snip


I shall subject it to the heat of angry stares if it fails to grow
optimally

No, seriously... do you really mean heat, as opposed to light? I've just
realised I'm not aware of how plants react to heat at all. I've heard that
some plants will drop leaves with minor temperature changes etc., and I'm
aware of the danger of frost damage of course, but... how do plants rely on
particular temperatures, I wonder?


There probably have been several dissertations written on that
subject, and if there haven't you PhD candidates out there
should take note. ;-)

For many trees, heat -- often in combination with other factors -
- is as important as light. Tropicals won't do well in cool
air. Add cool, DRY air and they really suffer -- though they
may survive, witness all the spindly Ficus bonsai grown indoors
"up nawth" without the benefit of a greenhouse.

Ditto many understory or edge-habitat trees (dogwood, hornbeam,
hawthorn, Vaccinium, Japanese maples, etc.) which do poorly in
the heat of the full sun in the southern USA. It isn't the
light that makes them do poorly, it's the blistering heat
(relatively speaking) as opposed to the cool, dampness of the
deep woods. Light DOES contribute to the troubles some of these
have, of course, but other factors are more important. Besides,
it's seldom too MUCH light that causes problems, but too LITTLE.

Low desert (Sonoran, Mojave, Chihuahua) plants also must have
heat -- in addition to dryness -- to thrive. I have a hard time
with cactus, mesquite, pinon pines, alligator juniper, etc. here
in humid north Florida, even though temperatures may be OK. But
Nina probably couldn't grow them in any circumstances.

Many trees go into a mid-to-late summer dormancy thanks to high
temperatures that force them to shut down or loose too much
moisture. Many desert plants go so far as to drop all of their
leaves in late July, re-growing them (and sometimes even
flowering) in October.

Ad nauseum . . .

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - People,
when Columbus discovered this country, it was plum full of nuts
and berries. And I'm right here to tell you (that) the berries
are just about all gone. -- Uncle Dave Macon, musician

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