Germination

plants · seeds · growth

Seeds need awakening. A seed is like a tiny time capsule packed with everything a plant needs to grow, but it stays sleeping until the right conditions wake it up, like water, warmth, and oxygen.

Water starts the magic. When water reaches a seed, it softens the tough outer shell and triggers the baby plant inside to spring to life and push its first roots down into the soil.

Many things can germinate. It's not just seeds that germinate, spores from fungi, ferns, and bacteria can also germinate and grow into new organisms, though in very different ways than seeds do.

Roots come first usually. When a seed germinates, the first thing to grow is usually a tiny root that pushes down to find water and nutrients in the soil before the green shoots appear above ground.

Light speeds things up. While some seeds germinate in darkness, many seeds germinate faster and stronger when they sense light, which tells them it's safe to start growing toward the sunshine.