Why do some perennial blooms last weeks when others last as little as a day?
In: Earth Science
Bloom length can often be tied to frequency of blooms. Tropical plants that bloom on and off all year (in their proper conditions) often have shorter lasting blooms. Flowers, shrubs and other plants that only bloom once a year tend to have longer lasting blooms.
Once upon a time, blooms were a primary means of reproduction through pollination. Now that plants have been bred for various purposes (drought tolerance, hardiness, flower size, etc) blooms are more ornamental than functional.
Prior to hybridization and cross-breeding, bloom time corresponded with migration patterns, season length and things of that nature. Flowers needed only exist long enough to be pollinated. If it took 3 days in the Canadian territories, the wildflowers only persisted for that long. If it took two months in Madagascar, those native plants were adapted for that purpose.
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