The experiment was conducted at the Department of Fitotecnia, in the Federal University of Santa Maria, RS, from August 1993 to January 1995. The purposes were to verify the effect of cold storage in the lenght of cultivation of hydrangea - Hydrangea macrophylla (Thunb.) Ser, and to obtain informations on the development of the hydrangea culture, through the fenometric characterization of the cultivars available in the region. It was conducted in completely randomized design, with five replications. The experiment was a 6 x 3 bifactorial whose treatments were six cold storage periods (zero, two, three, four, five and six weeks) in a cold chamber in a temperature of 2°C and three hydrangea cultivars (cv. Rustic, White and Decorative). The results showed no influence of the 2°C storage and growth regulator for the cultivars Rustic and Decorative. In the White cultivar a delay of two months occured in the flowering. Accordingly, the three cultivars have a good potential for potted production and are characterized through the differences for diameter of the inflorescence, flowering cycle and total cycle of culture.
refrigerated; hydrangea; fenometriy; cycle
