilized species is drought resistant and requires little to no maintenance, making it a superb candidate for landscaping or ornamental use. Two Chenopodium oahuense selections, a prostrate and a compact form, are currently being evaluated for use as a landscape and container plant. In this propagation study, the effect of growth form (prostrate vs. compact) and rooting hormone (indolebutyric acid [IBA]) application on rooting of stem cuttings were evaluated. Semi-hardwood cuttings (10 to 15 cm long), harvested from each selection and graded according to size, were treated with Hormex 3 (0.3% = 3000 ppm IBA) or no rooting hormone (0 ppm IBA). Cuttings were rooted in a 1:1 mix of perlite:vermiculite media on a shaded mist bench. Percent rooting, rooting index, and length of the longest root were recorded 23 days after planting (DAP). Percent rooting and rooting index data did not show significant differences between hormone treatment, selection, and their interaction. Percent rooting across treatment combinations were greater than 90% and rooting indices were above 3.5 (light to medium rooting). A significant difference in longest root length were observed between selections, but not between treatments or their interaction. The compact selection exhibited longer roots (9.7 cm) compared with the prostrate selection (6.1 cm). Results from this study indicate that Chenopodium oahuense is generally an easy to root species with slight differences in rooting characteristics between growth forms.