When you are still in emo at night, some peach blossoms have already bloomed

The temperature in Beijing keeps dropping. People feel so cold, but plants don’t?

The peach blossoms in Fangshan, Beijing, quietly bloomed in the cold winter, shocking even the well-informed Beijing uncle, who said frankly: "This is the first time I have seen such a magical sight in so many years."

Image source network

Peach blossoms bloom in spring

We all know that peach blossoms are a product of spring. The flowering period of peach blossoms varies in different latitudes. Peach blossoms will first bloom in the southwest in late February, while peach blossoms in the Yellow River Basin will not bloom until mid-March to early to mid-April.

The specific time is directly related to the weather and regional environment. If the temperature is low that year, the flowering period may be delayed. When the temperature reaches 15 degrees Celsius, the peach blossoms will basically be fully open.

Generally speaking, March to April is the best time to enjoy peach blossoms. The peach blossoms all over the mountains are like a sea of ​​pink flowers, creating a full atmosphere. In May, the peach blossoms have basically withered. If you want to see the beautiful scenery of peach blossoms in full bloom, you can only wait until next spring.

Image from hippopx

Since the blooming of peach blossoms is related to the climate, why do peach blossoms bloom out of season in the extremely cold November in the north?

From a climate perspective, the biggest reason is the excessive temperature fluctuations after seasonal changes.

After the first cold snap in winter, the temperature in Fangshan, Beijing, reached over 10 degrees. The weather is getting warmer and warmer. I guess many flowers and plants are confused: Is spring coming? Is it time for me to bloom again? From this, we can see that plants are greatly affected by the external environment. They cannot distinguish the seasons and bloom completely according to the temperature.

Important factors affecting plant flowering

From a biological point of view, the flowering of plants is mainly affected by a series of factors such as temperature, humidity, and light. We usually assume that the relationship between temperature and flowering is "flowers bloom in spring", and believe that high temperature is a necessary condition for plants to bloom, or that as long as the weather starts to warm up, plants will bloom. In fact, these statements are not accurate.

In fact, many plants must go through a period of low temperature before they can transform from a vegetative growth state to a reproductive growth state. Low temperature will protect plants to a certain extent. Plants that begin to develop without experiencing low temperatures may not be able to resist the invasion of severe cold during the development process.

In addition to temperature, light is also a very important factor. Plants will decide whether to bloom by distinguishing the length of daylight. Based on the relationship between flowering and photoperiod, plants can be divided into four categories: short-day plants, long-day plants, medium-day plants, and day-neutral plants.

Short-day plants refer to plants that can only bloom when the daylight hours are less than a certain number (10 hours) in a complete 24-hour cycle. Long-day plants refer to plants that can only bloom when the daylight hours are longer than a certain number (14 hours) in a 24-hour day and night cycle.

Medium-day plants refer to plants that must be exposed to a specific period of light to bloom. The flowering of day-neutral plants is not affected by the length of daylight and can bloom normally under any daylight. Therefore, when the light reaches the plant's own demand standard, it is easier to bloom~

Image from hippopx

Humidity is also a factor that cannot be ignored during the flowering process of plants. In places with high humidity, plant roots do not need to be particularly developed to obtain sufficient water. The humidity here includes both the humidity of the air and the humidity of the soil.

In areas with ample rainfall, plants will flower earlier than in dry areas.

Plants that bloom in spring are more likely to bloom in the opposite season

It's not just peach blossoms. Many plants that bloom in spring have also experienced out-of-season flowering in autumn.

In October, cherry blossoms bloom in Wuhan out of season:

The apricot blossoms, which are very ornamental in spring, bloom out of season in early winter:

Beijing's winter temperature rebounded abnormally, and the crabapple flowers, sensing the temperature change, bloomed again:

Since spring flowering plants immediately enter the next flower bud formation period after their flowers fade in spring, as the global climate warms, the continued high temperature in autumn will cause the already differentiated flower buds to reach an accumulated temperature state, and the plants will mistakenly receive the signal of spring flowering, thus forming the off-season blooming phenomenon we see now.

Off-season opening, limited impact

As more and more plants bloom out of season, we have more opportunities to witness their beauty in winter, but from a biological point of view, out-of-season flowering is not necessarily a good thing.

The flowers that plants bloom out of season are generally not in large quantities and have extremely limited ornamental value. Woody plants bloom out of season in autumn and winter, consuming the flower buds that will bloom in the spring of next year. Overall, this will affect the effect of the plants' blooming during the normal flowering period and cause a reduction in the number of flowers during the main flowering period.

Many plants will enter a stage of rest and recuperation after flowering. If continued high temperatures cause plants to bloom out of season, it will reduce the plants' ability to adapt to the environment, which is not conducive to plant growth in the long run.

In order to increase the ornamental value, some gardens will use plants that bloom out of season to create landscapes and thus attract tourists. However, from the ecological perspective of complying with the laws of plant growth, the less out-of-season flowering, the better.

Off-season vegetables, off-season fruits, off-season plants, in your mind, is off-season good or bad? Welcome to leave a message in the comment area to tell us~

END

Review expert: Shi Jun, PhD in Botany.

Tadpole Musical Notation original article, please indicate the source when reprinting

Editor/Xiao Xitushuo