Ok this is purely an opinion (mine), but that's just gross.

I would bet you are in the majority @dbarron :)

(And $29 USD a plant.....yikes)

page link is restricted... oh well ...

imo.. its no better than trying to get a red hosta.. one simple question.. WHY!!!!!!!

KEN

btw.. dont forget.. petunia is a PERENNIAL in nature ...

so with a little planning.. plant light.. heat.. stand.. you could probably over winter it indoors .. and stretch your investment over a few years....

and it probably wont come true from seed...

ken

page link is restricted...

Try here:

https://www.light.bio/

Well, following the money - someone stands to make a lot of money as people sink their funds into the latest think to divert our attention.

What will they think up next? Plants that produce their own fireworks? There's been talk about planting bioluminescent trees along roads to replace streetlights. My concern is that the bioluminescence will have a negative effect on wildlife. Light pollution has already done a lot of damage to migrating birds and insects. If nature had intended to have bioluminescent plants, there would already be bioluminescent plants?!

It seems that the only organisms to evolve bioluminescence are ocean dwelling organisms. AFAIK

Would be neat if only the blooms upon those petunia plants would light up ... and also flash, LOL!

How about some glow in the dark lettuce? You could serve it for a fancy dinner, and guests could wonder if they are being irradiated.

Does anyone remember the orange petunias that were genetically engineered that were taken off of the market? About ten years ago the petunia 'African Sunset' was a new introduction that was the first petunia to have truly orange colored flowers, I grew them for several years and sold them to my customers who loved them. They were abruptly discontinued and any nurseries or greenhouses that had the plants growing were instructed to destroy any African Sunset or Trilogy Mango petunias because of the current regulations - the plants were the result of gene splicing using a gene from corn which I guess isn't allowed in ornamental plants?

This really doesn't make any sense to me, a percentage of food crops are transgenic, twelve acres of my land is leased to a farmer who grows "Roundup Ready" soybeans every other year - these soybeans are genetically modified and used as feed for livestock. When the soy beans are still small the field is sprayed with the herbicide roundup which kills all of the weeds but leaves the beans unharmed. That is kind of weird.

I am curious why glow in the dark petunias are permitted, but not orange flowered varieties that were created using the same technique.

This is an article about the orange petunias -

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.356.6340.792

Hi everyone,

Roundup has been paying big bucks in damages to people who Roundup harmed. I guess those people weren't "ready."

I seem to remember aquarium fish that glowed. I would do it if I could figure out how to make zinnias glow in the dark in various colors of light. It would be great to have spherical zinnias glowing like light bulbs. I have already had a few spherical zinnias. The glowing thing is a bit beyond my current capabilities.

ZM

Hi Jeb,

" I am curious why glow in the dark petunias are permitted, but not orange flowered varieties that were created using the same technique."

Me too.

ZM

eugh!

Hi rosaprimula,

Do you also not like Fireflies (Lightning Bugs) ?? I like them. How do you feel about the Moon? It glows in the dark.

ZM

I don't know, I really enjoy my few solar garden lights .... yeah, I know that's different, though maybe a few glow in the dark plants might be fun, I'll reserve judgement until having tried :)

My dog has a glowball. I am perfectly OK with that. I am not really seeing why you might assume I must harbour a dislike for other light-emitting objects, zenman, since transgenic plants are nothing like moonlight or bioluminescent insects.

Do you also not like Fireflies (Lightning Bugs)

Most of my growing up memories are from the 70s. At that time we lived in a rural area and I recall being mesmerized by these incredible creatures....showing themselves once the sun went down.

Fast forward to now....I am more or less convinced that these beetles are basically "extinct" in my neck of the woods as I don't recall having seen them for decades :(.

Rouge, same here, back when being a kid, plenty of fireflies lite up the grassy fields. I recall when one was flashing away while upon my bedroom window :) Now, though, I never see them, okay other than the mere one I spotted last summer.

Ah indeed Cyn. I have no garden lights other than moon and starlight since urban light pollution is a huge problem, with deleterious effects on birds and especially nocturnal insect life. I hesitated to state my opinions because I am not a prescriptive gardener and nobody enjoys being hectored about how and why they arrive at their horticultural (or indeed, any lifestyle) choices. I think the 'breaking garden rules' thread is a perfect example of the different ways we have of doing things.

I bought 6. No apologies.

well, please do come back with pics sometimes. I mean, there is this trans-species "Frankenstein" gene-fiddeling aspect

on the other hand, I personally would not spend 30 bucks on a single annual, but am dieing with curiosity what it really looks like

I wouldn't spend $29 on any petunia, even if it quoted Shakespeare. Instead of the glow-in-the-dark petunia, I am growing a $3 packet of Oenothera "Tina James" seed to get flowers that open in slo-mo on warm summer evenings and are fragrant.

I suspect opponents of "Franken"-organisms would react differently to gene modification techniques that result in cancer cures.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10046289/

I have a lot of fireflies here. The houses on my road are on acreage, I don't think anybody sprays because we all have dandelions, violets, clover and all that. It's too expensive and too bothersome to spray when you have acreage, and nobody around me seems to care about perfection, we just embrace whatever green things are growing in the "lawn" and that's fine by me. Now, the subdivision up into town is another story -- there you see the lawn services, manicured grass with not a dandelion in sight, and signs for mosquito spraying in the summer. Sigh....

We have seen no fireflies here around the apartments, although it is probably too cold for them. Maybe we will see some this Spring when it warms up and their larval stage has some favorite native plants to feed on. I don't know if the firefly larva eggs are already in existence and waiting for the weather to get warmer before they hatch. Or maybe the adults could over-winter and lay eggs to start the firefly season to start. In past years I have seen glowing firefly larva feeding on some native plant. We are just coming out of some zero-degree Winter here in Kansas.

ZM

Fireflies don't start firing until mid-summer here in Michigan.

That's fine if you wouldn't spend money on it. I don't let killjoys dictate my garden.

B In 8a, I'm as well more curious than anything, please keep us updated! :)