Synthetic substrate for use in the rooting of cuttings and the raising of seedlings and plants

A synthetic substrate for use in the rooting of cuttings and the raising of seedlings, comprising an expanded, low density, semi-rigid, substantially hetero-cellular plastics material having a plurality of regions of relative low density, said regions of low density having at least one blind bore for receiving, in use, cuttings or seedlings to be propagated, and the regions of low denisty being separated by regions of relatively high density which exhibit higher capillarity, water absorbency and retention capacity than said regions of low density.

A synthetic substrate for use in the rooting of cuttings and the raising of seedlings, comprising an expanded, low denisty, semi-rigid, substantially hetero-cellular plastics material haivng a plurality of regions of relatively low density which are adapted to receive, in use, cuttings or seedlings to be propagated, the regions of low density being separated by regions of relatively high density which exhibit higher capillarity, water absorbency and retention capacity than said regions of low density, said substrate being in the form of a bandolier wherein the plurality of low density regions are separated in the longitudinal direction of the bandolier by narrow strip regions of high density, said lower density regions containing at least one blind bore for receiving cutting or seedlings.

A synthetic substrate for use as capillary matting for transmitting water/nutrients to plants comprising an expanded, low density, semi-rigid, substantially hetero-cellular plastics material having at least one region of relatively low density which exhibits relatively low capillarity, water absorbency and retention capacity and on which, in use, a plant container can be placed, and at least one region of relatively high density disposed below said region of relatively low density and exhibiting higher capillarity, water absorbency and retention capacity than said low density region, said substrate being in the form of a substantially planar lamina with said region of high density forming one surface thereof and said region of low density forming the opposite surface thereof.

A bandolier for use in the rooting of cuttings and the raising of seedlings, having a plurality of first regions of generally oval cross section separated in the longitudinal direction of the bandolier by second, narrow, strip regions and having at least one blind bore provided in said plurality of first regions, said first and second regions being formed integrally from an expanded, semi-rigid, substantially hetero-cellular plastics material but said first regions being of a relatively low density so as to exhibit relatively low capillarity while said second narrow, strip regions are of a relatively high density so as to exhibit a relatively higher capillarity than said low density regions.