With spring here and warmer weather just around the corner, the flowers are starting to bloom!! My daffodils in the front garden look beautiful! But how did they decide to open up? For a long time no one understood how plants and flowers know when they should wake up year after year.
In the fall a plant’s dormant cycle starts causing their hormones to go crazy, slowing down their metabolism. Their stored food source that was manufactured throughout the year moved to their roots and is kept there for the winter. The cells in each plant undergo changes to prevent it from freezing during the winter. At this point the plant is considered dormant. While dormant, the plant racks up a certain amount of hours in a “chill period” before the buds are ready to stretch out!
The hormone that causes a plant to go dormant is called ABA otherwise known as abscisic acid. Its primary function starts in the fall and halts plant growth. ABA then begins to break down after the chill period ends and allows the plants to restart growth. That’s why you see little green roots coming out of the ground the second the frost is off the ground!
Once it’s warm enough, the gibberellins (responsible for stem elongation) and the cytokinins (responsible for cell division) rev up and get themselves started!! And there you go! Your plants start to grow!!
I’ve never been one for gardening but now that I’m a homeowner I enjoy picking plants and watching someone else put them in LOL! We have rose bushes and we love them!! My favorite thing of all in our yard is the magnolia tree!! I’m OBSESSED! And I hate flowers honestly but when I see the magnolias bloom it makes my heart sing. If I ever get married I want moss, succulents and magnolias and that’s it!
Xoxo,
Z
