Section 5: Plant Growth Requirements

Glossary

All living things need space in which to live, grow, and reproduce, and plants are no exception to this rule. But unlike other living things that can move from place to place to make the best use of water, air, and light, plants have to get these from the limited space in which they grow.

Because of this limitation, plants are more vulnerable to being deprived of essentials and, as we start new plants, we must keep two primary considerations in mind - the above-ground portions of a plant and the plant's root system.

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When plants are just seedlings, they can be grown in close proximity. But as they grow, their space requirements will increase, and they will need to be moved or thinned out. On farms and in gardens, this is easily achieved by "culling" the smaller or weaker plants. More living space for the remaining plants means healthier plants with greater yields of produce.

Look at almost any plant label in a greenhouse, and you'll find a reference to the plant's ideal spacing requirement, ranging from a few inches to several feet depending on the plant.

A search on the internet, will also provide help for a plant's space requirements, for example,  a vegetable garden spacing guide can be found at the following link:

                                                     http://home.howstuffworks.com/vegetable-spacing-guide.htm

Thinning out radishes.                  ©iStock

Tree Pruning

Pruning a tree is another way of providing a plant with space to grow. Removing excess branching is similar to thinning out a vegetable patch in a garden. It provides extra space for leaves on the remaining branches to expand and branch out.

Pruning also opens up the tree to allow the sun to reach leaves that would otherwise be shaded, thereby compromising photosynthesis.