Oplopanax (horridus)

Tara Luna USDI NPS - Glacier National Park West Glacier, Montana 59936 (406) 888-7835 http://plant-materials.nrcs.usda.gov/azpmc

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Family Scientific Name:	Araliaceae
Family Common Name:	Carrot Family
Scientific Name:	Oplopanax horridus Miq.
Common Synonym:	Oplopanax horridum (Smith) Miq.
Common Name:	Devil's Club
Species Code:	OPLHOR
Ecotype:	Cedar/Devil's Club habitat, 1000 m elev., Avalanche, Glacier National Park, Flathead Co., MT.
General Distribution:	O. horridus occurs in moist forests from Alaska to Oregon, east and west of the Cascades, east to Idaho and Montana, and in Michigan and Ontario.
Propagation Goal:	plants
Propagation Method:	vegetative
ProductType:	Container (plug)
Stock Type:	3 L containers
Time To Grow:	18 Months
Target Specifications:	Height: 10 cm<br> Caliper: 1.5 cm<br> Root System: Firm plug in 3L (1 gal)container.
Propagule Collection:	Semi-softwood stem cuttings were collected at bud break in early June. Cuttings averaged 20 centimeters in length and were 1.5 cm in diameter. Cuttings must be kept cool an moist during collection and transport to the nursery.
Propagule Processing:	Cuttings are kept under refrigeration and moist prior to treatment.
Pre-Planting Treatments:	Cuttings were treated with Domain fungicide rinse for 3 minutes prior to pre treatment. Cuttings were recut at the base to 20 cm lengths. Stem cuttings were treated with 3000 ppm IBA rooting powder and were stuck with at least 2 nodes below the surface of the rooting medium in an outdoor mistbed. Cuttings were rooted in a 50% perlite/50% sand rooting media with bottom heat (22C) and intermittent mist.
Growing Area Preparation/ Annual Practices for Perennial Crops:	Outdoor mistbed and shadehouse.
Establishment Phase:	Rooting %: 100% Cuttings were in the mist bed for 8 weeks and produced multiple roots that emerged from the nodes; averaging 4 cm in length at time of lifting. There was no callus formation at the base of the cutting.
Length of Establishment Phase:	8 weeks
Active Growth Phase:	Cuttings were upotted to 3 L containers and were kept in shadehouse throughout the active growth phase. Growing medium used is milled sphagnum peat, perlite, and vermiculite with Osmocote controlled release fertilizer (13N:13P2O5:13K2O; 8 to 9 month release rate at 21C) and Micromax fertilizer (12%S, 0.1%B, 0.5%Cu, 12%Fe, 2.5%Mn, 0.05%Mo, 1%Zn) at the rate of 3 grams of Osmocote and 0.60 gram of Micromax per container.
Length of Active Growth Phase:	10 weeks
Hardening Phase:	One final irrigation is applied before overwintering.
Length of Hardening Phase:	8 weeks
Harvesting, Storage and Shipping:	Total Time To Harvest: 1.5 years in 3L (1 gallon) containers. Harvest Date: September of the second year. Storage Conditions:Overwinter in outdoor nursery under insulating foam cover and snow.
Length of Storage:	5 months
Other Comments:	O. horridus is an important spring food source for black and grizzly bears. Birds and bears feed on the berries in the fall.
References:	Flora of the Pacific Northwest, Hitchcock and Cronquist, University of Washington Press, 7th printing, 1981. Seeds of the Woody Plants in the United States, Agriculture Handbook No. 450, U.S.F.S., Washington D.C., 1974. Seeds of Woody Plants in North America, Young and Young, Dioscorides Press, 1992. Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd Edition, Deno, N., published June,1993. Glacier Park Native Plant Nursery Propagation Records, unpublished.

Citation:

Luna, Tara; Wick, Dale; Hosokawa, Joy. 2008. Propagation protocol for production of Container (plug) Oplopanax horridus Miq. plants 3 L containers; USDI NPS - Glacier National Park West Glacier, Montana. In: Native Plant Network. URL: https://NativePlantNetwork.org (accessed 2025/02/25). US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, National Center for Reforestation, Nurseries, and Genetic Resources.