Advanced Flower Care: Variegated Plants and Lighting
Let me share with you some knowledge about flower care, specifically about the advanced care of variegated plants and lighting. The details are as follows:
Light is essential for the photosynthesis of green cacti and variegated plants. This process is completed by the pigments inside the chloroplasts absorbing light energy. The strong photosynthesis of stem cells accelerates cell proliferation and stem growth. In autotrophic plants, the decrease in pigment content in the chloroplasts of cacti leads to a reduction in photosynthetic intensity.
I.M. Skoulkin and E.P. Artemyeva found that in the variegated plants of the genus Eriosyce, the chlorophyll content is reduced, except for "black individuals" and "multicolored chimeras"; however, the carotenoid content is similar to that of other cacti and Crassulaceae species.
The stem cells of cacti absorb visible light at two maximum absorption peaks. The absorption peak of chlorophyll A is in the red and violet light regions; the absorption peak of chlorophyll B is in the orange-red and blue-violet light regions; the maximum absorption peak of carotenoids (including carotenes and flavonoids) is in the light blue and blue light regions. Therefore, red, orange-yellow, light blue, and blue light can all be used for photosynthesis.
Observational studies have shown that carotenoids can participate in photosynthesis together with chlorophyll. In 1988, S.I. Lebedev discovered that some types of chlorophyll can absorb all the energy of red light, while carotenoids absorb blue light energy. Carotenoids can transfer energy to chlorophyll. For most species, light blue, blue, and purple light is more beneficial for growth than red and orange light.
This explains why variegated plants grow better when shaded with colored glass or plastic in the summer. It is best to install glass on the windows, especially on the south side, and to color the glass with dyes such as methylene blue, oil paint blue, or watercolor blue. This layer of dye can absorb most of the orange, red, and yellow light, preventing the plants from overheating during the hot summer, which is very important for preventing summer dormancy.
In winter, it is best to use bright fluorescent lights for variegated plants. These lights can provide more light blue, blue, and purple light, while red, orange, and yellow light is less.
The "black individuals" and "multicolored chimeras" of the genus Eriosyce, due to the higher chlorophyll content than carotenoids, should be given full light (without shading) in summer and white light in winter.
For the genus Echinopsis "Flame Dragon" and the genus Eriosyce "Blush," it is best to use warm white lights because the chlorophyll content in these species is more than five times that of carotenoids. Therefore, in the summer, it is advisable to use pink filters to shade the light or follow the methods mentioned above.
Annotation:
1. Variegated plants: colored cacti or Variegated Cactus, known as斑锦变异 in China, including complete variegation (full spot) and incomplete variegation (scatter spot, chimera variegation). In addition, according to the chimera characteristics, incomplete variegation is divided into fused variegation (dark锦) and non-fused variegation (bright锦).
2. Photosynthesis: the process by which green plants synthesize organic matter mainly composed of sugars from water and carbon dioxide using light energy as energy, which is an important assimilation process in nature.
3. Chloroplasts: a type of important organelle located in plant cells, found only in cells of the plant kingdom, with autonomous heredity. The sentence “This process is completed by the pigments inside the chloroplasts absorbing light energy” is not very scientific and should be “This process is completed by the pigments inside the plastids absorbing light energy”. Plastids are a general term for chloroplasts and leukoplasts, which contain different pigment groups and have autonomous hereditary properties, following maternal cytoplasmic inheritance in plant genetics.
4. Pigments: all organisms contain various pigments that are closely related to the utilization of light energy by cells. In photosynthesis, light energy is absorbed based on pigments as the light system, which is the famous Calvin cycle light reaction. There are also various pigment cells in the human body, such as melanocytes in the skin, which absorb ultraviolet light using melanin, closely related to the synthesis of vitamin D and calcium-phosphorus metabolism.
5. Autotrophic plants: plants that can synthesize organic matter autonomously, a wide range that mainly includes plants capable of photosynthesis. Most fungi are heterotrophic plants, with organic matter sourced from absorbing other plant bodies.
6. The reduction of photosynthetic intensity is caused by various factors, with chlorophyll deficiency or insufficiency being the most direct factor. In addition, factors such as photosynthetic patterns, temperature, and light are all related to the intensity of photosynthesis. The photosynthetic pattern of most succulent plants belongs to the CAM pathway (Crassulaceae Acid Metabolism pathway), which is different from the C3 and C4 pathways of other plants, with lower photosynthetic intensity but higher efficiency.
7. Black individuals: a type of variety with excessive pigment synthesis, containing too much chlorophyll, leading to darkened or even black epidermis. Common types include:牡丹玉 in the genus Eriosyce, 奇特球 in the genus Discocactus, 栉刺尤伯球 in the genus Ubermania, and some “gorgeous muscle” variants such as 艳肌士童.
8. Multicolored chimeras: non-fused incomplete variegation, with green and red dominating the individual.
9. Visible light: simply put, it is the light that can be seen with the naked eye, with a wavelength of 400~800nm, including red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and purple. The red light region has a longer wavelength than the violet light region. Wavelengths longer than red light are called infrared radiation, and wavelengths shorter than violet light are called ultraviolet radiation, with even shorter wavelengths being gamma rays (ionizing radiation).
10. Absorption peak: any substance has its own absorption peak, which is determined by the structure of the substance. The so-called absorption peak refers to the use of continuous spectrum light passing through a substance and then detecting which wavelength of light is absorbed the most by the substance. The absorption of light energy by a substance causes the energy level transition of electrons, namely excitation. For a substance, only specific wavelengths of light have the maximum efficiency to excite electrons.
11. The meaning of this sentence is: because the overlapping area of the absorption peaks of the three pigments is light blue, blue, and purple light, it is considered that such light colors are the most beneficial.
12. The so-called shading filter is a colored transparent glass or plastic sheet. It should be noted that in order to allow the plants to receive more ultraviolet light, do not use glass or plastic containing too many metal ions (such as soda glass) because metal ions can absorb ultraviolet light. Furthermore, apart from the part of the variegated color mentioned in this article, there is another part caused by the metabolism of anthocyanins, which we call the “red leaf” phenomenon. The red leaf phenomenon is less sensitive to visible light and more sensitive to ultraviolet light, that is, the maximum absorption peak of anthocyanins is in the ultraviolet light region. Certainly, no matter what, as long as glass or plastic has color, it contains a certain proportion of metal ions, which requires us to carefully choose materials with the least metal ions. However, I think the best method is to use blue plastic bags because this dye may not contain metal ions, and the plastic bag does not absorb ultraviolet light. The most taboo is to use the blue glass commonly used for decorating balconies because it contains a lot of sodium and cobalt, which can almost absorb all ultraviolet light.
13. Methylene blue: also known as methylene blue,碱性湖蓝B. A non-toxic dye widely used in medical and biological research, also with antibacterial properties. It is a pigment containing zinc and has a relatively weak effect on blocking ultraviolet light.
14. The so-called summer dormancy mentioned here is not very scientific because summer dormancy is related to many factors, the most important being the variety's tolerance to light, temperature, and humidity, as well as adaptability to the frequency and amount of precipitation in the native region. Generally speaking, the causes of summer dormancy are genetic background, insufficient water supplementation, and high temperatures. Simply reducing temperature without supplementing water will not reverse summer dormancy. Therefore, it can be said that shading and cooling are only part of preventing summer dormancy, with the important factors also depending on the genetic background of the variety and the comprehensive factors of the cultivation environment. Of course, shading and coloring in the summer have a significant effect on preventing summer dormancy, which is undeniable.
15. The so-called daylight lamp mentioned here is somewhat different from the daylight lamp used in our country, which is closer to “white light”. The daylight lamp mentioned in the text should refer to “plant lights”, which are also excited by mercury ions, but the tube material and phosphor are different from white lights, with minimal shielding effect on ultraviolet and purple visible light.
16. White light: the white light mentioned here is similar to the daylight lamp used in our country, but there is still a difference, with its light color closer to sodium or xenon lights. This has been mentioned before by football fans, and you can refer to that.
17. The original text refers to: Eriocactus magnificus "Aurea" and Gymnocalycium "Рink" (f. pottii) these two species, according to the description, I think it should be closer to the two varieties known as “Flame Dragon” (Aurora cactus) and “Blush” (naked cactus) in China.
18. Warm white light: may refer to typical sodium lamps, with a color tone偏向红黄色. Cold white light偏向蓝紫色. Actually, common incandescent light bulbs are considered warm white lights.
19. Pink filter: a filter that allows more red and orange light to pass through while shielding blue-violet light, which can be replaced with some orange plastic sheets.
The above is the detailed content of advanced flower care for variegated plants and lighting, hoping to bring you help!