Re: frozen plants
Jim,
That was great,concise..BRAVO..Said she that now remembers reading this sometime,.
somewhere..But would not have remembered had you not posted this info...
Thanks so much Jim.
Connie
J.E. Shields wrote:
> Plants which cannot resist freezing temperatures die because ice crystals
> from inside their tissues, and the crystals pierce the cell walls. When
> the ice melts, the cells loose their contents.
>
> So why don't all plant cells just up and die when temperatures drop below
> freezing?
>
> Basically, like everything else about plants and animals, it all goes back
> to their genes. Plants which can resist freezing temperatures have genes
> which produce substances that protect against freezing. These may act in
> any of several ways. Some of them can change the plant's metabolism to
> produce extra sugars or glycerol inside the cells, lowering the cell's
> interior freezing point.
>
> Other substances act more directly, by preventing the ice crystals which
> may start to form, from growing large enough to break the cell walls.
>
> The more of these protective substances that the plant's genes direct to be
> formed, the more freezing the plant can withstand.
>
> Jim
>
> *************************************************
> Jim Shields USDA Zone 5 Shields Gardens, Ltd.
> P.O. Box 92 WWW: http://a1.com/daylily/
> Westfield, Indiana 46074, USA Tel. +1-317-896-3925
