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What doesn't kill them makes them stronger? Any evidence?

FireFire Posts: 19,096
in Plants
Is there research to suggest that, for plants in open beds (not containers), if they survive this drought in the south and east  (months without any rain, intense direct sun) the plants may become stronger and more robust over time? I wonder if there is evidence to show that the root systems would get wider, maybe deeper, maybe thicker? 

I am thinking of the question in terms of indivdual plants. If my roses come through fine, might they be stronger for having had to reach for more resources and adapt?

Thanks
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  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    The roots will go deeper,  they will try to find the moisture below.
    Some people make the mistake of watering the plants not enough,  the roots will come to the top inch or so that they’ve wetted,  then they’ll bake in the sun. 
    Let’s hope our plants will come back next year,  if not it’s a good chance to re do the garden and start again.
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    @Fire I have been thinking the same thing today. Maybe lots of plants will hold on to life through their roots. Lets hope so.
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • PlantmindedPlantminded Posts: 3,580
    I found this which might interest you @Fire: Frontiers | Root traits contributing to plant productivity under drought (frontiersin.org)
    Wirral. Sandy, free draining soil.


  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    Thanks.

    One function of "drought tolerance" is
    recovery of growth following rewetting.
    A plant can go dormant, but not dessicate and die. Not much, if anything, may be going on above the surface.


     While the shoot drives water uptake through a plant, root system size, properties, and distribution ultimately determine plant access to water, and thus, set limits on shoot functioning. 

    Very tolernant, or perhaps better to call it "drought adapted" plants have root tissues that more effiiciently "forage for soil water". 

    Part of drought adapted root traits include strong

    - biomass
    - root density
    - root system depth and distribution
    - the number of growing root tips
    - proportion in relation to the above ground plant

    But I think the article covers the genetic search for drought adaptation, rather than how one plant fares in drought conditions over time. Would it put on an increased number of root tips successfully, year after dry year, constrained by its genetics?
  • PlantmindedPlantminded Posts: 3,580
    There's quite a few interesting points in that article @Fire, but more research needed to answer your specific question!  
    Wirral. Sandy, free draining soil.


  • BenCottoBenCotto Posts: 4,718
    Water superficially = roots near the surface
    Drench sporadically = roots delve downwards.

    That is constantly repeated but is there evidence it is true? Or is it more that it seems like it ought to be true?
    Rutland, England
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    ...  again this kind of thing should be very easy to test, for any of us.

    I have grown various erigeron in pots, as has @BenCotto, I think. One I had in a big pot and I didn't water it often, thinking it to be a "drought tolerant" plant in an awkward place  and being lazy with watering it.  When I came to pot it on, it was all solid root, almost no earth at all. I took it that the root system had gone nuts in reponse to how little water I had given it. Other erigeon I have grown and watered well, have not done the 'mass root' thing.

    If this principle holds, then I would imagine the droughted erigeron might be in a stronger position in future years as it has such a huge root system. However that system would take a lot of energy and water to maintain, so maybe if it's not needed, the growing tips die away and prunes itself back to the optimum that it needs at the time.

  • coccinellacoccinella Posts: 1,428
    @BenCotto
    In 1987 I was living in England. I remember being surprised at how huge trees had such shallow roots when they were sadly uprooted during the infamous storm. The answer from my father (not a tree expert!) was "of course trees here don't need to go deep in the ground because it rains so often".

    Who knows ...

    Luxembourg
  • Simone_in_WiltshireSimone_in_Wiltshire Posts: 1,073
    What you see after a storm, @coccinella, is just the ticker part to the main stem that was broken out. Trees develop thin long roots to get water and keep to the ground. Normally, groundwater should be just a few meters below the surface (can be seen when they build a building or so. But with dry weather, the groundwater gets deeper and deeper and I doubt if the roots of all trees have a habit to go downwards. Definitely not conifers that are just 1,5 meter deep and cause a huge damage to the soil.

    I ♥ my garden.

  • Desi_in_LondonDesi_in_London Posts: 731
    I cannot comment about established trees and shrubs. But unmonitored self-seeded ( snapdragons / tagetes/ calendula / even lavender)  plants seem to be a lot healthier in my parents' garden ( even this year with no rain) than anything of the same variety painstakingly nurtured from seed ... at least anecdotally this feels true to me.  Perhaps that is what the winter sowing movement is about.
    Kindness is always the right choice.
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