Pulling down to correct level

Brian Whyer brian.whyer@btinternet.com
Wed, 13 Jul 2005 15:04:25 PDT
I have often wondered how a bulb, or other bulbous plant, knows its
depth in the soil, or what the effect of trying to move itself might
achieve. Is it trying to get dryer, wetter, cooler, warmer, away from
the light or oxygen rich air...?
Trying to relate this to pot growing is even more complex as pots heat
up quite differently, may have wetter tops or bottoms depending on your
watering regime, and with nutrient poor growing mediums and ample
nutrient rich water, tending to hydroculture, may produce unnatural root
systems. I rarely find adult bulbs moving down much in pots when grown
in gritty soil based composts, and bulbs that increase quickly
vegetatively, or self seed readily, like some Habranthus, usually push
themselves up to the surface or burst the pot, whichever is the easier
for them.

Brian Whyer, Buckinghamshire, England, zone ~8


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