PBS Forum

Steff - good project, very interesting story. Martin's reference to 'Molseed' goes back to the PBS wiki page on Tigridia:

https://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/Tigridia

The gardening world has managed to lose lots of things over the years, holly with white berries for example. Vendors will fill demand with whatever they have. Stuff drifts, I have pots of cultivars which are not what they were, because they have generated seed which has grown and replaced the original.

Look at it another way, sometimes it is where the plant is grown that counts, quality of the soil and climate. Some plants in some places do well and produce lots of variation.

The old thing that keeping your own seed will produce plants better adapted to your garden.

Hi @Judy Glattstein - are you attaching the image or inserting it in the text (bad likely to give a text too long error) - you need to use the "click or drag files here to attach them" area at the bottom of the 'reply' box.

Hi @Judy - what was the error message?

Poland's 'Heart of the Garden' crowned Tree of the Year

The monumental common beech tree grows in an old park in the University of Wroclaw's botanical garden. It's the third Polish tree in a row to win.


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-68351596

Bern - that book is a very good effort.

Tip, the link above takes you to a folder. If you just download it, Google will mess about zipping it and you'll end up with 1.2GB of duplicated material. Instead double click the folder and seek out the 200MB combined chapters PDF file:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mDG0x82S941a577PGjWgVMTepA8_haV9/view?usp=drive_link

There are lots of plants that are attractive to ants - deliberately - seeds have sweet sticky treats attached to encourage the ants to spread them.

I had a look at Forum for Epiphytic Myrmecophytes, seems to be under new management. Proves there is never a shortage of new interesting plants.

I'd be worried that ants might take up living in then - maybe has to be a specific type of ant.

Giant redwoods: World's largest trees 'thriving in UK'

Giant redwoods - the world's largest trees - are flourishing in the UK and now even outnumber those found in their native range in California.
The giants were first brought to the UK about 160 years ago, and a new study suggests they are growing at a similar rate to their US counterparts.
An estimated 500,000 trees are in the UK compared to 80,000 in California.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-68518623

Trimezia

"
In tropical forests, some plants known as ant-plants, or myrmecophytes, are engaged with ants in tight, often obligatory relationships. These plants have specialised hollow structures, called domatia, to host ant colonies.
"

Climate change is turning the trees into gluttons
Sep27,2022

The study, recently published in the Journal Nature Communications, finds that elevated carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have increased wood volume – or the biomass – of forests in the United States.

This phenomenon is called carbon fertilization: An influx of carbon dioxide increases a plant's rate of photosynthesis, which combines energy from the sun, water, and nutrients from the ground and air to produce fuel for life and spurs plant growth.


https://news.osu.edu/climate-change-is-turning-the-trees-into-gluttons/#:~:text=Although%20other%20factors%20like%20climate,forest%20groups%20across%20the%20country.

Interesting that the article lists a few companies that have gone bust in that line of business.

I don't believe the claims - I have a dehumidifier running 24/7, every day I pour away 3 litres of water. Can a plant derive its water from the air and store it in its tissue - yes. Can it store 3 litres a day, no chance.

As a child adults would say that plants had to be removed from the room at night for safety - due to the CO₂ emitted. I one set up a CO₂ monitor, it is interesting how high CO₂ will get without ventilation (and that was a room without plants).

I bought a £10 moisture sucking plant from B&M and it's worked wonders for damp and mould in my home

In fact there are quite a few clever houseplants that can suck moisture from the air and help prevent the build up of mould.

Eager to give one a try, I managed to find a snake plant - also known as a Sansevieria - at B&M, costing £10.

Other common house plants that can help banish mould include spider plants, orchids, Boston fern, English ivy, peace lily and palm plants.

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/shopping/bought-10-moisture-sucking-plant-28630964

Plants can talk to each other and scientists say it should make us rethink how we treat them


Scientists in Japan observed plants sending tiny, mist-like messages to each other through the air.
This is the first time we've seen visual evidence of plants talking to each other.
The researchers think the plants are warning each other of dangerous threats.


https://www.businessinsider.com/plants-talk-to-each-other-scientists-record-for-first-time-2024-1?r=US&IR=T#:~:text=And%20for%20the%20first%20time,detects%20certain%20chemicals%20as%20light.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RN7ONxZZlJc