Pot plant production of Campanula carpatica Jacq.: Low temperature treatment influences vegetative growth, flower induction, and flower number in twocultivars

After a vegetative growing season in the open Campanula carpatica 'Dark blu e' and 'Uniform' plants were treated in climate cabinets at three different temperature levels and for three different periods. Afterwards the plants were subjected to forcing in a greenhouse. Treatments at 5 degrees C or 10 degrees C did not influence Campanula carpa tica 'Dark blue' with respect to vegetative plant reestablishment. Vegetati ve growth decreased only after an exposure time of five or eight weeks at 2 0 degrees C. On the other hand shoot height increased after influence by lo w temperature. Time to flowering decreased, and the flower numbers increase d with the degree of exposure to low temperature. In Campanula carpatica 'Uniform', a seed propagated cultivar, no difference s in time to flowering was observed from low temperature treatments, but th e flower number increased. It can be concluded that temperature treatments during the preforcing period influenced vegetative and generative growth pa rameters in the vegetatively propagated Campanula carpatica 'Dark blue'. In the seed propagated Campanula carpatica 'Uniform' the flowering was influe nced as well.