Plants, including grass, have totipotency. It means that totipotency gives the plant cells the ability to grow the same new plant thanks to the genetic material in it.
Grass, like any other plant, has a lot of cells which means it has also the ability to regenerate some part of itself. For example, if we cut the leaf in the half, it can grow itself again.
That’s the beauty of nature. You cannot destroy it, but it needs some time to regenerate the most important parts of itself. Everything that happens in nature is happening for a reason and every process is cyclical.
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After Some Time Soil Will Always Be Covered In Grass
When we are talking about the grass in general, we can say that, based on their prevalence, they do not need such good care to start growing in some hard to reach places.
Of course, we are talking about optimal weather conditions. But, to grow the grass at home, you need to take good care of it. The grass, at the start, is vulnerable and every sudden change can be very dangerous for their life.
Like anything other, the grass can not grow from nothing. There has to be something from which something else could eventually grow, for example, a new plant or organism.
It is puzzling to understand what is the first thing from which everything got started. Just take a look at this: we are built from cells, cells from atoms and molecules, atoms from nucleons and electrons, etc. Everything has a smaller matter from which it is contained. There has to be something always.
It doesn’t matter if the soil is completely clean of any other material or seeds, it will always, after some time, be covered in grass (of course, if the weather allows the developing of the population) because of a lot of process going through nature and due to circulation of the matter.
Every organism goes through pretty much the same phases in life
- birth
- development
- living
- aging
- death
This is the same pattern for any other organism, and it also applies to the grass.
The grass is the name for monocotyledonous plants characterized by an inconspicuous flower and long and narrow leaves. They belong to the family Poaceae. There are a lot of types of grass we can talk about, like fine fescue grass, perennial ryegrass, Kentucky bluegrass.
But, there are some types of grass which have different structures, like on its endings they have some cells and leaves that could be scattered by the wind. Those seed heads are commonly classified by some characteristics, for example, a panicle, a raceme and spike.
Differences between warm and cool season grasses.
Grasses are plants with a really simple structure. They are living a pretty basic life. Of course, the root is one of the grass components whose role is to collect minerals and other nutrients from the soil.
After the root as a part of it, we can see the grass stem growing up. There are leaves with bigger surfaces. They are collecting the sunlight and use it for chemical reactions. Transpiration is processed through the leaves.
One of the main purposes of the grass is being food for a lot of organisms called herbivores. Herbivores, when eating, start the process of decomposition of matter in their digestive system.
After some time, feces come out in nature. By staying in the same place for a long time and thanks to the optimal conditions, the grass can grow itself. It requires only one living cell to manage to grow itself again.
Of course, we can talk about other ways of reproduction of cells, grass and in general – the plants.
Grass will grow with or without seeds
Seeds are the most basic and the most popular and the most effective way of regenerating the population of the grass. It means that we should buy grass seeds or get them from the other available grasses and then put them into the soil.
For the process of growing, grass needs water as the secondary source of minerals, after the soil itself. Water will get inside the seed and make the seed walls bigger and bigger until they break.
After the breaking point, the green plant should go out to start growing. Every grass produces seeds if it is not regularly mowed.
As already told, this is the most basic way to make grass. What if we do not have seeds?
The grass can reproduce in two ways: vegetatively and sexually. By spreading the root system, the grass maintains ‘the population of roots’ under the soil so there is a huge consumption of minerals and other nutrients.
Maintaining The Population Of Roots – Crown Division And Leaf Cuttings
Crown division is the simplest form of vegetative division. It is a very risky process of growing grass because of the plant not responding well to the changed circumstances. Crown division is based on separating one unit of the grass into pieces, while every piece should have the part of the root.
It’s a visible division and after that, everything goes back to normal where you put all the pieces into the soft soil. Before taking the grass out of the soil, make sure your hole is enough wide to make sure not to injure any part of the plant.
Leaf cuttings require only one leaf. This method is the most complex one for the plant because it has to grow the root and the shoot system from the very beginning. After cutting the leaf with a sharp knife, you should dust the cuts with rooting hormone and put it into the soil or the pot. After some time, the changes will be visible.
Rhizomes help to spread grass vegetatively under the soil. In dry conditions, the grass probably won’t grow to the normal height due to a lack of minerals.
The best time to seed the grass is in the spring where everything becomes active. Of course, it depends on your location and the weather conditions, but if the temperature is stable and somewhere around 20 degrees Celsius and humidity are optimal you should be fine with growing the grass. It needs regular mowing and removing other plants around it because they are taking food and other nutrients from the soil which are necessary for grass growth.
The grass seeds won’t grow in suboptimal temperatures, but they will wait for the period when all conditions are satisfied. In that time, enzymes are activated and everything grows. When in suboptimal temperatures, the grass (or any other plant) stops every process and goes to ‘sleep’.
How the grass actually is growing without seeds?
There is a lot of methods and processes that began a lot of time ago. For example, birds (and a lot of other flying organisms) bring a lot of grass with themselves because they want to build a house – a nest somewhere else.
When they are flying over the soil, houses, buildings, it happens that something falls in that time. Dry grass can fall, some very little parts of the grass or even cells that can be regenerated thanks to rains, sun, and optimal weather conditions.
This is the reason why we see the grass on the roof, in the gutters, or in some hard to reach places. It can’t come from nowhere and we should know it.
The same thing does the wind also. By swinging the grass in all directions, some cells or parts of the plant can fall out and grow right near all other grass.
Some grasses are darker and some lighter, but the thing is that it depends on the type of grass and the exposure to the sun.
Compost Your Cut Grass Instead Of Throwing it Away
The grass should be composted. The most common mistake for some people is to throw the cut grass in the trash. However, it can be properly served in compost. The grass needs to be dried and left to rot and later poured over the compost.
Such compost contains a lot of nitrates, which are especially important for fertilizing vegetables and tomatoes, and kale. Also, cut grass can serve as mulch when applied in a thin layer around the plant and keeps the soil moist.
By taking care of the grass, you actually help the soil to become more structured and stronger. That’s basically what the grass is doing – preventing soil erosion. If you do not take care of it, especially in the summer it can get burned due to hot days.
The grass needs regular watering which is the key to successful growing. But if grown at home, the soil should be prepared because it is the source of food for them.
In conclusion, the grass is one of the most wanted plants for a home. It is a very soft, nice-looking plant and nicely mowed grass beautifies the environment. Kids usually want to play on it, people do picnics, playing football is also a great activity on the grass.
It needs good care, like regular watering and mowing. Some gardeners do the different mowing so it results in different shades of the grass.The grass is widespread, short or long, and the other livings, like birds and bees, help to grow it.
