the circle of life
“Seeds are tiny, live
plants in stasis,
usually with a
food store inside a
protective shell called
a seed coat.”
One of the benefits of indoor gardening is that it allows the
gardener control over the seasons, and the environment
plants are grown in. With this added element of control, the
natural life cycle of plants can be somewhat manipulated
to the advantage of the savvy indoor gardener. But before
the novice gardener can begin manipulating conditions
in the indoor garden to affect a plant’s stages of growth, a
grower must have a good understanding of how plants start,
develop and grow.
The Seedling and Growth Stages
A plant starts off as a seed. Seeds are tiny, live plants in
stasis, usually with a food store inside a protective shell
called a seed coat. The tiny plants already have one or
two seed leaves (cotyledons), a stem (hypocotyl) and a
root (radicle). Under the right environmental conditions,
viable seeds will sprout. Seeds always require water,
generally require warmth, and sometimes have specific
light requirements. To conserve space and help keep the
sprouting seeds manageable, rooting cubes, cell partitions
for 1020 trays or plastic cups are just a few of the options to
house young seedlings. Growers should note the planting
date, as well as the varieties planted. Plastic label stakes can
be moved from container to container with the plant. A
warm location is usually preferred, and sometimes a heating
mat is used to help maintain sprouting temperature.
Moisture passes through the seed coat through tiny holes
called micropyles. Although not usually necessary, presoaking the seeds in water may hasten this process. The moisture
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swells the embryo, which employs hydraulic pressure to
burst the seed coat. The radicle extends to establish the root
system, and the cotyledons unfurl and become the first leaves
of the plant. Seedlings are tender and susceptible to mortal
damage, so should be treated carefully.
Vigorous growth occurs during preadolescence. The
plant develops in size, both in leaf and shoot development,
and extends the root system. As seedlings outgrow their
original containers, they should be carefully transplanted
into larger containers.
Cuttings are sometimes taken from a plant and rooted in a
process known as vegetative propagation. With this method,
a growth tip and a section of stem are cut from the parent
plant and the stem is kept moist and placed in a lighted,
warm location until roots develop. This is possible because
there are cells called meristematic cells in the stem that
under the right conditions will become root cells.
Plants started from cuttings are sections of the mother
plant from which the cuttings came, and as such tend to be
very similar to each other. These types of plants are commonly referred to as clones, as they share the same DNA as
the mother plant. Gardeners use this to their advantage to
increase numbers of superior specimens, or to learn about
a particular plant by examining its cuttings. For example,
if a plant cutting is taken and rooted, then exposed to
flowering conditions, then the flower color of the parent
plant can be determined even though the original parent
plant hasn’t started to flower. Making sure each cutting
has an appropriate label can simplify identification when
matching plant cutting to parent.