Xref: kermit rec.gardens:268929

On Fri, 19 Mar 2004 11:46:35 -0500, "Bruce W.1"
wrote:

Please correct me if I'm wrong, and I probably am wrong.

Plants don't have a circulatory system. There is no circulatory loop
like with mammal blood. All moisture goes from the roots up. This is
caused by moisture evaporation from the leaves.

Theorhetically then, you could chop off a plant at ground level and
connect the stem to a vacuum suction pump and the roots wouldn't know
the difference, the roots would continue to grow.

What's wrong with this theory? Or might it actually work? If not then why?

Thanks for your help.

xylem and phloem I think.. anyway, there is a circulatory system,
Water comes up f rom the roots, along with nutrients, and the leaves
do their photosynthesizing and send nutrients down to the roots to
feed them, support their growth, and in the case of cold climate
areas, the roots store up energy to support the returning growth the
next spring.

The Cambium layer, just under the bark, in trees does a good deal of
the growing of new wood..you know those rings they use to date the age
of a tree.. as well as to help determine what the climate was
like..narrow rings in drought years, wide rings for good years. If
you girdle a tree.. cut through that cambium layer all the way around
the tree.. it cuts off the circulation of the tree.. and it dies as
nutrients don't get distributed down from the leaves or up from the
roots.

So, yup the roots would know the difference if you cut off the top,
with or without the suction pump as it wouldn't feed them! ;-)

Janice