Pennsylvania Flower Growers #134
Do you on occasion find carnation buds or flowers that tend to stop midway in their development and shrivel up and die? What causes this to occur, usually only in random spots or at certain times of the year? The accompanying photographs, Figures 1, 2 and 3, should help answer these questions for many of these occurrences. This lacerated area of the stem was at one time the site of a small leaf and an axillary bud. Several weeks previous to tin's photograph this flowering stem was disbudded, and in the process of removing the upper-most axillary bud the small leaf was removed. The accidental removal of this leaf in turn left tin's lacerated section. Figure 3 shows an example of a rather extreme case while in Figure 1 both buds to the left of center and the bud to the far right are more typical. In the case of those buds, as well as the flower to the right in Figure 1, the axillary bud was removed and the small uppermost leaf was broken, but not re moved completely as was illustrated in Figure 2. As a result of this leaf being injured at its base, one of several things can happen. It may heal completely and the flower develop normally, Figure 1, flower on the left; or it may heal partially and go unnoticed until the bud begins to expand or the flower to open, Figure 1, flower on the right. At this time, the demand by the buds or flowers for water and food materials outstrips the stems ability to supply these materials.
Keywords: Axillary bud Mechanical affect Growth hormones careful handling of the flowers. Mechanical injury