Effects of cultural treatments and gibberellin A4/7 on flowering of container-grown European and Japanese larch

Gibberellin A4/A7 (GA4/7) was injected into the main stem of container-grown Larix decidua Mill. and Larix kaempferi (Lamb.) Carr. grafts, using different quantities and times of application of GA4/7 and applying it both alone and in combination with heat, drought, girdling, or root pruning. The GA4/7 did not increase flowering, and girdling and root pruning alone were ineffective. In contrast, flowering was substantially increased when grafts were placed in a polythene house from May (beginning of long-shoot elongation) to June or early September (depending on experiments), in three separate experiments, with mean maximum temperatures of 29-30 degrees C. This heat treatment significantly increased both seed- and pollen-cone production, and drought treatment significantly increased seed-cone production. Treatment means of up to 143 seed cones and between 250 and 1000 pollen cones per graft, on 1.5 m tall grafts, were observed. In one experiment heat treatment in the polythene house did not increase flowering. In that experiment vegetative buds reflushed during treatment in the polythene house, which could have reduced potential flowering sites; the reflushing may have been associated with needle damage possibly caused by higher than usual temperatures, of over 40 degrees C.