Impact of growing conditions and foliar nutrition on growth and development of Spanish bluebell (Hyacinthoides hispanica (Mill.) Rothm.)

Hyacinthoides hispanica (Mill.) Rothm. is a valuable bulbous ornamental plant grown in parks and gardens. It comes from the Iberian Peninsula, hence its cultivation under Polish conditions may be inefficient. The purpose of the study was to determine the effect of growing conditions and foliar feeding using phosphorous fertilizer on the growth and decorative qualities of H. hispanica. It was found that the pine bark layer effectively protected the plants from freezing, which had a beneficial effect on their growth and flowering characteristics. Flowering of plants grown without the mulch was minimal, which clearly indicates that mulching of the soil under H. hispanica can be necessary. Plants grown using the mulch produced more and longer leaves, and also formed more inflorescences and fruits as well as longer inflorescence stems. The addition of peat to the soil did not favour the growth and decorative qualities of H. hispanica, while foliar nutrition with phosphorous had a positive effect. In addition, the decorative values of H. hispanica were influenced by the interaction of soil mulching with bark and foliar feeding. Plants grown in this combination had more inflorescences, which were higher, composed of more flowers in the inflorescence and reached a greater diameter than non-fertilized ones. Tested cultivars of H. hispanica differed in their features of growth and flowering