1. Plant Life Cycles

2. What makes a plant a plant? And not a... ?Photosynthesis Simply put... Sequence of reactions performed in green plants Light energy converted into chemical energy

3. Photosynthesis

4. Photosynthesis In English.... Carbon dioxide + water + light yields Sugar and oxygen

5. Plant Life Cycles Annuals Biennials Perennials Herbaceous perennials Woody perennials

6. Annuals All in one growing season Cool season or warm season  Germination & vegetative growth Reproduction – flowering, seed production & seed dissemination Death 

7. Annuals (cont.) Fast growing Difficult to compete in natural settings Seeds must store enough food for seedlings to develop quickly Main reason we don’t see annuals in many natural settings

8. Annuals (cont.) Annuals can be found in the deserts Few herbaceous perennials for competition Seeds can last years With available water – rapid growth

9. Cool Season Annuals Seeds germinate with fall rains Warm days and soils Cool nights and shorter days Rapid seedling development Fast growth Flowering late winter to early spring Seeds mature and disseminated Quick process where water is scarce

10. Cool Season Annuals Some of the more common cool season annuals in our area Snapdragon (Antirrhinum) Stock (Matthiola) Pansy, Violets (Viola) Primrose (Primula) Forget-Me-Not (Myosotis) Sweet peas (Lathyrus) See the Sunset Western Garden Book pg. 70 & 71 in this previous edition

11. Cool Season Annuals Pansy Stock Snapdragon Forget-Me- Not Sweet Peas

12. Warm Season Annuals Warm season annuals Seeds germinate with late winter and spring rains Cool days and soils Rapid seedling development Fast growth Flowering late summer to early fall Seeds mature then disseminated

13. Warm Season Annuals

14. Biennials Requires two growing season  Reproduction – flowering, seed production & seed dissemination Death  Season 1Season 2 Germination & vegetative growth

15. Biennials Often grown as annuals Rarely woody Occasional secondary woody-like growth

16. Biennials Some of the more common biennials grown in our area: Foxglove (Digitalis) Queen Anne’s Lace (Daucus) Carrots (Daucus) Sweet William (Dianthus)

17. Biennials Foxglove Sweet William Carrots Queen Anne’s Lace

18. Perennials Divided into 3 groups — herbaceous and woody Can be long lived Annual vegetative and reproductive cycles Cycles are seasonal Daylily

19. Herbaceous Perennials Grow vegetatively In warm or wet seasons Dormant in cold or drought Non-woody Periodic burn cycles Survives using underground storage organs – roots, bulbs, tubers, rhizomes, corms and stolons

20. Geophytes Modified stems Plants with buds underground Associated with underground storage organs Rhizomes, tubers, corms and bulbs

21. “Bulbs” A “catch-all” term for underground storage organs Provides a reserve of nutrients Includes true bulbs, tubers, tuberous roots, corms, and pseudo- bulbs Mostly deciduous Stored reserves allow dormant survival Provides propagative materials

23. Bulbs True bulbs Monocots – many lilies and amaryllis Grows at or just below the soil surface Highly modified stem or basal plate Adventitious roots Anatomy of a bulb

24. Bulb Anatomy or bulblets

25. Bulbs Flowers often emerge first Reproduction can carry on immediately after dormancy Competition from shade is reduced

26. Common Bulbs

27. Garlic

28. Corms Bulb-like monocots Underground storage at or below soil line Modified stem with basal plate Growth points on top of corm New cormels formed for each season Cormels form on top of corm

29. Corm Anatomy

30. Corms

31. Rhizomes Modified stems At or below soil line Thick, fleshy and fibrous Adventitious roots along bottom of rhizome Buds at ends of rhizomes Divisible for propagation Associated with monocots Anatomy of a rhizome

32. Common Rhizomes

33. Ginger root

34. Tubers At or below soil line Solid and fleshy Associated with dicots Roots can emerge from anywhere on the surface Buds or “eyes” found over the surface Eyes used for propagation Anatomy of a tuber

35. Common Tubers

36. Tuberous Roots Modified roots Large, finger-like Buds form at proximal end Roots form at distal end Can be used for propagation Anatomy of tuberous roots

37. Common Tuberous Roots Dahlias Ranunculus Daylily

38. Stolons Modified stems Grows along soil surface Stolons develop roots and shoots at nodes Anatomy of a stolon

39. Common Stolons St. Augustine Grass Strawberry Spider Plant

40. Plant Life Cycles (cont.) Woody Perennials Lives more than two years Can have extremely long life spans Annual vegetative – reproductive cycle Cycles are seasonal Largest Oldest

43. Woody Perennials