A Study of Flower Bud Hardiness in Azalea1
Open Access
- 1 January 1976
- journal article
- Published by American Society for Horticultural Science in Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science
- Vol. 101 (1) , 7-10
- https://doi.org/10.21273/jashs.101.1.7
Abstract
A rapid freezing test was used to study the acclimation of flower buds in 7 cultivars of deciduous azalea (Rhododendron spp.). The exotherm temperature of 10 excised florets was used as an estimate of flower bud hardiness. In late September florets showed a range of lethal freezing temperature of −8 to −19°C. Floret lethal temperature decreased, the rate of change depending upon both environment and cultivar, until late February when florets of 5 cultivars had reached maximum hardiness, ranging from −7 to −43°C, Fluctuations in environmental temperature caused rapid hardening and dehardening even in January and February. Hardy cultivars avoided injury by responding to changes in temperature more rapidly than tender ones. The hardiness of florets was highly correlated with moisture content. Avoidance of freezing injury depends more upon the ability to lose water rapidly from floret tissues than upon the maximum hardiness level the floret is capable of reaching.Keywords
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