Please follow the link below... DO NOT POST IN THIS THREAD. Here is a link that might be useful: FAQ thread This post was edited by mariava7 on Mon, Jun 10, 13 at 14:32

Hi My two cents. A definition of terms as related to this forum. Botany particularly in contrast to other sciences such as horticulture,Agriculture,landscaping.Microbiology. Clear definition of a plant.Would assume most interest would lie in vascular plants?? So a definition of this along with a note of the exceptions.Fungi,Lichens Commensuls molds mildews and microscopic.Obviously these could be a forum in themselves lol A guideline for a question within botany rather than Horticulture ,My assumption is that Botany is natural events within the plant world?? Not say manmade hybrids.or culture?? Maybe the basics on how a plant survives and reproduces? Maybe only vascular plants?? Maybe some references to books?? Since there are so many other forums dealing with many subjects a guideline on what type of question to post here?? Gary

You can start by reading something I wrote a while ago, then posing any questions you have: Though roots form readily and often seemingly more quickly on many plants propagated in water, the roots produced are quite different from those produced in a soil-like or highly aerated medium (perlite - screened Turface - calcined DE - seed starting mix, e.g.). Physiologically, you will find these roots to be much more brittle than normal roots due to a much higher percentage of aerenchyma (a tissue with a greater percentage of inter-cellular air spaces than normal parenchyma). Aerenchyma tissue is filled with airy compartments. It usually forms in already rooted plants as a result of highly selective cell death and dissolution in the root cortex in response to hypoxic conditions in the rhizosphere (root zone). There are 2 types of aerenchymous tissue. One type is formed by cell differentiation and subsequent collapse, and the other type is formed by cell separation without collapse ( as in water-rooted plants). In both cases, the long continuous air spaces allow diffusion of oxygen (and probably ethylene) from shoots to roots that would normally be unavailable to plants with roots growing in hypoxic media. In fresh cuttings placed in water, aerenchymous tissue forms due to the same hypoxic conditions w/o cell death & dissolution. Note too, that under hypoxic (airless - low O2 levels) conditions, ethylene is necessary for aerenchyma to form. This parallels the fact that low oxygen concentrations, as found in water rooting, generally stimulate trees (I'm a tree guy) and other plants to produce ethylene. For a long while it was believed that high levels of ethylene stimulate adventitious root formation, but lots of recent research proves the reverse to be true. Under hypoxic conditions, like submergence in water, ethylene actually slows down adventitious root formation and elongation. If you wish to eventually plant your rooted cuttings in soil, it is probably best not to root them in water because of the frequent difficulty in transplanting them to soil. The brittle "water-formed" roots often break during transplant & those that don't break are very poor at water absorption and often die. The effect is equivalent to beginning the cutting process over again with a cutting in which vitality has likely been reduced. If you do a side by side comparison of cuttings rooted in water & cuttings rooted in soil, the cuttings in soil will always (for an extremely high percentage of plants) have a leg up in development on those moved from water to a soil medium for the reasons outlined above. ***************************** Some key issues in determining whether or not cuttings will strike are the state of health/vitality of the plant material the cuttings were taken from, whether or not there are disease organisms in the rooting medium (all unsterilized peat-based media does), how well-aerated the rooting medium is in relationship to how deep the cuttings are stuck. Al

Some airlines offer lower fares if you are "away" overnight on a Saturday night, so if you fly to Florida on Sunday and return on Saturday, you won't get that deal. Try looking for a Sunday-Sunday or a Saturday-Saturday flight. It may end up being cheaper to book a hotel room for either the night before or the night after the cruise rather than flying on the day the ship leaves and comes back. Also, oddly enough, there have been times when I've found it's cheaper to book two one-way tickets rather than one round-trip ticket, so check that option, too. Have fun on the cruise! I know your grandson will enjoy himself, too. :-)