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Picking Rosebuds
Name: Eric
Status: student
Age: 6
Location: GA
Country: N/A
Date: April 2006
Question:
My name is Eric. I am 6 and I go to
an Elementary School in Atlanta, Georgia. In my class there is a big
question. We are learning about living and non-living things and we don't
know this: If you pick a rosebud, but it is still going to bloom in a few
days... when you pick it do you call it a non-living thing or a living
thing because it still blooms?
Replies:
Eric,
A very interesting question.
The simple answer is that sometimes the bud, after it is picked , is still
alive. I had good luck this summer to pick 10 rose buds from different rose
bushes in my yard and gardens of my brother and my parents. I placed the
cut rose stems in water and put them out to look at on a window sill that
faced north. The good luck part of the story is that 3 of the buds
developed roots, and I later planted the new rose plants back out in the
garden. The bad luck part of the story is that 7 of the buds did not
develop roots, and instead they rotted. This means at the time they were
picked, all of the buds were alive, and 3 continued to live, which the other
7 died at some time.
I am looking forward to the springtime to see if the 3 new rose plants, and
all of the other older roses, survived the wintertime. :)
Thank you for using NEWTON!
Ric Rupnik
thanks for your help.I would call it "living" until it dried up since the
tiny cells of the stem
and flower are still working. Sometimes if you put a stem in water and
wait long enough the stem can grow new roots and start a new plant.
Anthony R. Brach, Ph.D.
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Update: June 2012
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