"Liners" is a

horticultural Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

term referring to very young

plants Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclude ...

, usually grown for sale to

retailers Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...

wholesalers Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...

, who then grow them to a larger size before selling them to consumers. Liners are usually grown from

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosper ...

, but may also be grown from cuttings or

tissue culture Tissue culture is the growth of tissues or cells in an artificial medium separate from the parent organism. This technique is also called micropropagation. This is typically facilitated via use of a liquid, semi-solid, or solid growth medium, su ...

. They are grown in plastic trays with many "cells," each of which contains a single liner plant. Liners will typically range in size from a 36 cell tray up to a 288 cell tray. The most common size used in commercial nurseries is between 50 and 72 cells. The term "liner", is typically used for perennial, ornamental, and woody seedlings. Annuals in this form are usually referred to as plugs. According to the

U.S. Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of comme ...

, plants can only be defined as "liners" if they are at least an inch in diameter but not more than 3 inches in diameter at the widest point. Plant liners must also have established root systems that touch the outer edges of the container and stay intact when lifted from the container. The

's National Plant Materials Manual defines "liner" as plant material which is grown in one location and then “lined-out” in another location for finishing off. Plants may be started in seedbeds and lifted bare-root or grown in containers. Either type of these liners may finish their production cycle in the ground or in containers. A liner traditionally refers to lining out nursery stock in a field row. The term has evolved to mean a small plant produced from a rooted cutting, seedling, plug, or tissue culture plantlet. Direct sticking or direct rooting into smaller liner pots is commonly done in United States propagation nurseries. Seedlings and rooted cuttings can also be transplanted into small liner pots and allowed to become established during liner production, before being transplanted to larger containers (upcanned) or outplanted into the field.Aggie Horticulture

References

Horticulture {{horticulture-stub