When people say that they’ve seen flowers following the sun, they’re not joking. This sun-tracking behavior from plants is more than just adorable and charming; it’s part of a natural process called heliotropism. If you want to keep your plants fresh daily, you might want to understand the process of heliotropism and its benefits for your flowers or plants. Let us shine a little light on one of nature’s coolest processes.
Why Do My Flowers Turn to the Sun?
If you've caught your blooms facing east in the morning and west by sunset, you're seeing heliotropism in action. Flowers following the sun is a natural growth behavior found in certain plants. This process is not to be confused with phototropism, which is a plant's growth response to light; heliotropism makes plants follow the cycle of the sun.
The most popular example is sunflowers! As they grow, young sunflowers tilt their faces from east to west to soak up every last bit of sunshine. But this behavior isn’t exclusive to sunflowers; many other flowers, plants, and even leaves turn toward the sun, especially during the early stages of growth.
If you’re looking to grow your own flowers at home and want to support local growers, try searching for “flowers in Brooklyn near me”. This way, you’ll be able to find the best seasonal blooms in your area so that you can make the most of the natural heliotropism process!
How Does Heliotropism Work?
To understand how and which flowers and plants follow the sun, it helps to look at the two types of heliotropism:
- Positive heliotropism: when parts of the plant (like leaves or buds) grow toward the light.
- Negative heliotropism: when they grow away from the light (less common in flowers).
Now that you know the difference between the two heliotropism processes, this is how flowers and plants both go through the cycle:
- Finding the Light: Plants have special cells, mostly in their stems and buds, that can detect where light is coming from. These cells are like tiny sensors that help the plant know which direction the sun is in.
- Moving Growth Hormones (Auxins): Once the plant knows where the light is, it moves more of its growth hormone, called auxin, to the shady side of the stem (the side that’s not facing the sun).
- Growing Toward the Light: The side of the stem with more auxins grows faster, which causes that side to stretch towards the sun more than the shady side. This uneven growth makes the plant bend toward the light. To make this easier to understand, think of auxins as a boost for the parts of the plant that can’t reach the sun on their own. Since the shaded side is falling behind, auxins help it grow faster and stretch out, so the whole plant leans toward the light.
- Repeating the Cycle: In flowers like young sunflowers, this movement happens every day. In the morning, they face east. As the sun moves west, the flower slowly turns to follow it. At night, the plant resets, turning back east before the sun rises again.
While this behavior is endearing, it doesn’t last forever. For example, once a sunflower matures and blooms fully, it usually stops following the sun and stays facing east. This final position helps attract more pollinators because east-facing flowers warm up faster in the morning.
Are All Plants Heliotropic?
Not every plant has a desire to follow the sun. Heliotropism is more common in young plants or fast growers that rely on sunlight for quick growth. You'll see it more in wildflowers like daisies, morning glories, and certain houseplants like pothos and oxalis. Many trees and shrubs, however, stay still no matter where the sun is. Some non-heliotropic plants are tulips, roses, peonies, oak and maple trees, grasses and ferns, and evergreens.
While some flowers and plants are non-heliotropic (they don’t follow the sun), the sun is still a significant part of their growth and health.
The Role of the Sun for Flowers
Even if some of your flowers aren’t racing towards the light, the sun is still important to their growth and health. Sunlight helps with:
- Boosting photosynthesis (the food for plants and flowers)
- Speeding up growth
- Improving flower color and vibrancy
- Maintaining stronger stems and leaves
- Attracting more pollinators through warmth and scent release
Getting the right amount of sunlight is especially important if you want your flowers to thrive. Learning how to support flowers following the sun can make a big difference in how vibrant your garden looks year-round.
Heliotropism in Your Indoor Plants
Even inside your home, some plants will twist or lean toward the window to follow the sun's cycle, which is totally normal.
To support this behavior and learn how to keep your flowers alive longer, try the following:
- Rotate pots every few days so they grow evenly. This guarantees that the sun is hitting all sides of your plant.
- Keep them near east- or south-facing windows. If your plants are sun lovers, these directions make sure they get the most sunlight without being too strong for your plants to handle.
- Use grow lights in darker rooms to mimic the sun.
- Water and feed them based on the plant’s natural sunlight needs.
Watching your plants gently stretch toward the light can actually tell you a lot about what they need and how to grow your plants better. This is a great way to stay in tune with their health without them saying a word!
The Final Stretch
Flowers stretching toward the sunlight isn’t just a fun game for them! Even if the plant isn’t necessarily stretching toward the light, it does need it to survive. Heliotropism is one of the ways nature helps plants grow strong and get as many nutrients as they need!