Upworthy's book GOOD PEOPLE comes out on September 3, 2024 — take a look!

Shop
 Explore 

plants

Science

Avocado farmer explains secret why you can't grow Hass avocado trees from Hass seeds

Did you know this?

Sleepy Lizard/YouTube

An avocado tree farmer explains the science of Hass avocados

Have you ever seen anyone put an avocado pit in water to grow an avocado tree? I've seen lots of people try, but only a few succeed. My mom has a tiny avocado tree growing in her living room that she managed to grow from the pit of a Hass avocado she ate. It's small but thriving, and I've often wondered if it will ever grow actual avocados.

As it turns out, it could—but they won't be Hass avocados.

Wait, huh?

In a wow-that's-an-interesting-factoid-I-never-knew-before video, an avocado tree grower explains in this YouTube video why a Hass avocado seed doesn't grow into a Hass avocado tree. Avocados, apparently, are not "true to seed" plants, meaning if you plant the seed, you'll end up with a different variety of the fruit the seed came from. Apples are the same—if you plant a Fuji apple seed, you will not get a Fuji apple tree. In fact, chances are really, really high that you'll get an avocado or an apple that tastes terrible if you try to grow it from a seed of an existing fruit.

The guy from Sleepy Lizard Avocado Farm explains how it all works using an analogy with candy flavors. This is the genetics lesson we all needed in school when we were trying to figure out Punnett squares, and he explains it all so clearly.

Incredible how nature works, and so amazing what human beings have been able to figure out over millennia of agricultural advancements.

So how do you get a Hass avocado tree if you can't plant a Hass avocado seed to grow it? As he explains in the video, you can plant the pit and start to grow the tree, but if you want Hass avocados you have to graft a branch of a Hass avocado tree onto the stem of the tree you're growing.

Or, you can just buy a baby Hass avocado tree that's already been grafted, which is probably a heck of a lot easier than figuring out how to graft one yourself.

So go ahead and sprout that seed in water and grow yourself a pretty avocado plant if you'd like. Just don't expect any yummy avocados from it, since your chances are about 1 in 10,000 that it'll happen.

Thanks for the fascinating lesson, avocado guy!

This article originally appeared on 07.06.21

From Your Site Articles

nature

Health

Gardening might be the most comprehensive workout for your body, mind and spirit

There are so many health benefits to gardening, it's kind of ridiculous.

Photo by Ny Menghor on Unsplash

Gardening is a full-body workout.

May in the Northern Hemisphere means gardening season kicks into full swing. Both expert and amateur gardeners are consulting their Plant Hardiness Zones Map (which has changed this. year, by the way) and heading out to their local plants shops to buy vegetable and flower starters, fillings spots amid perennials that are popping up and seedlings started earlier indoors.

Gardening is an enjoyable hobby for some and a dietary necessity for others, but no matter what motivates you to tend a garden, there's no question that it's good for you. In fact, gardening might just be the best exercise there is for overall health.

Anyone who's worked in their yard knows it's surprisingly physical. We have these visions of old people puttering around in their gardens, but that "puttering" is actually a solid workout. Pulling weeds and digging holes may not give you jacked biceps and a snatched waist, but when it comes to the kinds of recommended exercise that can help you live a longer, healthier life, it's hard to beat gardening.

Here are some of the physical, mental and spiritual health benefits of gardening:

Gardening is good for your heart

The Centers for Disease Control consider gardening an official form of exercise, and according to the Mayo Clinic, you might burn as many calories during a busy gardening session as you do at the gym. It's recommended that people get 150 minutes a week of cardiovascular exercise, so gardening for half an hour five days a week will tend both your plants and. your heart.

Gardening has also been shown to lower stress levels. Chronic stress is a significant risk factor for heart disease, gardening can help mitigate that risk.

woman in gardening gloves squatting next to a garden bed

Squatting and pulling are just two ways gardening works your muscles.

Photo by Bermix Studio on Unsplash

Gardening works every major muscle group

According to Maryland Primary Care Physicians, "Digging, lifting bags of mulch and pushing wheelbarrows all provide strength training similar to weight lifting, which leads to healthier bones and joints." Such activities work every major muscle group—legs, buttocks, arms, shoulders, neck, back and abdomen.

One thing gardening has going for it over other forms of exercise is that most of that muscle work is low-impact, so you get the benefit of a good workout without jarring and stress on your joints.

Gardening can help keep your brain sharp

Those of us who haven't gardened much might assume that it's a pretty basic activity—put plants in dirt, water them sometimes, and voila! A garden. Alas, it's not that simple at all, but the complexity of it actually part of why it's so good for your brain. There are thousands of plants, each with their own specifications for growing and thriving. You have to know about soil composition, you have to take humidity levels, temperatures and sunlight into consideration, and as the weather changes you have to adjust and problem-solve to get the most out of your garden. Perhaps that's one reason why a study found that daily gardening is associated with a 36% reduced risk of dementia.

Gardening is good for overall mental health

In the digital age of constant distractions pulling our attention in a million different directions, gardening can offer a much-needed respite. As Penn State Master Gardener Kayla Oaster writes, "Connecting with the natural world, in general, helps relieve people from attention fatigue. Gardening is a great hands-on experience with nature. Working with the soil, smelling the plants and dirt, feeling the different textures, and seeing all the green foliage and flowers can help relax the mind and ground yourself. When you ground yourself, you reduce stress, anxiety, and even built-up anger."

Psychologist Seth J. Gillihan PhD takes it several steps further, explaining how gardening can help with mental health by helping people practice acceptance of things they can't control (weather, organic growth), moving beyond perfectionism and developing a growth mindset (mistakes will be made), staying in the present (focusing on what's in front of you) and reducing stress.

one person handing another person a bowl of cherry tomatoes

Gardening can help you connect with people.

Photo by Elaine Casap on Unsplash

Gardening connects you to community

While gardening is often a solo activity, the hobby of it connects you to a whole community of gardeners who are often happy to share knowledge, seeds, cuttings and more. Additionally, you can share whatever you grow—vegetables, flowers, whatever—with your neighbors and friends. Gardening offers plenty of opportunity to socialize, and having strong social ties is linked to increased resilience to anxiety and depression.

Gardening can be a meditative—some might say spiritual—practice

As you connect your hands with the Earth on the outside, you can also connect with yourself—your soul, your spirit, whatever you want to call your inner being—on the inside. Many people find gardening to be a meditative practice that helps them practice mindfulness and inner peace and connection And there are so many qualities needed for gardening that parallel qualities used in spiritual practice—patience, perseverance, surrendering control, reverence for beauty and more. Gardening means being up close and personal with nature, which can help people feel more connected to the source of life, whatever they perceive or beleive it to be. Many religion's scriptures use plant and garden metaphors to elucidate spiritual concepts, so gardening can help us deepen our understanding of spiritual teachings as well.

If you're looking for a comprehensive exercise that will not only provide a healthy workout for your body but also help sharpen your mind and nurture your spirit, try planting and tending a garden. Just make sure it's large or complex enough for you to reap the full benefits.

From Your Site Articles

gardening

Science

Americans see gardening changes as 'plant hardiness zones' shift across half the U.S.

Here's a quick tool to find out if your zone has changed due to warmer temperatures.

Photo by Jonathan Kemper on Unsplash, Map by USDA-ARS and Oregon State University (Public Domain)

The USDA has issued a new Plant Hardiness Zone Map

Millions of American households have a garden of some sort, whether they grow vegetables, fruits flowers or other plants. Gardening has always been a popular hobby, but more Americans turned to tending plants during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic for both stress relief and to grow their own food so they could make less trips to the store. For many people, it's a seasonal ritual that's therapeutic and rewarding.

But a shift is occurring in the gardening world. Now, due to rising temperature data, half the country find themselves in a different "plant hardiness zone"—the zones that indicate what plants work well in an area and when to plant them. Gardeners rely on knowing their hardiness zone to determine what to plant and when, but they haven't been updated since 2012.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture updated its Plant Hardiness Zone Map in late 2023, months before people in most of the country start planning their planting. We saw the 10 hottest summers ever recorded in 174 years of climate data between 2014 and 2023, but hardiness zones are actually determined by the coldest winter temperatures each year. Winters are warming at an even faster pace than summers, according to nonpartisan research and communications group Climate Central, but that may or may not be the entire reason behind the zone changes.

The USDA acknowledges that some of the zone shifts could be due to climate change but cautions against using them as hard evidence for it since factors such as improved data collection also contribute to changes in the map.

Gardening can be a solo or community endeavor.

Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash

"Temperature updates to plant hardiness zones are not necessarily reflective of global climate change because of the highly variable nature of the extreme minimum temperature of the year, as well as the use of increasingly sophisticated mapping methods and the inclusion of data from more weather stations," the USDA wrote in November 2023. "Consequently, map developers involved in the project cautioned against attributing temperature updates made to some zones as reliable and accurate indicators of global climate change (which is usually based on trends in overall average temperatures recorded over long time periods)."

At the same time, Chris Daly, director of the PRISM Climate Group at Oregon State University that developed the map with the USDA, told NPR, "Over the long run, we will expect to see a slow shifting northward of zones as climate change takes hold."

As an example of zone shifting, Dallas, Texas, was classified as Zone 8a in 2012, when data showed the coldest winter temperature in the city was between 10 and 15 degrees Fahrenheit on average. In 2023, with data showing the coldest winter temps falling between 15 and 20 degrees Fahrenheit, it's been shifted to Zone 8b.

Some zone shifts resulted in moving to an entirely new zone number, such as Seattle shifting from Zone 8b to Zone 9a. The overall trend was for zones to be pushed northward, but not all areas saw a shift. NPR has a helpful tool here in which you can enter your zip code, see what zone your city was previously in, what zone it's in now, and the temperature changes that caused the shift.

The bottom line is if you have a gardening book with a hardiness zones map printed before 2024, it's time for an updated map. Or check online to see what zone you fall in now to give your garden the best chance of thriving this year.

From Your Site Articles

gardening

Culture

An entire town lined up to take photos with a rare corpse flower at an abandoned gas station

Rhododendrites/Bg2655, Wikimedia Commons

When you have a flower that only blooms once a decade or so, you probably want to share it with the world when it does.

Nursery owner Solomon Leyva decided to wheel his rare corpse flower out to an abandoned gas station in Alameda, California on May 18 to share the joy—and the stank—of it in bloom. The corpse flower is so named because of its rotting smell when it's in full bloom. (The smell has been described as "worse than a thousand pukes," which may also explain why Leyva brought it out into a wide open space during its flowering phase. Even though it only blooms for a day or two, it's probably not too pleasant to have that smell indoors, even in a greenhouse.)

The first bloom of a corpse flower takes around seven to 10 years. After that, it's anyone's guess how often it will bloom. For some, it's every few years, for others it can be several decades between blooms.

Just that normal thing that happens in Alameda where a guy brings a corpse flower to an old empty gas station and half the city lines up to take a photo with it.pic.twitter.com/7EeaXy8t4K
— Peter Hartlaub (@Peter Hartlaub) 1621303066

Corpse flowers are huge, growing up to 10 feet in height, and most of the time they sit with their "petals" (actually a singular frilly leaf called the spathe) wrapped up around their towering centers (called the spadix). When in bloom, the spadix actually creates heat, and a combination of chemicals put off a mix of smells described as cheesy and garlicky, sweaty feet-ish, and rotting fishy.

In other words, the rare blooming corpse flower is a feast for both the eyes and the nose.

Leyva told the San Francisco Chronicle that he shares his extremely rare plants on Instagram, and when he saw people showing interest in his corpse flower, he decided to bring it out for the public to enjoy.

"I grabbed my wagon, went down to my greenhouse, put it in with the help of a friend of mine, dragged it down here to this abandoned building and people just started showing up," Leyva said.

Leyva sat near the flower in a folding chair and answered people's questions. He didn't set any rules for viewing, but as more and more people arrived, they formed an orderly line on their own, sometimes stretching down the block. By late afternoon, Leyva estimated that at least 1,200 residents had visited the flower.

"Everyone is commenting to me that the last time they've seen this was in San Francisco, and there was a barrier, and they had to wait for hours, and they weren't allowed to get near it," he said. "I think everyone's tripping out that they can walk up and wiggle it and smell it."

See on Instagram

The combination of the bloom being a rare event as well as a putrid curiosity is likely what brought so many people out to an abandoned gas station to see a single flower. But the flood of visitors may also have been because Leyva's instinct to share something special with the public in such an unlikely place, expecting nothing in return, created a sense of community that we've all been craving during the pandemic. No cost, no fuss, no hassle, just "Hey, I've got this big ass flower that only blooms every ten years or so and it's blooming now so come take a look! And by the way, it reeks!" And the people came.

Thank you, Solomon Leyva, for sharing your cool, rank flower and reminding us that sometimes people will do something awesome for people just because it's an awesome thing to do for people.

From Your Site Articles

A plant is learning to take selfies in the name of science

E & T

Pete the Plant is a maidenhair fern living in the Rainforest Life exhibit at the London Zoo, but Pete the Plant isn't like other plants. Pete the Plant is also a budding photographer. Scientists in the Zoological Society of London's (ZSL) conservation tech unit has been teaching the plant how to take selfies.

The ZSL held a competition in partnership with Open Plant, Cambridge University, and the Arribada Initiative for the design of a fuel cell powered by plants. Plant E in the Netherlands produced the winning design. The prototype cell creates electricity from the waste from the plant's roots. The electricity will be used to charge a battery that's attached to a camera. Once Pete the Plant grows strong enough, it will then use the camera to take a selfie. Not too bad for a plant.

"As plants grow, they naturally deposit biomatter into the soil they're planted in, which bacteria in the soil feeds on – this creates energy that can be harnessed by fuel cells and used to power a wide range of conservation tools," Al Davies, ZSL's conservation technology specialist, explains.

RELATED: This plant might be the answer to water pollution we've been searching for

Pete the Plant isn't snapping selfies so he can become an Instagram influencer. Conservationists hope that this technology will help them monitor the Peruvian rainforest without actually having to be there. Plants will be able generate electricity to power cameratraps and other sensors, allowing researchers to keep an eye on them. "Plugging in to plants unlocks the potential to deploy sensors, monitoring platforms, camera traps, or other electronics that require power and must operate for extended periods of time – all remotely and without interference," says Davies.

The energy produced by the plant is a possible alternative to traditional batteries or solar panels, which both form their own problems. Batteries need to be replaced after a while, and plants who live in the shade don't get enough sunlight for the solar panels to work.

RELATED: 8 products you should own if you actually care about sustainability

Researchers are enthusiastic about what this technology will mean if it proves successful. Plants will be able to help in the collection of their data, allowing researchers to better understand climate change and loss of habitat through the measurement of information such as temperature, humidity and plant growth. "We're excited about the potential for this new technology – if we could harness plants to help generate small amounts of electricity, we could quite literally plug in to nature to help protect the world's wildlife," says Davies.

This technology is pretty cool, but what happens if and when Pete the Plant figures out how to put the dog filter over its selfies?

From Your Site Articles

13 gorgeous photos of wild Florida that show why it's worth saving.

'I think if everyone would spend just a little bit of time experiencing our natural spaces, they would fall in love with them the way I have, and we’d have an unstoppable force for their protection.'

True

"Half the time I’m making my best pictures, I’m waist-deep in water," says Floridian photographer Carlton Ward.

While that might sound strange for the average photographer, it makes sense given Ward's speciality, which is wilderness conservation.

Carlton Ward in his element. Photo via Upworthy.

Ward spends most of his time making his way through the lush Everglades of the Florida Wildlife Corridor in order to capture its majesty on camera in as many ways as possible.

And the corridor is no small territory. Its nearly 16 million acres are home to thousands of different species, including over 40 endangered or threatened animals, such as the whooping crane, the Florida panther, and the west Indian manatee.

Together with members of his conservation team, Ward has crossed 1,000 miles of it — twice.

Obviously Ward's not afraid to get his feet wet to save wild Florida from encroaching land developments.

Ward paddling through the glades. Photo via Upworthy.

According to Ward, 100,000 acres of land are given over to housing growth every year, which means pretty soon there won't be any room left for the wildlife living in the corridor.

But it's not just about the flora and fauna — the encroachment also threatens local residents' drinking water.

"The Everglades watershed provides water for 9 million people," Ward explains. "So this is our water tower. This is absolutely essential for humans to survive on this peninsula."

In order to further protect the corridor and all who rely on it, he created the Florida Wildlife Corridor organization.

Image via iStock.

FWC utilizes science and unforgettable imagery to raise awareness around the corridor's plight and to get people to realize why it needs to be saved.

Perhaps the most amazing aspect of Florida's wild territories is that they're mostly connected throughout the state. FWC is working tirelessly not only to protect that natural network, but restore it. They have a goal of conserving 10% of it every year so that 300,000 acres are saved by 2020.

Florida's Nature Coast: salt marsh near where Crystal River meets the Gulf of Mexico. @fl_wildcorridor #FloridaWild #keepflwild #gulfofmexico #aerial #beautiful #earthdayeveryday
A post shared by Carlton Ward Jr (@carltonward) on Apr 25, 2016 at 5:08am PDT

Ward's photos have already inspired a network of devoted followers. Now he's rallying them to get out in the wild and share their own experiences.

"I think if everyone would spend just a little bit of time experiencing our natural spaces, they would fall in love with them the way I have, and we’d have an unstoppable force for their protection," Ward says.

He asks them to share their Florida photos under #KeepFLWild to help highlight the conservation mission.

And they're obliging.

A son took a photo of his father at Suwannee State Park.

Me and Pops taking sunrise pictures in Suwannee State Park. -------------------------------------- Prints available at the link in my bio on the Florida page --------------------------------------- #FLStateParks #suwannee #Florida #wildflorida #oldFlorida #realFlorida #keepflwild #LoveFL #visitflorida #upsideofflorida #FloridaLocal #PureFlorida #florida_greatshots #floridalife #liveoak #northflorida #suwanneeriverstatepark #floridahistory #floridawonders #igerstampa #igers_tampa #nikon #florida_photos #ig_florida #roamflorida #exploreflorida #prana
A post shared by Miles Upcavage (@kilometersdownlettuce) on Aug 2, 2017 at 5:16pm PDT

Someone else captured a great egret on a branch.

White as Snow. Photo By: Larry Nieland #picoftheday #naturephotography #mothernatureatitsfinest #naturegram #thefederation #follow4follow #adventuresinnature #instanature #choosenature #naturelovers #simplynature #florida #keepflwild #floridawild #fwf
A post shared by Florida Wildlife Federation (@flwildfed) on Aug 7, 2017 at 7:06am PDT

Just take a look at Ward's incredible shots, and you'll understand why he's inspiring so many people to venture out into the glades.

Here's a 100-year-old long-leaf pine standing against the clouds:

A century old longleaf pine stands against the night sky at The Nature Conservancy's Disney Wilderness Preserve, an important part of the Everglades Headwaters National Conservation Area. The orange glow is from the lights of suburban Orlando. Sprawl is consuming 20 acres of wild Florida every hour. Good news is that by being close to town, this preserve is easy to visit and enjoy. @nature_org @fl_wildcorridor #FloridaWild #KeepFLWild. Please follow @CarltonWard.
A post shared by Carlton Ward Jr (@carltonward) on Feb 24, 2016 at 7:29am PST

And a couple of spoonbills taking flight.

A favorite photo from 2008: Roseate spoonbills take flight in front of sunset shadowed mangroves at Audubon's Coastal Islands Sanctuary in Tampa Bay. The roseate spoonbill is characterized by pink feathers and a spoon-shaped bill, which it moves back and forth as it forages in shallow wetlands and bays. With conservation measures, state populations have rebounded from a low of only 15 pairs counted in 1935. Tampa Bay is now home to 15 percent of spoonbills living in Florida, where loss of wetland and mangrove habitat still threatens their survival. #spoonbill #bird @audubonsociety #tampabay #tbt #FloridaWild #keepflwild Please follow @CarltonWard.
A post shared by Carlton Ward Jr (@carltonward) on Mar 31, 2016 at 3:32pm PDT

These are marsh islands at sunset.

Marsh islands and oyster beds line Florida's Nature Coast, seen here near Crystal River. We paddled through this labyrinth last year during the @fl_wildcorridor #glades2gulf expedition. #gulfofmexico #FloridaWild #KeepFLWild #lovefl #sunset #aerial #aerialphotography
A post shared by Carlton Ward Jr (@carltonward) on Mar 29, 2016 at 4:07am PDT

A scaly Florida resident makes an appearance.

A favorite photo from springtime in Florida: an American alligator glides through the reflection of cypress trees on the surface of a pond just as the sun sets over Babcock Ranch State Preserve, near Fort Myers. #FloridaWild #LoveFL #photooftheday #reflection @natgeocreative @fl_wildcorridor #nanpapix
A post shared by Carlton Ward Jr (@carltonward) on May 7, 2016 at 11:33am PDT

This Ogeechee tupelo tree sits near the Florida-Georgia border.

Ogeechee Tupelo - one of my favorite landscape photos, shot on the Suwannee River near the Georgia Florida border on day 96 of the 2012 @fl_wildcorridor expedition from Everglades National Park to the Okefenokee Swamp. It was drizzling this day. A four second long exposure on a tripod soaked in the even light and vibrancy of the emergent spring leaves. A polarizing filter, partially turned, cut through sheen of the water to reveal the surreal orange of the shallow white sandbar glowing through tannin stained swamp water while retaining the reflection of the tree on the surface. Our original expedition route would have had us hiking the final week through the Pinkook Swamp but a 30,000-acre wildfire there pushed us further west to paddle upstream on the Suwannee. It was so shallow we had to drag our boats at times but the scenery was some of the most beautiful of the whole Expedition and this photograph became my most collected print. I heard the river water was 16 feet higher the next year. From the perspective of my current project, the Okefenokee is excellent panther habitat. Hopefully a breeding population can establish there someday. Please share. #suwannee #tupelo #hope #okefenokee #floridawild #keepFLWild #landscape #river
A post shared by Carlton Ward Jr (@carltonward) on Dec 30, 2016 at 6:28am PST

Finally, meet the elusive ghost orchid, which only blooms in the wild in Florida.

A ghost orchid hangs from a pop ash tree in a South Florida swamp. Subjects of the book The Orchid Thief and movie Adaptation, ghost orchids have been illegally harvested in recent decades. Only two thousand plants survive in the wild. I saw this one with biologists last summer while exploring locations and testing equipment for a Florida panther project I'm doing with @Natgeo. #orchid #everglades @fl_wildcorridor #KeepFLWild
A post shared by Carlton Ward Jr (@carltonward) on Dec 26, 2016 at 12:02pm PST

Thanks to Ward's talent and spirit, what makes wild Florida precious is crystal clear. He might very well be what saves it.

As long as other adventurers keep following in his footsteps, that is. After all, the Everglades may be his natural habitat, but he's only one man. More will have to step off the beaten path to keep Florida's wildlands safe.

"There’s a wild side to Florida that’s hiding in plain sight," Ward says. Sometimes you just have to get a little messy to find it.

Ward getting down into the glades with his assistant. Photo via Upworthy.

See more of Ward's amazing work here:

He goes to extreme lengths to get these stunning photos. And the results are helping to save hundreds of species.
Posted by Upworthy on Thursday, August 24, 2017

Corrections 8/30/2017: The post misstated the amount of land given over to housing growth each year. The correct number is 100,000 acres. It also misidentified a great egret as a whooping crane.