Standardization of plant species and growing medium for vertical garden system: A new urban horticulture concept S. Rameshkumar Dept. of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Annamalai University, Tamilnadu, India - 608 002. E-mail: rameshflora@yahoo.com ABSTRACT Vertical gardens are becoming a common component in contemporary garden designs at urban living space because of shrinking land spaces. Successful growing of plants in vertical garden systems depends up on growing container, plants chosen, growing media, etc. Hence a study was carried out in the Department of Horticulture, Annamalai University, during the year 2013, with the objectives to study the influence of Coir pith, Stockosorb and Geohumus as components of growing media along with FYM, Vermicompost and Leaf mould compost on growth and performance of ornamental plants for establishment of vertical garden and to study the performance of ornamental plants Viz., Philodendron erubescens Cv. ‘Gold’, Chlorophytum comosum Cv. ‘Variegatum’ and Polyscias fruticosa plants in wooden containers for establishment of vertical garden. The experiment was laid out in Completely Randomized Design in wooden containers, with ten treatment combinations of various growing media mixtures comprising red soil, river sand as basic components in combination with organic manures (FYM, vermicompost, leaf mould compost, coir pith) and hydrogels (Stocksorb and Geohumus). The plant growth characters and ornamental value index were observed. Among the three ornamental plants used, Polyscias fruticosa and Philodendron erubescens are performed better as ornamental plants in vertical garden system with the growing media of Red soil : River sand : Vermicompost @ 1:1:1/2 + Stockosorb(25g). Keywords: Chlorophytum comosum, coir pith, hydrogels, leaf mould compost, Philodendron erubescens, Polyscias fruticosa, vermicompost, vertical garden. Short Communication INTRODUCTION Vertical gardens ar e becoming a common component in contemporary garden designs because of shrinking land spaces and multiplying high-rises with scanty space available for gardening. Though, the concept of the vertical garden was first used during 600 BC at the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and then it was not used often by successive gardeners like Persians, Mughals, Europeans and others. Today, with the rapid growth of industrial cities and for want of horizontal space for other utilities this concept was picked up rapidly by contemporary gardeners. Vertical gardens are living walls which are covered with vegetation. There are two major types of vertical garden: living wall and green facade. The living wall is a kind of vertical garden in which ornamental plants are pre-planted onto panels or planters. Successful growing of plants in vertical garden systems depends up on design of the vertical garden system, growing container, irrigation arrangement, plants chosen, growing media, etc. The shade loving indoor ornamental pla nts like Philodendron sp. , Asparagus sp. , Chlorophytum sp., Polyscias fruticosa, Aglaonema, Rhoeo spathacea, Sempervivum, etc. are considered as suitable options based on their ornamental features, however, studies revealing the suitability of plants for vertical garden system is lacking in India. The members of Araceae, Asparagaceae and Araliaceae families viz., Philodendron erubescens, Chlorophytum comosum and Polyscias fruticosa respectively are used in this study by virtue of their textural properties and easy adoptability in tropical to sub tropical conditions. The growing medium is the most important component that decides the success of a vertical garden system. Three functions of growing media are to support plant in soil, to hold and offer water J. Hortl. Sci. Vol. 13(1) : 108-115, 2018 108 109 Rameshkumar and nutrients and to facilitate plant roots to get sufficient amount of oxygen (Ingram et al., 2003). Role of a convenient growing media is to provide physical, chemical and biological characteristics required by plants and also to provide the conditions for production of plants in containers (Ingram et al., 2003; Sahin and Anapali 2006). Composition of plant growing media may vary depending on several reasons. Commonly used materials for the composition of media ar e river sand, red soil, sawdust, peat, perlite and vermiculite. Increasing cost of these media components and shortage of the mineral media like peat, perlite and vermiculite a r e t he r ea s ons t o f ind s u it a b le a lt er na t ive components from organic manures and hydrogel compounds for plant growing containers used in vertical garden system. Further, restricted volume of media and competition due to higher planting density may cause a confined root system. In due course of maintenance this system needs heavy applications of fertilizer and water to maintain proper plant growth. In line with the above facts a study was carried out with the objectives to study the influence of Coir pith, Stockosorb and Geohumus as components of growing media along with FYM, Vermicompost and Leaf mould compost on growth and performance of ornamental plants in wooden containers for establishment of vertical garden and to standardize the growing media mixtures suitable for establishment of vertical garden. In this experiment living wa ll system of vertical garden was established with fabricated iron frames to hold the planter boxes made in country wood in alter nate r ows. The wooden box wa s fa br ica ted with t wo slits in the fr ont side to accommodate two rows of plants to cover the sides of the wall. On top of the planter box another row of ornamental plant was planted to cover the gap existing in alternate rows of the vertical frame. The ver t ic a l ga r den syst em ma de of wooden box container (90cm×30cm×30cm) was designed to grow 24 numbers of plants that is essential to establish a green cover over the surface of container ( Plat e 1 ) . T he ex p er iment wa s la i d ou t in Completely Randomized Design, replicated thrice with ten treatment combinations of various growing media mixtures comprising red soil, river sand as ba sic components in combina tion with organic manures (FYM, vermicompost, leaf mould compost, coir pith) and hydrogels (Stocksorb and Geohumus). Control treatment was maintained with normal soil. For each replication five plants were tagged for recording non destructive parameters. Treatment Details T 1- C ont r ol ( N or ma l s oil wit ho u t a ny amendments) T2- Red soil + River sand + FYM + Coir pith (1:1:1:1) T 3- Red soil + River sand + FYM (1:1:1)+ Stockosorb (25 g) T4- Red soil + River sand + FYM (1:1:1)+ Geohumus (25 g) T5- Red soil + River sand + Leaf mould compost + Coir pith (1:1:1:1) T6- Red soil + River sand + Leaf mould compost (1:1:1)+ Stockosorb (25 g) T7- Red soil + River sand + Leaf mould compost (1:1:1)+ Geohumus (25 g) T8- Red soil + River sand + Vermicompost+ Coir pith (1:1:1/2:1) T9-Red soil + River sand + Vermicompost (1:1:1/ 2) + Stockosorb (25 g) T10- Red soil + River sand + Vermicompost (1:1:1/ 2) + Geohumus (25 g) The plant growth characters like days taken for establishment, plant height, number of shoots, shoot girth, number of leaves per plant, leaf area, bioma ss pr oduc tion, chlor ophyll content a nd ornamental value index were observed from five plants at monthly intervals and data on 150 says after planting was interpreted in results. Ornamental value index was given to the plants in each treatment by visually assessing the ornamental features of the plants in terms of their foliage colour, compactness, texture, height and overall look. Ten point Headonic s c or ing t echniqu e wa s a dop ted to gr a de t he ornamental value of the plants. J. Hortl. Sci. Vol. 13(1) : 108-115, 2018 110 Standardization for vertical garden system Grade No. Ornamental Features Grade point G1 Establishment: Shoots and leaves growing and stretching against geotropic movement. 10, 9 …… to …..1 and 0 G2 Compactness : From densely packed foliage to space loose fronds and dried up plant 10, 9 …… to …..1 and 0 G3 Number of stems per poly bag : from 10 to 3 and dried up plant 10, 9 …… to …..1 and 0 G4 Texture : from fine to course and dried up plant 10, 9 …… to …..1 and 0 G5 Freshness of plants: from firm turgid to flaccid condition and dried leaves 10, 9 …… to …..1 and 0 G6 Overall out look 10, 9 …… to …..1 and 0 GP1 + GP2 + GP3 + GP4 + GP5+ GP5 Ornamental value index = 6 The statistical analysis of data was done by adopting the standard statistical procedure given by Panse and Sukhatme (1967). Results of the present experiment envisaged that the gr owth pa r a meter s viz. , da ys ta ken for establishment, plant height, number of shoots/ branches, shoot girth, number of leaves plant-1 and leaf area were significantly increased due to the addition of organic growing media components and hydrogels (Table 1). In general, addition of hydrogels viz., Stockosorb and Geohumus performed better than the coir pith in growing media as a component. Among the organic components used in media, vermicompost performed better in terms of all the growth parameters of the ornamental plants. In all the three ornamental plants, T9 [Red soil + River sand + Vermicompost (1:1:1/2) + Stockosorb (25g)] has exhibited greater influence in terms of all the growth parameters with quicker establishment of plants. This was followed by T10 [Red soil + River sand + Vermicompost (1:1:1/2) + Geohumus (25g)]. Enhancement of growth in all the three ornamental plants due to above mentioned two growing media combinations might be attributed to the addition of vermicompost and hyogels particularly Stocksorb and Geohumus in addition to normal components of a growing media like red soil and river sand. Enhancement in the growth attributes due to vermicompost in the present research is in line with the reports of (Rajamanickam et al. 2008) who revealed enhanced growth parameters in plants grown in potting mixture, treated with vermicompost. The report of (Golchin et al. 2006) in pistachio nut seedlings was also in conformity of the present research. Further, the enhanced performance of ornamental plants grown in media containing vermicompost could be attributed by the fact that vermicompost contains major and minor nutrients for the plants in available forms besides enzymes, a ntibiotics, vita mins, beneficia l microorganisms and other plant growth hormones and have definite advantage over other organic; manures in respect of growth (Meerabai and Raj, 2001). The positive influence of hydrogel compounds on ornamental plants in the vertical plant growing containers might be due to the facts that hydrogels maintain a conductive soil environment that facilitates water and nutrient absorption for plant root and shoot growth in periods of water stress. The highly cross- linked polyacrylamide hydrogels can absorb and hold up to 400 times their weight of water (Bouranis et al., 1995), which aid faster establishment of ornamental plants in containers where media volume is restricted. As reported by Sarvas (2007); Abedi-Koupai and Asadkazemi (2006) in different experiments on the effects of hydrogels on plant growth, the present experiment also indicated increased growth attributes like total bio mass under limited water availability. The quality parameters of the ornamental plants grown in vertical garden containers can be determined by a ssessing the total chlor ophyll content a nd J. Hortl. Sci. Vol. 13(1) : 108-115, 2018 111 Rameshkumar J. Hortl. Sci. Vol. 13(1) : 108-115, 2018 Ta bl e 1. E ff ec t of g ro w in g m ed ia o n gr ow th o f di ff er en t or na m en ta l pl an t sp ec ie s gr ow n in v er ti ca l ga rd en s ys te m . P hi lo de nd ro n er ub es ce ns C hl or op hy tu m c om os um P ol ys ci as fr ut ic os a T re at m en t Pl an t N o. o f Sh oo t N o. o f Le af Pl an t N o. o f Sh oo t N o. o f Le af Pl an t N o. o f Sh oo t N o. o f Le af N o. he ig ht br an ch es gi rt h le av es ar ea he ig ht br an ch es gi rt h le av es ar ea he ig ht br an ch es gi rt h le av es ar ea (c m ) pl an t-1 (c m ) pl an t-1 (c m 2 ) (c m ) pl an t-1 (c m ) pl an t-1 (c m 2 ) (c m ) pl an t-1 (c m ) pl an t-1 (c m 2 ) T1 32 .3 2 1. 98 3. 25 13 .5 6 17 .2 4 13 .7 4 4. 78 2. 14 17 .3 4 7. 39 34 .1 5 6. 90 3. 14 23 6. 34 9. 85 T2 40 .3 9 2. 79 3. 88 15 .3 9 18 .3 7 14 .7 2 5. 87 2. 76 20 .2 2 8. 99 46 .6 2 8. 32 3. 76 26 0. 57 12 .1 1 T3 42 .1 5 3. 61 4. 65 17 .2 9 20 .6 4 15 .5 4 7. 05 3. 53 23 .3 5 10 .9 3 49 .3 2 9. 97 4. 53 28 6. 45 14 .6 1 T4 41 .2 4 3. 21 4. 22 16 .2 9 19 .6 7 15 .1 5 6. 46 3. 10 21 .6 7 10 .0 3 48 .1 3 9. 13 4. 10 27 2. 91 13 .3 8 T5 39 .5 3 2. 39 3. 56 14 .5 8 18 .0 3 14 .3 1 5. 33 2. 72 18 .8 7 8. 28 45 .1 8 7. 62 3. 42 24 9. 55 11 .0 9 T6 41 .3 1 3. 18 4. 28 16 .4 6 19 .9 1 15 .0 2 6. 58 3. 16 21 .9 1 10 .2 2 48 .2 1 9. 32 4. 16 27 4. 15 13 .5 2 T7 40 .2 8 2. 81 3. 87 15 .5 1 18 .9 6 14 .7 5 5. 89 2. 70 20 .1 2 9. 13 46 .7 8 8. 46 3. 70 26 1. 36 12 .3 4 T8 43 .0 1 4. 02 5. 08 18 .0 6 21 .3 5 15 .9 3 7. 63 3. 86 24 .7 4 11 .6 7 50 .9 7 10 .8 1 4. 86 29 7. 87 15 .6 3 T9 44 .7 8 4. 82 5. 72 19 .6 7 22 .9 5 16 .7 6 8. 75 4. 14 27 .6 4 13 .2 6 54 .3 7 12 .6 1 5. 61 32 2. 04 18 .0 2 T1 0 43 .8 5 4. 45 5. 40 18 .8 6 22 .0 4 16 .3 4 8. 19 4. 09 26 .0 8 12 .4 1 52 .8 6 11 .6 7 5. 25 30 9. 02 16 .7 7 SE D 0. 41 0. 17 0. 15 0. 37 0. 33 0. 18 0. 26 0. 18 0. 65 0. 33 0. 53 0. 30 0. 14 5. 21 0. 46 CD 0. 83 0. 36 0. 31 0. 76 0. 68 0. 38 0. 53 0. 36 1. 32 0. 68 1. 07 0. 61 0. 27 10 .5 4 0. 93 (P =0 .0 5) T 1 - C on tr ol ( N or m al s oi l w ith ou t an y am en dm en ts ) T 6 - R ed s oi l + R iv er s an d + L ea f m ou ld c om po st ( 1: 1: 1) + S to ck os or b (2 5 g) T 2 - R ed s oi l + R iv er s an d + FY M + C oi r pi th ( 1: 1: 1: 1) T 7 - R ed s oi l + R iv er s an d + L ea f m ou ld c om po st ( 1: 1: 1) + G eo hu m us ( 25 g ) T 3 - R ed s oi l + R iv er s an d + FY M ( 1: 1: 1) + S to ck os or b (2 5 g) T 8 - R ed s oi l + R iv er s an d + V er m ic om po st + C oi r pi th ( 1: 1: 1/ 2: 1) T 4 - R ed s oi l + R iv er s an d + FY M ( 1: 1: 1) + G eo hu m us ( 25 g ) T 9 - R ed s oi l + R iv er s an d + V er m ic om po st ( 1: 1: 1/ 2) + S to ck os or b (2 5 g) T 5 - R ed s oi l + R iv er s an d + L ea f m ou ld c om po st + C oi r pi th ( 1: 1: 1: 1) T 10 - R ed s oi l + R iv er s an d + V er m ic om po st ( 1: 1: 1/ 2) + G eo hu m us ( 25 g ) 112 Standardization for vertical garden system J. Hortl. Sci. Vol. 13(1) : 108-115, 2018 Ta bl e 2. E ff ec t of g ro w in g m ed ia o n gr ow th o f di ff er en t or na m en ta l pl an t sp ec ie s gr ow n in v er tic al g ar de n sy st em . P hi lo de nd ro n er ub es ce ns C hl or op hy tu m c om os um P ol ys ci as fr ut ic os a T re at m en t To ta l C hl or op hy ll O rn am en ta l To ta l C hl or op hy ll O rn am en ta l To ta l C hl or op hy ll O rn am en ta l N o. bi om as s co nt en t va lu e bi om as s co nt en t va lu e bi om as s co nt en t va lu e g pl an t - 1 (m g g- 1 ) in de x g pl an t - 1 (m g g- 1 ) in de x g pl an t - 1 (m g g- 1 ) in de x T1 16 2. 23 1. 53 5. 39 41 .3 1 1. 49 4. 03 28 2. 06 1. 65 6. 12 T2 18 5. 02 2. 34 7. 08 48 .0 0 2. 22 5. 61 33 6. 70 2. 53 8. 39 T3 21 5. 10 1. 98 7. 69 55 .3 9 1. 94 6. 25 39 3. 86 2. 20 8. 93 T4 19 9. 45 2. 41 7. 36 51 .7 5 2. 31 5. 92 36 6. 41 2. 42 8. 66 T5 17 4. 15 2. 65 6. 82 44 .9 8 2. 54 5. 35 31 2. 15 2. 83 8. 13 T6 20 3. 68 2. 36 7. 43 52 .3 3 2. 24 5. 96 37 1. 44 2. 50 8. 70 T7 18 8. 64 2. 57 7. 12 48 .3 8 2. 43 5. 66 34 3. 36 2. 72 8. 42 T8 22 6. 25 2. 45 7. 96 58 .5 6 2. 33 6. 51 35 9. 50 2. 65 9. 19 T9 24 9. 35 2. 73 8. 54 64 .0 9 2. 62 7. 30 57 0. 20 2. 91 9. 56 T1 0 23 8. 14 2. 58 8. 25 61 .6 4 2. 46 6. 82 41 7. 56 2. 77 9. 46 SE D 4. 70 0. 08 0. 11 1. 42 0. 09 0. 12 9. 56 0. 08 0. 10 CD 9. 51 0. 17 0. 22 2. 88 0. 18 0. 24 19 .3 4 0. 17 0. 20 (P = 0. 05 ) T 1- C on tr ol ( N or m al s oi l w ith ou t an y am en dm en ts ) T 6- R ed s oi l + R iv er s an d + L ea f m ou ld c om po st ( 1: 1: 1) + St oc ko so rb ( 25 g ) T 2- R ed s oi l + R iv er s an d + FY M + C oi r pi th ( 1: 1: 1: 1) T 7- R ed s oi l + R iv er s an d + L ea f m ou ld c om po st ( 1: 1: 1) + G eo hu m us ( 25 g ) T 3- R ed s oi l + R iv er s an d + FY M ( 1: 1: 1) + St oc ko so rb ( 25 g ) T 8- R ed s oi l + R iv er s an d + V er m ic om po st + C oi r pi th ( 1: 1: 1/ 2: 1) T 4- R ed s oi l + R iv er s an d + FY M ( 1: 1: 1) + G eo hu m us ( 25 g ) T 9- R ed s oi l + R iv er s an d + V er m ic om po st ( 1: 1: 1/ 2) + S to ck os or b (2 5 g) T 5- R ed s oi l + R iv er s an d + L ea f m ou ld c om po st + C oi r pi th ( 1: 1: 1: 1) T 10 -R ed s oi l + R iv er s an d + V er m ic om po st ( 1: 1: 1/ 2) + G eo hu m us ( 25 g ) Rameshkumar J. Hortl. Sci. Vol. 13(1) : 108-115, 2018 ornamental value index. These values of all the three ornamental plants were significantly varied due to different combinations of growing media mixtures (Table 2). The highest total chlorophyll content (2.73 mg g-1, 2.62 mg g-1and 2.91 mg g-1 respectively for Philodendron sp, Chlorophytum sp and Polyscias sp) and ornamental value index (8.54, 7.30 and 9.56 respectively for Philodendron sp, Chlorophytum sp and Polyscias sp) were observed in the plants grown in T9 [Red soil + River sand + Vermicompost (1:1:1/2) + Stockosorb (25g) ]. The next best treatment in terms of the results obtained in these parameters was T10 [Red soil + River sand + Vermicompost (1:1:1/2) + Geohumus (25g)]. The best results obtained in these quality parameters might be attributed to the enhanced growth in terms of plant height, number of shoot plant-1, number of leaves plant-1, leaf area and total biomass plant-1. Best performance of all the three ornamental plants with highest values in quality parameters in the present study due to addition of organic growing components like vermicompost and leaf mould compost is in accordance with the reports of Meerabai and Raj (2001) in ornamental plants and Hidalgo and Harkess (2002) in poinsettia. Enhancement in the quality parameters of the ornamental plants due to addition of hydrogels like Stocksorb and Geohumus might be attributed to the enhanced water availability in the medium which increased the turgidity and freshness of the foliage (Bouranis et al., 1995). By considering the mean performance of all the three ornamental plants (Table 3) it is concluded that Polyscias fruticosa and Philodendron erubescens pla nts ca n be used a s or na menta l pla nts for establishment of vertical garden system. To use Chlorophytum comosum as a component in this system a modification in the planting position is needed. The physio-chemical properties of the growing media mixtures and growth attributes and quality parameters of the three ornamental plants evinced that media combinations of Red soil + River sand + Vermicompost (1:1:1/2) + Stockosorb (T9) or Red soil + River sand + Vermicompost (1:1:1/2) + Geohmus (T10) can be used to establish the above ornamental plants in wooden containers of a vertical garden system fabricated in iron frames. Ornamental features Philodendron Chlorophytum Polyscias and Growth parameters erubescens comosum fruticosa Planting position in Side slit bottom layer Side slit top layer Top side planter box (Horizontal) (Horizontal) (Normal planting) Plant Texture Coarse Fine Medium coarse Days Taken for 17.77 25.33 9.27 Establishment Total biomass 204.20 52.64 375.32 (g plant -1) Dry matter Production 40.65 10.71 74.04 (g plant -1) Chlorophyll content 2.36 2.25 2.51 (mg g-1) Ornamental value index 7.36 5.94 8.55 Performance ranking II III I Table 3. Mean Performance of Ornamental plants grown in wooden containers of vertical garden system. 113 Standardization for vertical garden system J. Hortl. Sci. Vol. 13(1) : 108-115, 2018 Slits in the box to refer hole marks as in right side picture Fig 1. Fabrication of planter boxes for vertical garden system Marking to make holes for planting over slits Making planting holes out side Front view after making holes Planting 114 115 Rameshkumar J. Hortl. Sci. Vol. 13(1) : 108-115, 2018 REFERENCES Abedi-Koupai, J. and Asadkazemi, J., 2006. Effects of a Hydr ophilic Polymer on the Field Per for ma nce of a n Or na menta l Pla nt (Cupressus arizonica) under Reduced Irrigation Regimes, Iranian Polym. J., 15 (9): 715 –725. Boura nis, D. L. , A. G. T heodoropoulus, J. B. Drossopoulus. 1995. Designing Synthetic Polymers as Soil Conditioners, Commun. Soil Sci. Plant Anal.,26: 1455 – 1480. Golchin, A., Nadi, M. and Mozaffari, V. 2006. 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