You are certainly aware of how a beautiful garden can bring about a pleasant and cool environment around your home. However, your garden cannot flourish without the impact of plant hormones. They form an integral part in the development of plants right from germination to maturity. They are naturally available but you can purchase specific plant foods in order to achieve desired results in your garden. Which are the common hormones and how do they help you to achieve an alluring garden? Here’s a detailed guide on how the 5 major plant hormones enrich your garden.
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1. Auxin
Have you ever wondered how plants in your garden bend towards the light? Well, it’s due to the influence of auxin. Auxin influence the growth and elongation of the cells along the stem. They are mainly concentrated at the top than at the bottom of the plants and are the major contributors of apical dominance in them. Hence, if you note that your plants have abnormally short height, it may be the high time to apply auxins. By concentrating on one side of the stem, auxins lead to the bending of plants towards the light and hence help them to obtain more sunlight, a critical element for growth.
2. Gibberellin
Gibberellin has been shown to work similarly to auxin, although it’s a completely different hormone. Gibberellin is an ideal solution if you are aiming at elongating the internodes (spaces between the nodes) of your plants. Therefore, look no further if you are want longer internodal spaces in your sugar canes. Gibberellin also influences the germination of seeds by controlling food storage before seedlings develop full leaves responsible for photosynthesis.
3. Abscisic Acid
Abscisic acid plays an important role in water regulation, especially during the dry season or when you don’t have enough water for your garden. It influences the closure and opening of the stoma and hence regulates the rate at which water exits from the plants. Therefore, the hormone helps them to survive dry periods. Abscisic acid also is a great germination timer (especially in frozen climates) by controlling the breaking of seed dormancy.
4. Cytokinins
Cytokinins will prevent your plants from aging and premature death by enhancing cell division, which keeps them growing. When the level of cytokinins is low, your plants produce vegetative growth, making them bushier. It’s important to note that the levels of auxin and cytokinins are inversely related in that when one decreases, the other increases. Consequently, an increase in cytokinins level and the resultant decrease in auxins enhance the flowering of your plants. Therefore, with the application of balanced portions of auxins and cytokinins, you can influence the growth of your garden as you desire.
5. Ethylene
Ethylene is the only plant hormone that exists in the gaseous state. It hastens the ripening of fruits and has shown substantial influence in the rate of flowering in them.
How to make the hormones work for your garden
With the availability of the hormones in the form of plant growth regulators (PGRs), you can achieve your specific desires for your garden. Employ balanced portions of auxins and cytokinins to achieve vegetative growth or flowering in them. In addition, abscisic acid and ethylene coordinate to enhance fruiting while ethylene and auxins work together to influence the dropping of leaves. The common sources of plant hormones are algae and fungi which you can apply directly to your garden or if possible, extract and concentrate the hormones in easy-to-use liquids that you can apply to your plants through a foliar spray.
Bottom-line
Plant hormones influence several growth processes such as germination, elongation, flowering, and fruiting. The hormones are naturally available and are influential in the enrichment and beauty of your garden. For controlled results, you can apply the hormones, which are commercially sold as PGRs to further augment the allure of your garden.
