Response of Cornus Florida to Moisture Stress

Abstract

Two experiments were conducted to determine the effects of moisture stress on one-year-old containerized Cornus florida. Recovery times of plant's shoot water potential, stomatal conductance and transpiration to the levels of nonstressed control plants were dependent on duration of moisture stress. Increased stress resulted in longer recovery periods. Shoot length was suppressed by severe moisture stress. Short periods of moisture stress, such as 10 days without water followed by normal watering, resulted in initial suppression of shoot length, but by the end of the growing season, there were no differences between short-term moisture-stressed plants and nonstressed plants. Longer periods of stress, such as 22 days without water, resulted in suppressed shoot growth in the growing season of the stress and also produced a slower shoot growth rate the following growing season.