#plant bloom

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Linnean House, Missouri Botanical Gardens

[sciencenewsforstudents]

Bumblebees may bite leaves to spur plant blooming

In a pollen shortage, some bees nick holes in tomato leaves. This can speed up flowering and pollen production by weeks.

Here’s a tip for bumblebees to get a slowpoke plant to bloom early. Just bite its leaves.

At least three species of bumblebees use their mouths to snip little confetti bits out of plant foliage. This foliage biting gets more common when there’s a pollen shortage, says Consuelo De Moraes. She’s a chemical ecologist and entomologist who works at ETH Zurich in Switzerland. Her team reported its findings in the May 22 Science.

De Moraes and her colleagues set up experiments with mustard and tomato plants. Plants nibbled by Bombus terrestris bees bloomed days or weeks earlier than unbitten plants. For these bumblebees, accelerating bloom times could be a lifesaver. When trying to start colonies in early spring, the bees rely on flower pollen as a protein source to feed their young.

Foteini Paschalidou is an ecologist now at France’s National Institute for Agricultural Research in Versailles-Grignon. She was the first team member to call attention to the behavior. She was working indoors on a different project with caged B. terrestris bees. At first, De Moraes worried. “Is it something wrong with them?”

The bees’ supplier and some farmers who used them to pollinate crops assured the researchers that nipping happens elsewhere. The team, though, hasn’t found any accounts in the scientific literature.

[etherealyearning]

Kew Gardens

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Mermaid & Alligator... Key West, Florida 🐊🧜🏼‍♀️ Our home in paradise for a week

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Latest bloom at Missouri Botanical Gardens inside The Climatron ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ₎𖹭

The Cyad (Encephalartos Ferox) produces the large, vibrant red cones. In 2018 and 2019, it produced two cones, but this year, it's got three!

[davezzf-blog]

Crinum Alfa (Cape Lily) 5 bulbs

Crinum Alfa (Cape Lily) 5 bulbs Crinum Alfa (Cape Lily) 5 bulbs White with a red stripe on the outside of each petal, this is perfect ornamental plant. Bloom Time: Jul - Sep Hardiness Zone: 9 - 10 Height: 30? - 36? Color: White Size: 24 cm in circ Light Requirements: Sun or Sun/Shade I can't start shipping on these until Feb 21 but, if you order now you will be the first to ship. If your ground can be dug you can plant these right now. I do not ship out of the United States. I do combine shipping if you order more than one item and I can combine them in the same box, I will refund you the difference in the shipping that you pay. This will save you alot in shipping.