Phalaenopsis ‘KS Little Gem’ is a new cultivar with superior ornamental qualities. Newly produced cultivars are often studied to determine the optimum growing conditions, as production management practices vary within species. We focused on the effects of temperature and fertilizer application on the growth and carbohydrate content of ‘KS Little Gem’ plantlets. Two-month-old plantlets were subjected to different temperatures (20, 25, and 30°C) and fertilizer rates (0.33, 0.5, and 1 g･L-1) inside a growth chamber. Data were collected from leaves and roots regarding their growth, fresh weight, sugar content, and starch content. The results revealed that temperature significantly affected leaves and roots parameters, fresh weight, and carbohydrate content of the plantlets. However, fertilizer rates alone showed no significant effects on the growth and carbohydrate content of plantlets. The highest leaf and root growth, root fresh weight, and leaf carbohydrate content were observed in plantlets subjected to 25°C. In addition, ‘KS Little Gem’ plants grown under 30°C had significantly inhibited growth and reduced carbohydrate content in both the leaves and roots.

A study was conducted to evaluate the effects of auxin, cytokinin, and their combined application to hasten their propagation using leaf cuttings. Different hormone levels were evaluated on two Echeveria species (E. subsessilis and E. runyonii). Three levels of auxin as represented by the use of indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) (0, 100, and 500 ppm), three cytokinin levels as represented by Kinetin (Ki) (0, 100, and 200 ppm) and their combination were applied and observed for 8 weeks. The use of 100 ppm IBA resulted in the highest shoot height, diameter, and rooting and shooting rate. Using 500 ppm IBA led the roots to develop the earliest but both species also had the highest mortality. The application of 100 ppm Ki significantly affected the majority of leaf cuttings of E. runyonnii which exhibited the highest and thickest shoots, and the number of leaves. The application of 100 ppm IBA and 100 ppm Ki is recommended to obtain increased shoot growth and development for leaf cuttings. In the case of single hormone use, the application of 100 ppm IBA may be preferable. The combination of auxin and cytokinin significantly stimulated the hastening of production of succulents using leaf cuttings.

Growth and development of succulents were studied in response to two leaf cutting types, the tip and base, using four Echeveria species (E. ‘A Grimm One’, E. ‘Momorato’, E. pulvinata ‘Frosty’, and E. pulidonis) and the planting position, either upright and faced-downward, using Graptoveria optalina. The shoot diameter (mm), height (mm), and number of leaves were significantly affected by the leaf cutting type. Results revealed that the shoot diameter of buds from base leaves were significantly larger by 4 - 9 times than those of buds from tip leaves. Shoot height of buds from tip leaves either not developed or reached a maximum of 2.29 mm while buds from base leaves had an average height of 11.61 mm from E. ‘Mamorato’. Using base leaves allowed to obtain roots and leaves for all selected succulent species after 60 days from planting. Regarding planting position, upright planted and downward-facing plants showed significant differences: buds from upright planting showed taller shoots, greater number of leaves which in turn gave higher visual quality rating and superior color reading using Hunter’s Cielab compared with buds in downward-facing planting position. Planting succulents in an upright position led to well-formed shoots and roots which had a high-quality rating and color evaluation compared with faced-downward planting producing etiolated and abnormal grown shoots. Based on these findings, we suggest that the use of base leaf cuttings and an upright planting position provides a rapid vegetative propagation method for selected succulent varieties.