Eupatorium (serotinum)

John M. Englert USDA NRCS - Norman A. Berg National Plant Materials Center Bldg. 509, BARC - East, E. Beaver Dam Road Beltsville, Maryland 20705 (301) 504-8175 (301) 504-8741 (fax) john.englert@wdc.usda.gov http://plant-materials.nrcs.usda.gov/mdpmc/

---

Family Scientific Name:	Asteraceae
Family Common Name:	Aster Family
Scientific Name:	Eupatorium serotinum
Common Name:	Late eupatorium
Species Code:	EUPSER
Ecotype:	Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains National Park
General Distribution:	Bottomlands or moist woods, sometimes drier more open spaces. South New York to Illinois/Minnesota, south to Florida and Texas.
Propagation Goal:	plants
Propagation Method:	seed
ProductType:	Container (plug)
Time To Grow:	14 Weeks
Target Specifications:	Stock Type: Plug.<br> Height: 4-6" at delivery (after cutbacks).<br> Caliper: N/A.<br> Root System: Full firm plug.
Propagule Collection:	Collected in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Cades Cove, Old Field by M. Kloster on 11/4/99.
Propagule Processing:	Seed Processing: Seed was collected by hand in the park. Cleaning: Stems can be picked out and seeds hand-rubbed to remove pappus. The pappus may also be removed from the seed by a debearder modified by NPMC staff for small seed lots. For ease of cleaning, large seed lots are first run through a large clipper before being further refined in a desk top clipper. Either machine will need a solid bottom screen and top screen with holes large enough for the seed to fall through. Fan speed is set low enough to blow only empty seed out. Seeds/Kg: Approximately 5,000,000. Germination: Untested. In the NMPC greenhouse, germination was estimated at 30-50% of seeds sown. Purity: 90%.
Pre-Planting Treatments:	Seed Treatments: Seed trays were stratified 3 weeks at 40§F, 35% relative humidity.
Growing Area Preparation/ Annual Practices for Perennial Crops:	Propagation Environment: Greenhouse with alternating day/night temperatures; daytime temperatures vary from 70-85§F depending on natural solar; night temperatures average around 65-68§F. Plugs were grown under 14-16 hour long day conditions using high pressure sodium lighting from 4:30-10:30 p.m. Seed Propagation Method: Hand sown in germination trays. Container Type and Volume: Seed was sown in 406 germination plug trays. Seedlings were transplanted to Ropak multipots (67 cells). Growing Media: Germination mix for 406 plug trays; Transplanted into Sunshine #5 with Nutricote SR 180 day 18-6-8 @ 20 oz. per 3.8 cu. ft. bale of potting mix or 0.15 lb per cu. ft. of mix.
Establishment Phase:	Sowing Date: Seed flats were sown on 12/14/99 and stratified for 3 weeks; flats were removed from the cooler to a greenhouse bench on 1/7/00. Total Time to Harvest: About 14 weeks from germination to finished plug. % Emergence and Date: 30% of seeds sown had germinated by day 3 (over 1,000). Seedlings were too numerous afterwards to count. Sowing/Planting Technique: 0.6 gram of seed was mixed with 12.0 grams of talc and sprinkled over the surface of two 406 cell germination trays. Seeds were lightly sprayed with Triathlon fungicidal drench, covered with plastic and placed in cooler (above). Because protocol for seeding had not been established and the Eupatoriums have had a history of spotty germination, trays were generously seeded. In the future, smaller amounts of 1999 seed for this species will be used. Establishment Phase: Trays were placed under mist for one week after removal from cooler. Plugs were hand-watered afterwards. Seedlings were transplanted in clumps at 3 weeks after emergence to Ropak multipots. Some thinning was done to allow a single seedling to dominate each cell.
Active Growth Phase:	Rapid Growth Phase: Maintenance included: fertilization as needed or bi-weekly with water soluble fertilizer Technigro 16-17-17 @ approximately 100 ppm., two cutbacks to promote stem vigor and better air circulation near the media surface, and thinning of crowded seedlings.
Hardening Phase:	Hardening Phase: Plugs were moved outdoors to a sheltered location two weeks before outplanting in the spring.
Harvesting, Storage and Shipping:	Harvest Date: Finished plugs were delivered to the Park the first week in May and hand-dibbled into site in Cades Cove. Mature seed was collected from established plants in November, 1999. Seed storage: Seed was sown within 5 weeks of collection; remaining seed was stored in cooler @ 40§F, 35% relative humidity. Storage Conditions: Plugs were grown and outplanted in the same season and were not overwintered.
Length of Storage:	N/A.
Other Comments:	This was the first attempt at propagation of this species. Seeds were very small but germination was extremely rapid and dense. Suggest using smaller amounts of seed.
References:	Gleason, H. A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada, 2nd edition. New York Botanical Garden.

Citation:

Kujawski, Jennifer L.; Davis, Kathy M.. 2001. Propagation protocol for production of Container (plug) Eupatorium serotinum plants USDA NRCS - Norman A. Berg National Plant Materials Center Beltsville, Maryland. In: Native Plant Network. URL: https://NativePlantNetwork.org (accessed 2024/04/23). US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, National Center for Reforestation, Nurseries, and Genetic Resources.