Saturday, August 7, 2010

Petals can make sunflowers different.

wide and short petals

long petals

Most of the sunflowers in the garden are with long  and wavy yellow petals. It is rare to find  the one with wide, dense and short petal as in the first photo. And yet the seeds come from the same mother plant.

but why the difference?

bangchik

15 comments:

  1. You got me. Just some random freaky nature thing. My sunflowers just bloomed this week!

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  2. Perhaps sunflowers have a creative spirit... they all follow the sun but perhaps wish to wear their petals uniquely. ;>) Then again there could be some little creature within those petals?

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  3. rosey.
    I suppose flowers don't go through strict quality control like factories, that products need to be standard and very much identical. Whatever is the size, a sunflower will produce seeds that will invariably produce another sunflower plant. Nature really controls the secret of plant's DNA.

    Carol
    you right about petals as clothing. Plants may change the look of the flower a little bit to suit their peculiar liking..

    Poetic
    Carol used "out of the box" approach. We may have different answer from the plant's point of view.

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  4. We may not look like our siblings too even tho' we came from the same parents and eat the same food....and the sunflower wonder why we human look different.

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  5. Bangchik, so is my zinnia... I wonder why also!

    Earlier one of my sunflower plant collapsed due to heavy rain while it was still a young plant. The stem/trunk just above the soil splitted but after I stake it up, the plant grew nicely. Tough plant! But later the shape of the flower is not round. One side of the petals were longer than the other. I suppose they need most perfect condition to grow nicely he he...

    But sunflower is really nice already. Enjoy!

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  6. One.
    They look similar in many ways.. in this case, they differ in being thin or fat.. Ya?
    Steph.
    We as gardeners do have some control, on what we want out of the plant. I am just wondering if the differences in the two photos are out of our doing, or what the plants decide for themselves.. But I doesn't matter too much, does it?

    Cheers,
    Bangchik

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  7. Is it too much fertiliser or too little water?

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  8. I will also roll with what Carol say. :)

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  9. Lovely sunflowers, Bang Chik.

    I think the flowers are just like us human ~ each of them is unique! They have their own personalities and temper!

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  10. Ann.
    Not about fertiliser I think. Both plants achieved about the same height, similar health level. Individualism in flowers is something we have not really explored.

    Tes
    I guess so, sunflowers have mind of their own, and exhibit their creativity.

    JC
    Their own personalities, that surely is an approach to view and understand plants.

    Thanks,
    ~bangchik

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  11. ~Aaron.
    Good luck with your 20 sunflower seedlings. Yes, sunflower with heavy look as in the first photo will brighten up any garden.
    ~bangchik

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  12. Sunflowers have become one of my all-time favorite flowers, and they never cease to surprise me.

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  13. The QC control is definately not applicable for 2nd sunflower! hahaha...

    Anyway sunflower wether odd or not really cheer up the garden!

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  14. ~Meredith
    They never fail to deliver, these sunflowers. They grow fast, and suddenly there are beautiful bright yellow all over.

    ~Malar
    We never really meddle with their lives. We water and put fertiliser, that's all. To get big and beautiful flower each time, probably asking too much. Their QC department is very strict.., with too many rejects.. haha.

    Cheers
    ~bangchik

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