Why Daisy Flower Open And Close?

The daisy plants are surprising and amazing in their forms, behavior, and style. The flowers have the ability to modify themselves in the changing environment so that they flourish beautifully wherever they grow.

If you have ever looked at your garden at night, you would have noticed that some flowers, including daisies, close when nightfall begins, and it opens up again when the sun rises. But why does the daisy flower open and close?

Daisy flower opens and closes because it helps them hold on to moisture and protects them from nocturnal insects. The flower opening and closure are also traits of a reproductive syndrome as it allows pollen removal or pollination. Only some species of daisies have this trait.

You can distinguish the opening into different types, such as nocturnal, diurnal, single, or repetitive.

The common phenomenon of flowers

• Opening
• Closing

Various kinds of flowers open and close in response to humidity, temperature, and light.

The petals of flowers open up during the day and close at night, reacting to light and temperature changes. This behavior is known as nyctinasty. 

Example of flowers that open and close

Flowers that open and close in reaction to temperature and light are roses, tulips, snapdragons, geranium, and daisies.

Here we will discuss the opening and closure of the daisies.

Daisies are one of the most popular flowers, which creates a pleasant, aesthetic, and graceful look. Daisies grow in large numbers, and the most interesting fact about daisies is that they make up almost 10% of all flowering plants on the entire earth.

When daisies close their petals at night and open them in the morning, it signifies the beginning of a new day.

Reasons for which daisies close at night:

• They sleep and take a rest.
• They protect their pollen.

Why do daisies sleep and take rest?

You may have wondered why daisies close at night, reacting to light and temperature changes. It is a behavior called nyctinasty.

Nyctinasty is a process that causes the movement of plants in response to light, temperature, and humidity.

Daisies experience circadian rhythm just as humans do.

A circadian rhythm is a natural and internal process that regulates the sleep and wake cycle every 24 hours. 

Daisies don’t have a central nervous system, which is a necessary sleep regulator in humans, but they do have a circadian rhythm just as humans do.

Plant behavior is directly controlled by the sun. During the day, daisies soak up sunlight during photosynthesis, and it is a process they use to get energy.

When the sun goes down, the plants’ opportunity to eat disappears, as their fuel is no longer produced. So, they take some rest at night because the process of photosynthesis halts at night.

Why do daisies protect their pollen and other reproductive parts?

One of the main reasons for daisies to close at night is to protect their pollen and other reproductive parts. This behavior of daisies makes them protect their pollen from various unwanted pests.

Daises protect the pollen and other delicate parts from the “night robbers” from saving their nectar.

Various nectar robbers, including animals, insects, and birds, remove the nectar from a flowering plant without causing pollination. It can reduce the number of pollinated flowers.

When daisies close at night, it prevents pollen from becoming wet and heavy with dewdrops. If daisies get wet and heavy, the plant’s pollen loses its viability and ability to grow.

If daisies pollen is dry, it remains light and will be distributed by insects easily.

Most of the flowers are pollinated by birds and insects, including daisies that are active during the day. So, there is no need for daisies to remain open at night.

Reasons for which daisies open during the day

• For synthesizing food
• For pollinating themselves

Why do daisies open up for synthesizing food?

Daisies open up their petal in response to sunlight and temperature.

During the day, sunlight provides the energy which is needed for photosynthesis to take place.

When the day begins, the resting period for daisies ends, and they become active.

Daisies open up their petal as they start getting active and start soaking up energy from sunlight for the process called photosynthesis.

Sunlight is a crucial energy source for all plants, which includes daisies too. During the day, daisies start absorbing energy from the sun, due to which they start opening up their petals, which is necessary for the survival of a plant.

Do daisies open to pollinate themselves?

As birds and insects are not very active at night, there is no use for daisies to remain open at night. But as soon as the day begins, pollinators become active and like to go out during the morning.

Daisies start to open during the morning to get pollinated by pollinators as they move pollen from the male part to the female part of a flower for reproduction.

This helps daisies to bring fertilization of the ovules by the male gametes from the pollen grains.

Which part of the daisies open and close?

Daisy flowers open their petals at sunrise and close them together after the sunset.

How the process works, and how do they do it?

The opening is generally due to cell expansion. When light hits the outer petals of daisies, it triggers a chemical called auxin that causes cells to grow and expand.

If we want to know how this is done, we must know how daisies’ petals are put together. The petals of daisies are made of miniature building blocks, which are called cells.

We will need a microscope to see them as they are very tiny, and it takes several of them to form an inch. Each cell has a skin called a cell wall that touches the walls of other cells. The insides of the cells are filled with a watery mixture that contains some active chemicals.

The cell wall holds the whole-cell together and acts as a miracle in nature. It lets in the chemicals the cell need and keeps out those which it does not need.

Water flows through the thin wall, and when the zillions of cells are filled, it stretches to the limit like a fat balloon.

Together they puff up a petal and make it spread out stiff and firm.

When all the petal cells are filled, the daisies open wide.

When the inner petals are less exposed to light, those cells remain the same and cause the daisies to close at night.

Why are my daisies not blooming in the morning?

Sometimes you get to see that your daisies are having some problem in opening during the morning. If your daisies won’t bloom or are blooming very little, then maybe the problem is environmental.

For example:

Soil

Choose a well-draining sandy soil for your daisies. These flowers don’t enjoy sitting in a lot of water, and you can avoid it by making the right choice of soil for them. You can add a layer of mulch on the soil that will be beneficial for your daisies.

You should skip the manure and avoid fertilizers as extremely rich soil is often why your daisies do not bloom during the day.

Also read: What Kind Of Soil Do Daisies Need? (Daisy Soil Requirements)

Sunlight

Daisies are dependent primarily on light to trigger blooming and closing.

Daisies open when exposed to light and close with darkness. They will not bloom if they won’t get the right amount of light during the day.

Due to the cloudy weather, your daisies may not bloom properly.

Another reason your daisies are not blooming is that your daisies might be located in a shady area.

It would help if you transplanted your daisies to a more suitable location.

Pruning of dead growth can also provide daisies enough sunlight for blooming.

Also read: How Much Light Do Daisies Need? (Daisy Light Requirements)

Moisture

Daisies like a sufficient amount of water but not too much in quantity as the soil should not be either fully dry or soggy.

One thorough watering session per week is enough for these plants.

Avoid overwatering your daisies as it creates weak and shallow roots, which will create a problem for daisies to bloom during the day.

What happens if your daisies do not close at night?

At night, you may have noticed that your daisies’ petals are not closing.

You should keep in mind some points which have been given below:

Watering

The plant’s stomata remain closed during the night, so there is no transpiration or evaporation in the absence of sunlight.

At night, the process of photosynthesis remains on break due to the absence of sunlight, which means there will be no loss of water, so all the cells of plants remain turgid, and water is not required.

If you water your daisies at night, the plant will not absorb water or absorb very little.

Due to this, waterlogging conditions will develop inside the soil that will not allow oxygen to pass inside the plants, and daisies will have a problem in taking rest due to which they remain open at night.

Watering at night can also cause root rot. Due to the root rot problems, your daisies stems may suffer from various diseases and fungal infections.

Because of root rot, you will notice that daisies’ petals are not closing at night, and they are drooping rather than closing their petals.

Also read: How Much Water Do Daisies Need? (Daisy Water Requirements)

Avoid touching daisies at night

Make sure you never touch the plant while they are sleeping and taking a rest. Touching or brushing up against them in the night can harm your daisies.

During the night, plants inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, which can cause a problem for daisies in closing their petals.

Final words

The most common phenomenon of a flower is the opening and closing of its petals in response to various factors like temperature, humidity, and light.

Daises are dependent on light for opening and closing. When they get sunlight, they open up their petals, and when the sun sets, they close themselves.

Daisies close at night for two main reasons: they sleep and rest and protect their pollen at night from nectar robbers.

Daisies open up during the day as they pollinate themselves via various animals like birds and insects and to synthesize food.

The opening of daisies is generally due to cell expansion. To open and close, daisies need several saggy, soft, and stiff cells.

If your daisies are not blooming during the day, you can solve this problem by taking care of 3 significant factors: soil and sunlight moisture. If daisies are not closing at night, you should avoid watering and touching them at night.

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Ref: Wikipedia, Britannica, University Of Florida, Ucanr.edu