Polyhouse at Newton Nursery
Photographs courtesy of John Keenleyside, who was in charge of Forest Research station at Newton for a number of years. Some images from Forest Research, Newton used in PDF. In this image John Keenleyside and Jim Davidson are assessing rooting and height growth of cuttings.
The series of photographs in the PDF begins with Alan Green selecting a cutting from a side branch of potted improved Sitka spruce; a new poly house in which to grow the cuttings; special cuttings from selected plants being inserted into a growing bed (Ian Borthwick and Jock Davidson possibly inserting the cuttings or perhaps lifting to check root deleopment?); extensive beds of inserted cuttings with misting system to help promote good rooting; (John Keenleyside and Jim Davidson checking height growth progress); view of full length of poly house and finally lifting cuttings for planting out into transplant lines.
John Keenleyside says ‘The Polyhouse had a capacity of 100,000 cuttings which were inserted in Feb/March and then lifted in July to be lined out in the nursery. The overhead mist nozzles system was designed by J. Atterson (Later North Scotland Conservator) who made the electronics to control the system. Bill Mason was the project leader and I was responsible for writing it up and handing over to the private sector. The write up was in RSFS Journal and I presented it to the International Plant propagators at Lancaster University. The main thing we found out was that the addition of conifer bark compost resulted in 100% rooting. A lady, Miss Scot, working at one of the English colleges found it out at exactly the same time and this made huge changes to the success of propagation in the horticultural industry.’
Groups: Forest Nurseries, Forest Research