Aeration speeds root development, crop turnover

Ellepots by A.M.A. are compatible with any vegetative cutting, from trees and shrubs to perennials and tropicals. With sizes ranging from 20mm to 80mm diameter, there’s a size for virtually any need.

Ellepots are made of a course and fibrous peat mixture that’s never compressed, perlite, vermiculite, a wetting agent and a starter charge that is wrapped in biodegradable paper. Ellepots come preloaded in trays, providing growers with labor savings.

“They’re very convenient, from being preloaded and shipped to us on a pallet and shrink wrapped,” said Dino DiMenna of Ruthven Nursery and Garden Center in Leamington, Ontario, Canada. “Our people no longer have to mix soils or fill pots.”

Ruthven Nursery propagates primarily conifers in the 35mm Ellepot in a 55-count tray. The nursery’s water use was dramatically reduced when it switched to Ellepots, DiMenna said.

“We literally just put a fine mist on the top. We used to use a perlite and sand mix, and used probably 80 percent more water,” he said.

Ruthven Nursery also is getting more cuttings per square foot in the greenhouse.
The Ellepots also provide better rooting success.

“The mix is consistent and we get up to a 95 percent rooting success rate,” he said.
DiMenna takes the cuttings from the Ellepots and plants them directly into pots or into the fields.

For more: Ruthven Nursery and Garden Center, (519) 326-4019.