|
| I have a spider plant that is doing great---except that it isn't getting any babies. What can I do to help it along? |
Follow-Up Postings:
|
- Posted by pirate_girl (My Page) on Thu, Dec 23, 10 at 13:19
| Don't know, could be it's still too young, MAY just be a matter of time. |
|
- Posted by albert_135 (My Page) on Thu, Dec 23, 10 at 14:42
| I can no longer find Eve's Spider Plant page. I wonder if anyone had the foresight to save it to e-mail or some such? |
|
| PT - Sexual maturity and the ability for your plant to produce stolens & plantlets is determined by the ontogenetic (not chronologic as in humans) age of tree organs. We tend to think of the age of plants in the same manner we think of age in humans or animals - chronologically. We, like plants, go through several life stages - embryonic, juvenile, adolescent (intermediate in plants), and mature, are stages roughly mirrored in plants. Where we vary greatly is in the way our cells age. In animals, body cells all mature at approximately the same speed. Plants grow by consecutive divisions of cells at the growing points (meristems), so their various parts are different ages (the top of the plant is younger than the basal portion, chronologically). So, if the plant has reached a sufficient age to have mature tissues (think of it as a certain number of cell divisions), vegetative reproduction can occur from 3 of the 4 phases I listed above. Two plantlets from the same plant are genetic twins, yet if planted and grown under different conditions, they can produce their own offsets as much as years apart. The plant exposed to conditions that cause it to grow more slowly will find that plant moving through its growth phases, moving toward sexual maturity much more slowly than a plant grown under conditions that stimulate robust growth. Plants that seem reluctant to produce plantlets have simply not had enough cell divisions for them to have arrived at sexual maturity. The two things you can do are: WAIT - for the plant to mature, or isolate those factors limiting growth and correct. Faster growth = an increased rate of cell division = plant arrives at maturity sooner. Al |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the House Plants Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.