Investigating Propagation of Different Native Species of Perovskia spp.

Perovskia spp. from the Lamiaceae family mostly grows as a wild plant the mountain areas with dry and cold climates. Perovskia is a beautiful plant, which can be used for urban landscaping, due to water shortage crises in the world. However, its propagation has several problems as seed dormancy in sexual propagation and low rooting percentage of cuttings in vegetative propagation. Therefore, this project was carried out to collect endemic species of Perovski, investigate their propagation, and use them in urban landscaping. Perovskia seeds in different species (P. atriplicifolia, P. abrotanoides, P. artemisioides) were exposed to cold treatment (5 oC) for different durations (3, 4 and 5 months) and seeds quality parameters (germination percentage, germination rate, seedling vigour index and seedling length) were measured. On the basis of the results, highest amount of germination percentage (98.66%), germination rate (10.23 g/d), seedling vigour index (6.93) and seedling length (7.35 cm) was recorded for P. atriplicifolia with 5 months’ cold treatment. Also, vegetative propagation of all studied species was investigated. Cuttings were treated with IBA at different levels (0, 300 and 500 ppm) and cultivated in autumn and spring. Different parameters (rooting percentage, speed of rooting and roots length) were recorded. Results indicated that highest rooting percentage (88%), speed of rooting (3.70r/d) and roots length (5.73 cm) were observed in P. atriplicifolia, which their cuttings were treated with 500 ppm IBA and cultivated at spring. Finally, by solving propagation problems of Perovskia, we can suggest it as a suitable plant for urban landscaping.