Mechanized potting in gallon containers speeds nursery marketing of ornamentals

THE PRODUCTION OF ORNAMENTAL PLANTS in gallon-size containers is a major enterprise in California. An estimated 350 nurseries in the state produced over 80 million dollars worth of container grown plants in 1967 (not including cut flowers). The potting of plants in gallon containers is one of the principal operations in most nurseries and at the same time a major labor requirement. Potting in gallon cans is still largely a hand operation although in a few cases it has been partially mechanized. The project described here attempts to better mechanize this operation and to thus minimize cost and labor requirements.