How to Convert Annuals in to Perennials

Annuals grow, blossom, and die out in a year’s time while perennials survive over winters and get ready to grow in the next season again. The average life strategy in case of the annuals is quite fast and rapid growth after germination is a typical feature. The rate of transformation from germination to flowering and then to seed formation is very fast in annuals.Quick germination subsequent to the winters helps annuals eliminate the requirement of a competition for food and light. This feature may be adopted as a trick to obtain many seeds and that too very fast.

Perennials on the other hand go through enhanced levels of evolution of life strategies that help them in surviving through extreme poor conditions. Typical perennial structures like overwintering buds, bulbs, or tubers contain cell-groups that are not highly specialized but can be transformed in to new organs like stalks and leaves.

Every non-specialized cells present in the annuals get consumed in the process of development of flowers. Meaning thereby, the signal of flowering is automatically becomes a prior-notice of beginning of an end of the life for an annual.

Fortunately, seeds that are still left have senses alive even after winters. These seeds give out signals when days start getting longer and with the advent of spring a fresh signal is again sent from leaves to the growth tops and this time it is to activate the process of blossoming.

Scientists have recently been able to induce specific blossoming genes in to the annuals and got success in converting them in to perennials. In simpler terms, it is going to be an innovative method to beat the heat with perennials.

With the advent of longer days in the spring, a signal is sent from the leaves to the growth tops to activate a limited number of blooming-induction genes. It was observed that mutant plants will never be able to induce flowing by them but when induced specific genes these same plants may continue to start blossoming. With this “gene -induction -therapy” annuals can easily be converted in to long time growing perennials. Technology and research is going to transform completely a flower garden for your home.

Scientists have been successful in identifying two specific genes that would bring in the change in the process of evolution of annuals in to perennials. This appears great news to me and I believe that every gardener around the globe will also be happy to see such a transformation happening in very short time coming ahead.

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