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Overview
Do Flowers Need Sun to Grow?All living plants need water and sunlight to grow. Although different species require different amounts of light, without it a plant cannot make food and does not have the energy it needs to grow. Some plants will survive nicely in filtered or indirect light because they have adapted by developing large leaves that are able to make efficient use of low levels of light.
Photosynthesis
Plants absorb water through the stem and sunlight from the air. The chloroplasts in the leaves are filled with chlorophyll. The chlorophyll absorbs sunlight. The plant uses the sunlight to combine carbon dioxide, which it takes in through tiny pores on the underside of the leaf called stomata, and water to make sugar and oxygen in a process called photosynthesis. Plants use the sugar as their food to make starches, fats and proteins. The oxygen is released into the air through the stomata.
The Flower
The flower is the main part of the plant that produces seeds. The flower itself uses the energy created in photosynthesis to grow and bloom. The flower does not contain chlorophyll and does not produce food for the plant. The primary function of a flower is to attract insects with its bright colors and sweet scent. Flying insects that feed on the nectar in the flower get pollen on their bodies and carry it away with them. When they feed on other flowers, some of the pollen is left behind to fertilize the flower.
Fruit
When flowers are fertilized with the pollen, the process of making seeds begins. The plant continues to make food with sunlight and water to support the development of seeds. Flowers on edible plants such as apples and oranges begin to develop the fruit. The fruit serves to hold the seeds of the plant. Good tasting fruit is eaten by animals and humans, and the seeds are scattered on the ground where they can sprout and grow into new plants.
Seedpods
Plants that do not grow fruit use the energy gained from sunlight and water to develop seedpods. Seedpods dry and split open in the fall to distribute the seeds so new plants can grow. The wind spreads some seeds. Seeds such as the puffy tops of dandelion blossoms are light and fluffy, making them easy to be carried to new places in the wind. Other seeds, like pansies, grow in seedpods that pop open when they dry and the seeds scatter near the base of the plant.
New Plants
When the ground becomes moist and warm in the spring, new plants emerge. New plants need both water and sunlight to grow into large plants. The young leaves use sunlight and water to create food that the plant needs to grow.
