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How plants react to longest day of the year


Chrysanthemums often are grown in greenhouses so they can be sold in bloom. (Photo: Debbie Arrington)

Some flowers need to count down to bloom time



Happy first day of summer!

The longest day of the year represents a seasonal milestone to people. To some plants, it represents much more.

Many different plants take their blooming cues from the ratio of daylight to darkness. They’re often referred to as “long-day plants” or “short-day plants,” but it’s actually the hours of dark night that cause their reaction.

Called photoperiodism, this reaction can be found in several crops and popular flowers. (A photoperiod is the number of hours of light in a day.) It not only controls flowering but vegetative growth and root development.

To take advantage of that light-sensitive reaction, commercial nurseries often manipulate the number of hours plants are exposed to bright light or total darkness in greenhouses so plants can be shipped to customers in bloom.

Rudbeckia is a long-day plant. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)
Long-day plants naturally bloom in spring as days get longer. Their trigger is when daylight (or darkness) reaches a certain critical point, which varies by species. That group includes pansies, peas, snapdragons, rudbeckias, petunias, coreopsis, lobelias and Shasta daisies.

Many fall- and winter-blooming plants need shorter days and longer nights to trigger their flower cycles. That group includes dahlias, chrysanthemums and poinsettias.

These short-day plants need total darkness through the night to cue their flower cycles. Outdoor or other artificial lighting can interrupt their “sleep” and keep them from blooming.

Conversely, some long-day plants could be forced into bloom with four hours of intense light in the middle of the night in addition to natural daylight hours.

Research at Michigan State University found that dahlias bloomed much faster when exposed to 10 hours of light daily, compared to 12, 14 or 16 hours. When exposed to light 24 hours a day, they didn’t bloom at all.

When will our days and nights be even? That’s the autumnal equinox, which this year falls on Sept. 23.

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Garden Checklist for week of June 8

Get out early to enjoy those nice mornings. There’s plenty to keep gardeners busy:

* Warm weather brings rapid growth in the vegetable garden, with tomatoes and squash enjoying the heat. Deep-water, then feed with a balanced fertilizer. Bone meal or rock phosphate can spur the bloom cycle and help set fruit.

* Generally, tomatoes need deep watering two to three times a week, but don’t let them dry out completely. Inconsistent soil moisture can encourage blossom-end rot.

* It’s not too late to transplant tomatoes, peppers or eggplant.

* From seed, plant corn, melons, pumpkins, radishes, squash and sunflowers.

* Plant basil to go with your tomatoes.

* Transplant summer annuals such as petunias, marigolds and zinnias.

* It’s also a good time to transplant perennial flowers including astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia, salvia and verbena.

* Feed camellias, azaleas and other acid-loving plants. Mulch to conserve moisture and reduce heat stress.

* Cut back Shasta daisies after flowering to encourage a second bloom in the fall.

* Trim off dead flowers from rose bushes to keep them blooming through the summer. Roses also benefit from deep watering and feeding now. A top dressing of aged compost will keep them happy. It feeds as well as keeps roots moist.

* Pinch back chrysanthemums for bushier plants with many more flowers in September.

* Tie up vines and stake tall plants such as gladiolus and lilies. That gives their heavy flowers some support.

* Dig and divide crowded bulbs after the tops have died down.

* Feed summer flowers with a slow-release fertilizer.

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