dormancy; was :Re: Hippeastrum papilio
J.E. Shields (Sun, 02 Dec 2012 10:17:36 PST)
Hi Jim,
"Dormant" is not to be confused with "deciduous."
"Dormant" is a physiological state, in which many processes present in the
actively growing plant are shut down to low levels, while other processes
not usual during active growth are ramped up.
"Deciduous" merely refers to the absence of green leaves.
Daylily growers seem to have a particularly hard time with this distinction.
Jim Shields, daylily grower
At 09:17 AM 12/2/2012 -0800, you wrote:
Many, probably most, North Temperate bulbs produce their foliage in one
spurt of growth in late winter or early spring. They spend the rest of the
growing season with those same leaves and do not continually produce new
foliage. Yet I've never heard anyone call that condition dormancy.
Why are people saying Hippeastrum papilio is dormant during a period when
it has fully functional leaves?
Jim McKenney
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Jim Shields USDA Zone 5
P.O. Box 92 WWW: http://www.shieldsgardens.com/
Westfield, Indiana 46074, USA
Lat. 40° 02.8' N, Long. 086° 06.6' W