When you start keeping plants you begin to care for them similarly as you’ll care for any living creature. This means that you’ll take care of your plants, make sure it is happy, and dread the day that it dies. Most people tend to forget that plants are living things and can get old, and a lot are concerned with whether old age can kill plants.
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Can plants die of old age?
The short answer is not really. Plants generally do not die of old age; they can mostly live forever when they are grown in optimum conditions. There are some plants that will eventually keel over, so it’s not a hard and fast rule, but even then it’s due to cell division stopping working, or being less efficient. ! External factors such as fires, insufficient nutrients, drought, and so on can lead to the death of a plant but it is scientifically impossible for plants to grow old and die as humans do.
However, there is a category of plants that die back every year after flowering or seeding, they are called annual plants. This is their natural growth cycle.
How Does Plant Ageing Work?
For animals, humans, and other living creatures, there is a set lifespan that determines the growing and ageing process and eventually the life expectancy, but for plants, there is no age or size that they are considered as genetically old. This means that the life expectancy of your plants is left to you and for plants in the wild, it is left to the forces of nature.
The ageing process of a plant can work in two ways.
- Firstly, for houseplants: If your house plant is left untrimmed and ungroomed for long periods, it will eventually get too big for its container, living space, and eventually will not be able to support its weight. As a result, water and other nutrients won’t be able to circulate properly to reach its roots, stems, and branches and the plant will begin to die accordingly.
- Secondly, plant cells: Plant cells are quite different from other animals in the fact that humans produce cells that eventually start to die, and regenerative cell abilities also reduces as we age. However, with plants, there is a tissue called Meristems that are located in the roots and tips of the plant. What it does is to change into a different cell type at any moment, dividing continuously in the process. This keeps the plant perpetually embryonic, in other words, keeps the plant perpetually young and growing throughout its entire life.
In summary, plants do not die of old age but can eventually die due to unfavourable conditions and other natural factors.
