Growth Characteristics, Growing Medium Properties, and Leaf Nutrient Contents of Silene compacta Fisch. Seedlings at Two Growing Periods Under Standardized Nursery Conditions

Despite the increasing interest in Silene compacta Fisch. as a landscape plant, its greenhouse cultivation protocols remain poorly explored, leaving a critical gap in optimizing seedling production duration and efficiency. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the growth characteristics, growing medium properties, and leaf nutrient contents of S. compacta seedlings grown for two different periods (2.5 and 4.5 months) under standardized nursery conditions using a single pot type, a uniform growing medium, and a fixed fertilization program. Seedlings were grown simultaneously under greenhouse conditions, and final measurements were made at the end of each assigned growing period. Differences between the two growing periods were evaluated using independent samples t-tests based on replicate means. Several growth traits, including leaf number, leaf area, root number, stem diameter, and root and shoot biomass, were significantly higher at 4.5 months than at 2.5 months, whereas plant height, plant width, lateral branching traits, leaf dimensions, and root length did not differ significantly between the two periods. In the growing medium, pH was higher at 4.5 months, whereas total nitrogen and several micronutrients were higher at 2.5 months. Leaf N, P, K, Mn, and Cu concentrations were also higher at 2.5 months, whereas leaf Ca concentration was higher at 4.5 months. Overall, the results indicate that the 2.5-month growing period provided sufficient seedling development within a shorter production time and may offer significant economic and practical advantages in terms of compact appearance, lower input requirement, and earlier saleable seedling production under the nursery conditions tested.