Effect of nutrient compositions on growth of ornamental foliage plants in vertical gardening

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of nutrient compositions on the growth of ornamental foliage plants in vertical gardening. Three species, Philodendron, Syngonium and Pandanus, were grown under different nutrient compositions in a completely randomized design with a factorial concept and three replications. The study took place from November 2022 to March 2024 at the Floricultural Research Station, Agricultural Research Institute, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad. Over the two-year study, the treatment combination N2P2 (N2: 19:19:19 @ 2g/l + Micronutrient spray @ 4g/l with P2: Syngonium) showed the best results in terms of leaf area (941.08 cm²), survival percentage (100 %), number of suckers per plant (3.45), dry weight of root (0.737 g) and root length (27.79 cm). Meanwhile, N2P3 (N2: 19:19:19 @ 2g/l + Micronutrient spray @ 4g/l with P3: Pandanus) exhibited the maximum plant spread (N-S: 42.08 cm, E-W: 41.47 cm), number of leaves per plant (22.70), leaf thickness (1.21 mm) and leaf length (26.81 cm) at 180 days after planting (DAP).