• Re: Confused Plants (please excuse the slight necropost)

    From The Bjornsdottirs - Reinhilde@zerda@umbrellix.net to rec.gardens on Wed Feb 28 03:18:29 2024
    From Newsgroup: rec.gardens

    Hi John,

    They don't know where they are. They just know how warm the soil and air around them is, and once their leaves are above ground, how much water and light ( = sugar, = building blocks and a fuel if you're a plant) is
    available.

    Depending on how they deal with unseasonable weather when they're supposed
    to be growing, they may fare better or worse. To them, the re-onset of
    winter will be like having gotten started late in summer and getting
    frozen up early.

    Again, they don't know where or when they are. They just know temperature, light, water, nutrients, and their fungal/bacterial friends and enemies.

    As of Sun, 16 Jan 2022 17:29:25 -0500, in message 9%0FJ.203136$6a3.158046@fx41.iad, John McGaw <Nobody@Nowh.ere> wrote:

    On the 10th of January I did a quick survey of my beds while strolling
    down the walk toward the mailbox. I noted that narcissi, crocus, and
    what I took to be a stray tulip or three were breaking ground and up to
    a hand's breadth high. Hyacinth are nosing through the mulch. One lone
    yellow crocus and a few creeping phlox and dianthus were in bloom. Don't
    they know that this is the middle of the bloody winter? A week ago there
    were a few blooms on an azalea at the end of the drive. This is
    happening in central East Tennessee, not the tropics. How are plants
    supposed to survive this sort of confusion?
    --
    Reinhilde Bjornsdottir <zerda@umbrellix.net> - Member Switchposters United
    for Justice - <https://spufj.trd.is./>

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