Which way's up?

Hi, this is my first post here and I'll start off with a couple of real newbie questions...

I have so much trouble trying to figure out which way is up with cuttings from cheap shops. What I get is a mucky octopus with no clue as to whether it's a root or stem and no planting instructions.

However, my problem today is sweet peas - I've started sprouting some in a jam jar in a warm cupboard and they've poked out sprouty bits. When I potted them into some compost, I wasn't sure if the sprouty bits should be up or down so I planted them sideways and covered them lightly with soil. That was the question there - up or down??

And if I can ask another question, the aforesaid octopus comes in a bag of light composty stuff. Is this ok to grow it in? I suspect it's sawdust mixed with compost as a transport medium. Should I just chuck it away?

 

Xoot, If it looks like an octopus and has no growing shoot I'd just plant it anyway up.:D
Nature has a way of sorting itself out.

Throw the dry saw dust away and buy some decent multipurpose compost.

Sprouts on sweet peas should go downwards as the seed produces a root first, but then again, they will sort themselves out.

 

Thanks Pete, that's what I thought. I'll leave my topsy-turvey sweetpeas to figure out gravity for themselves!

 

Hi Xoot,

Plants do a thing called Geotropism. where they detect the Earths magnetic field & decide which way to send the roots & which way to send the shoots.

Then they do another thing called photo tropism, where cells on the light side of the plant are growth inhibited, causing it to bend towards the light.

Least I think it was that way round. Aesculus will correct me if i'm wrong, he's studied it more recently than I have.

 

Is there also Hydro tropism, attracted to water??

 

On gardeners question time yesterday they mentioned the Compass Plant , from the north American plains. The leaves align themselves on a North South axis. The plains indians used them for navigation -i.e. this way to the little big horn :WINK1: