Written and edited by Tammy 3nd February 2023
The sun peeped up over the vineyards shortly after 6am yesterday morning as we left for work, I went from pondering harvesting and the pending rain, to the fact that it was lighter earlier this time last week, then, how plants know that the season is about to change. Do they get a memo that the next season is fast approaching?
No, they don't get a memo, they determine what time of the year it is based on the length of the days, hours of daylight.
There's a fancy word for it, called 'photoperiodism'. It's the terminology given to a plants ability to regulate its development based of the hours of daylight. A chemical within plants called Florigen tells the plant 'The days are getting shorter, time to hurry up and stop putting on foliage and focus on reproduction before time runs out'.
With deciduous trees, we get all those beautiful Autumn colours .....that's a direct result of the chlorophyll in the leaves breaking down as the days shorten. The pretty colours were there all along, you just couldn't see them because of the chlorophyll. Without leaves, the tree loses its ability to photosynthesise and keep doing its thing, so it shuts down (becomes dormant) and goes to sleep for the season. As soon as the ground begins to warm, and the days begin to lengthen it signals the plants to wake up and the cycle begins all over again.
So, plants are actually smarter than us, we look at a Calander, the time on the clock, or we notice the colour of the leaves on the trees, and we think 'wow the season is changing' but in reality....... plants are all over this way before you and I realise what is going on.
What's the lesson in this, other than me getting out of a warm bed in the dark? listen to your plants, watch for the little clues, the changing colours of the leaves, vegetables bolting quickly to seed, or them simply slowing down with their rate of growth. They will let you know what is going on.
Enjoy this beautiful drop of rain, 'liquid gold' and have a wonderful Friday.
Happy gardening😘🌳
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