Staff Answer
Nov 12, 2021 - 02:53 PM
The study of dormancy is fascinating but complicated, and there are many reasons why a plant "knows" when to enter it. Though plants can get "out of sync" with the seasons if kept indoors for too long; temperature, available light and available resources all have an influence on when a plant goes dormant. However, it goes even deeper than that.
Summer dormant plants go dormant because, in the wild, they grow in places that experience extreme drought in the summer. Going dormant then just allows them to save water until the rainy fall comes. However, there's a problem. They can't predict the weather. They can never know when the last rain of the spring is going to come, so they just go dormant based seemingly on instinct. It's similar to how a fawn doesn't need to be taught how to walk. It just is born, stands up, takes a few wobbly steps and then starts walking, because, if it didn't, the bear would quickly get it. As unsatisfying of an answer as that is, perhaps "it just knows" is the closest answer to reality that science has to offer so far.
Summer dormant plants go dormant because, in the wild, they grow in places that experience extreme drought in the summer. Going dormant then just allows them to save water until the rainy fall comes. However, there's a problem. They can't predict the weather. They can never know when the last rain of the spring is going to come, so they just go dormant based seemingly on instinct. It's similar to how a fawn doesn't need to be taught how to walk. It just is born, stands up, takes a few wobbly steps and then starts walking, because, if it didn't, the bear would quickly get it. As unsatisfying of an answer as that is, perhaps "it just knows" is the closest answer to reality that science has to offer so far.
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