April 2019 - 35

CULTURE REPORT
CULTURE
Although the FanciFiller program is made up
of many plants, there is surprisingly uniform
plant culture among the varieties. Since they
were selected for use in combinations with
other plants, their production fits in with most
growing schedules and environments.
Some unifying characteristics are they are
grown primarily for their foliage, they are all
sun and heat tolerant, and they all prefer to
dry, not to wilt, in between watering, making
them easy to grow and for consumers to care
for. Culturally, I split them between non-silver
foliage and silver foliage.
PROPAGATION
The non-silver foliage items do not need much
Lysmachia 'Sunburst'
Specific Variety
CHARACTERISTICS
Alternanthera 'Choco Chili' - Dark foliage
is shade tolerant but gets darker in full
sun. Its semi-trailing habit makes it an
ideal combination component.
Artemisia 'Sea Salt' (NEW) - Silver
foliage and an upright/mounding habit.
Very cold tolerant.
Didelta 'Silver Strand' (NEW) - Silver,
velutinus foliage begs to be touched. True
mounding habit.
Helichrysum 'Silverstar' - Finely textured,
silver foliage, along with ample vigor make
this plant a must have for large, vigorous
combination planters.
Lysimachia 'Karat' - Dramatic gold foliage
that trails sharply over container edges.
Very cold tolerant.
Lysimachia 'Sunburst' (NEW) - Robust
trailing plant with deep green leaves and
contrasting, burgundy midrib.
Plectranthus 'Guacamole' (NEW) - Gold
leaves with irregular splotches of green
along the midrib. Mounding habit.
Satueja 'Indian Mint' - Sprawling, trailing
foliage with the sharp, crisp scent of
mint. The perfect amount of cool for hot
summer combos.
assistance during propagation, typically rooting
freely under standard propagating conditions
in the first five to seven days. Once rooting
is initiated, mist can gradually be reduced,
eventually eliminated after 10 to 14 days.
The silver foliage items are a bit slower to root
and more sensitive in propagation; specifically,
they prefer to not retain water on the leaf
surface for extended periods. Maintaining a high
humidity environment is critical, initially, but
reducing this as quickly as possible will help to
maximize success. These also prefer a rooting
hormone, typically KIBA at 100 ppm, to aid in
rooting speed and uniformity.
A pinch in propagation is recommended for all
the FanciFillers, once roots have hit the sides of
the cell, and any PGRs used should be extensively
trialed before treating your entire crop.
FINISHING
FanciFillers are very easy to finish in either
a 4-inch pot or in a mixed combo. Maintain
moderate levels of fertility, 0.6 to 0.9 EC, with
a constant 100- to 15-ppm nitrogen feeding
regime, and a pH of 5.8 to 6.5. PGR use for
height control is not recommended without
trialing, but height control can be gained
with watering practices. Also, an additional
pinch/shear will result in fuller plants, without
sacrificing vigor.
While some of the FanciFillers are quite cold
tolerant and suitable for fall combinations,
warmer conditions will lead to more rapid
growth, so it is recommended to maintain day
temperatures between 65 and 68° F and night
temperatures of 62 to 65° F. Typically seven to
nine weeks is all that is needed to finish smaller
pots from a standard 102 liner, or faster under
summer conditions.
Bart Hayes is sales manager with Westhoff/
PAC Elsner. He can be reached at bart.hayes@
westflowers.de.
April 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April 2019
