Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Plant Growth Regulators - Another Wordy Wednesday Ramble

You know those tiny perfect 4" potted roses that are sold everywhere for Valentines Day and Mother's Day? Did you ever wonder how those roses got to look so perfect when your roses at home haven't bloomed out yet? And seriously do roses naturally bud and bloom when they are 4" tall? The answer to that question is NO, they don't. There is nothing natural about it.

So here's something you probably didn't know. Growers use an arsenal of Plant Growth Regulators to achieve the 4" blooming rose and others plant wonders. These regulators are synthetic hormones made to mimic the plants natural hormones. These are then administered to the plant for the purposes of rapid growth, or delayed growth, whatever the grower's needs may be.

Let's say you're growing a crop of plants that need to be ready for market in April. You need these plants to be fully leafed out and budding when the buyers need them in April. Relying on nature, even temperature controlled greenhouses, often isn't enough control. They won't be full enough or perfect enough in their 4" pot for the buyer to perceive them as worth the price. So in comes Plant Growth Hormone Regulators. The grower can play with how the plant grows by administering one or more "regulators" to achieve the end result he or she wants. Science controlling nature. Remember, a 4" potted plant needs to look full but not leggy, and be budded and ready to bloom. All with a root system that is approx 3x3".

So what's the big deal? Well, have you ever noticed that you take your 4" pot home and put it in the ground and nothing happens. The plant doesn't grow for a year or more. Then finally, if it makes it through the heat of summer and the next winter, then it starts to take off. This is because the plant has been programmed through these regulators to NOT grow. Remember, the grower wants the plant to stay little, compact and contained in a 4" pot, The plant doesn't know it's been purchased and put outside in the soil and sunlight and you're now ready for it to grow. It's doing what it's been programmed to do. Sit tight and stay cute.

Last summer I had the privilege of helping a customer landscape their front yard. They purchased all their plants from The Secret Garden. Six months after installation, I stopped by the house to take some pictures of the garden all grown in. The homeowner was thrilled with how everything was growing in nicely. All except three of nine guaras that lined a walk way. Hmmm, I wondered, why would those three not be doing as well as the others? Well it turned out that we hadn't had enough to complete the walk way and the homeowner had purchased three from another store. Different grower. Plant Growth Regulators? I'd bet my money on it.

Today I was talking to a grower of houseplants while purchasing for the store. We were talking shop and discussing different fertilizers and lighting conditions and generally geeking out on our passions. He asked me if I used "regulators" to which my replay was NO. Then he showed me some of his plants that were regulated against the same type of plant without use of regulators. The difference was extreme. The unregulated one was actually bigger but not quite as full. Beautiful in its own right, but not "Picture Perfect". And the color of the regulated one was so much more vivid. It looked like it was photo-shopped with a filter. I was momentarily intrigued. But that's where it ended. Because next he told me that if I was going to use it, we had to tent an area so it wouldn't stray where it shouldn't and we'd need to be fully suited up to not breathe the material or have skin contact. It's a known carcinogenic. Nope! Not at our nursery!

I'm happy to report that while we do grow a lot of our own plants, we only use organic fertilizers and no plant growth regulators. I'm ok with slightly less than picture perfect plant specimens because that's how nature intended for them to be. Love us or leave us, but we're choosing the non-carcinogenic growing options thank you.

There, I'll get off my soap box now.

Jennifer



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