Why do summer flowers last longer than spring flowers?

[studiot]

Can anyone suggest why spring flowers, especially shrubs such as magnolia, amelanchier and cherry, are gone in a trice.

But summer flowers eg hydrangea last much longer?

[studiot]

Are there really no botanists on this site?

Bump!

[StringJunky]

15 minutes ago, studiot said:

Are there really no botanists on this site?

Bump!

Clearly not.  All I can think of is to do with the probability of cross-fertilisation by insect/animal/wind vectors, in that the longest flowering plants may have evolved that way due to a lower probability of getting fertilised.

[CharonY]

On 8/4/2018 at 4:25 AM, studiot said:

But summer flowers eg hydrangea last much longer?

Don't ask me, can't keep my hdrangeas alive. That being said, it seems that there is a wide spread of longevity and there is some effect of competition with pollinators. Some spring plants seem to flower very long, if they remain unpollinated. It also seems that habitat plays a larger role. 

[studiot]

1 hour ago, CharonY said:

Don't ask me, can't keep my hdrangeas alive. That being said, it seems that there is a wide spread of longevity and there is some effect of competition with pollinators. Some spring plants seem to flower very long, if they remain unpollinated. It also seems that habitat plays a larger role. 

Thanks for the replies.

Perhaps you have tto much sun or the wrong soil?

 

I note the difference is not confined to garden plants or shrubs

eg hedgerow bluebells, primroses etc seem to be over very quickly, but rose bay willow herb seems to last for ever, once it comes in late summer.

[John Cuthber]

Spring flowering plants are specialists in "getting in early".

Since "early" doesn't last long, their flowers don't need to last.

[StringJunky]

11 minutes ago, John Cuthber said:

Spring flowering plants are specialists in "getting in early".

Since "early" doesn't last long, their flowers don't need to last.

This is true. I was just thinking that one needs to consider the habitat where they evolved. For plants native to deciduous woods, like blue bells and snowdrops, for exampe, they would need to get their flowering phase over and done with by the time the leaves reach maximum density in the tree canopy above them, so they can exploit what direct sunlight there is.

Edited September 6, 2018 by StringJunky

[John Cuthber]

Being the "first flower in spring" means that you don't have so much competition for pollinating insects etc. That, in turn, means you don't have to work so hard attracting them.

Early flowers are (it seems to me) often smallish, and bland. (White or yellow rather than the  more complex dyes you need for reds + blues)
It's less important whether your flowers get sunshine than whether your leaves do.

 

[StringJunky]

11 minutes ago, John Cuthber said:

Being the "first flower in spring" means that you don't have so much competition for pollinating insects etc. That, in turn, means you don't have to work so hard attracting them.

Early flowers are (it seems to me) often smallish, and bland. (White or yellow rather than the  more complex dyes you need for reds + blues)
It's less important whether your flowers get sunshine than whether your leaves do.

 

The two I mentioned produce bulbs as well, so they need sunshine to make them.

[John Cuthber]

1 minute ago, StringJunky said:

The two I mentioned produce bulbs as well, so they need sunshine to make them.

Indeed, and at the time when sunshine is available (because the woodland canopy isn't in place yet), they waste time with flowers- which could wait until later in the year.

 

I wonder it it's also to do with leaf litter.

 

[StringJunky]

3 minutes ago, John Cuthber said:

Indeed, and at the time when sunshine is available (because the woodland canopy isn't in place yet), they waste time with flowers- which could wait until later in the year.

 

I wonder it it's also to do with leaf litter.

 

Getting nutrients?

[studiot]

28 minutes ago, StringJunky said:

The two I mentioned produce bulbs as well, so they need sunshine to make them.

Except that I started with a list of some very substantial flowering trees.

It's true i introduced some smaller plants but only as an afterthought.

Further I was thinking of the west country 'Devon Banks', when I mentioned the bluebells etc.
These are exposed to the sun all year round, and not normally wooded.

 

I can't square the need to get the flowers over and done with before the leaves, because of the sunshine theory either.

Hydrangeas, for instance do poorly in full sun unless they are a special type.

 

 

[mistermack]

I don't think it's to do with competition for pollinators. There are fewer pollinators about in the spring, so that would probably balance out the lack of competition for the plant.

It could be to do with the possibility of frost. A spring flower might gain an advantage, by going through the process quicker, in an interval between frosts, whereas a slower one might get nipped in the bud.