General Chat

Does it hurt a tree when I prune it? When flowers get thirsty, are they in pain?

I can only hope not, I have come to love gardening now I have one, but couldn't do it if I thought I was hurting them arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

yep you do, out of guilt lolol

Us plants do have feelings. We like a good swig of the old H20, can't get enough of that bonemeal and like a good suntan. Nice to have a natter now again. A guy called Charles comes and chats to us regulary. Very odd chap. Mr. D. Andelion

Does Charles bring any friends with him? Robert Ose.

The Camelia flower sometimes joins Charles, but not very often

Or as it is known in Latin: Golddiggerelugliuos

She doesn't exactly look like a Camelia though, does she. More like a horse (nag).They say that people who like horses start to look like them.

It depends on what you mean by feelings. Botanist have recorded that if a plant is attacked by a virus or bacteria, other plants in the general vicinity start producing anti-bodies before they are infected. Work done by Prof. J.B. Rhine in the USA ( and by others) indicates that plants, under controlled conditions, can be willed to do well or badly. Trays of seedlings, grown in laboratories, under indentical conditions, were divided into 3 lots and given the same amounts of light, water and nutrition except that the control batch received no special human attention whilst the other 2 batches received the concentrated thought of teams of university students. One batch was willed to thrive - and it did, more so than the control. The other was willed to do badly and it was much weaker than the contol batch. The experiment was repeated over and over and it was concluded that the plants could be affected by the power of the human mind. So maybe its the thought that counts? I used to have a "Sensitive plant". I believe it was a mimosa. It would close itself up quickly, if touched - like an umbrella. After a few minutes it would spread its leaves again. So at least one plant has a sense of touch - and carnivorous plants detect the touch of an insect. Maybe you should lose your secateurs - or, at least, apologise to the plant as you prune it and mutter "its for your own good, dear. Len

Oh heck - I tend to prune with a saw! Now I shall apologise before I start and tell them it's all for their own good! lol If they are in real pain - they wouldn't thrive would they? You've got me worried now ! lol Magsx

Thanks for that Di ! I shan't feel so bad now lol I haven't lost anything yet and my garden shrubs and trees grow like mad so I can't be doing anything too wrong!!! Magsx

Thanks all - esp Dr Len.

hi john if they do i had better nip out and apologise to my buddleia and hedges, they really got it in the neck yesterday, i cut the buddleia right back, i did this 2 years ago and they grew wonderfully, so i think they will forgive me. As for the weed a few of them are going today. lol sandra

When I first started to learn floristry, we were taught how to wire a rose ready for a bridal bouquet. Take a rose bud, cut the stem leaving half an inch from the base of the bud, then take a thickish wire and shove it through the neck and into the centre of the bud. I always hated doing it and thought it was very cruel. Jo.

I read somewhere that similar experiments to the ones Len described were done on plants with different types of music being played, to see if that made a difference to their growth rate.. Apparently it does, they seem to like a bit of funky rhythm to grow too. Rather oddly, the plants that thrived the most had been reared on 'Bat out of Hell' by Meatloaf. I don't think science has been able to explain why as yet!!!!

I'm going to have a lot of talking to do tomorrow - bought some new shears and a pruning saw today lol Terri - Rowan or Mountain Ash is supposed to ward off witches too so if you don't get on with your aunt - you could plant one lol Magsx

Not only do I prune but am ruthless with the loppers and delight in my shredder. What shall I say if I meet up with one of my shredded shrubs in the afterlife? Len

my family say my gramp is mad coz he talk's to his tomato plant's well it must be true they must have feeling's coz my gramp got some buttie's (tomato's that is)

Of course they have feelings. If they're not watered, they wither away and die. Joy