Effects of different substrate composition on growth of Gesneriaceae plants

The cultivation experiments were carried out to test the effects of different proportions of peat soil, perlite, vermiculite, and yellow mud. on 6 species of Gesneriaceae (Chirita gueilinensis, Sinningia speciosa, Lysionotus pauciflorus, Hemiboea henryi, Aeschynanthus acuminatus, and Saintpaulia ionantha) The growth traits were investigated for each plant growing in 7 different matrix materials. The height, crown volume growth and chlorophyll content of each plant were measured. The results showed that the best substrate ratio was peat soil：vermiculite=2：1 for C. gueilinensis, L. pauciflorus and H. henryi; peat soil：perlite：vermiculite=2：1：1 for S. ionantha; peat soil：vermiculite：yellow mud=2：1：1 for S. speciosa; and peat soil：perlite：vermiculite：yellow mud=2：1：1：1 for A. acuminatus.