Rhapis excelsa is one the most important ornamental palm cultivated in the world, mainly as vase plant, being indigenous to China. The aim of this research was to investigate the influence of vase height on the development of the species. Two years-old seedlings with 10 cm height and 10 cm root system length were transplanted to PVC containers with 10 cm diameter and 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 cm height. The vase substratum was a mixture of pine bark, vermiculite and soil (2:1:1), fertilized with 45 g of Osmocote (15:10:10). The evaluated parameters were: plant height, stem based diameter, number of leaves and numbers of shoots, at 06, 12 and 18 months after the beginning of the experiment. For 18 months plants, the foliar dry matter weight and the roots dry matter weight were also evaluated. The experimental design was completely randomized with five replicates and each experimental unit was composed of 2 plants. There was a significant difference for the parameter plants height at 6 months, and the 40 cm height container presented the worst results. There was no significant difference among the treatments at 12 months since transplantation. After 18 months, there were significant differences among the treatments for the parameters plant height and diameter of the lap, with plant height being lower for the 40 cm container than other treatments and the diameter of the lap being greater for 25 cm container. The use of 25 cm height containers was interesting because of the quality of the grown plants and in relation to the economical aspects of the production.
Height; recipient; palm tree; seedlings
