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burning avs; was african violet pots - critique

updated fri 13 oct 06

 

Linda - Pacifica on thu 12 oct 06


I must reply to this myth about water being a lens on a plant. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lens_%28geometry%29 ). The same reason is often given for not watering plants outdoors during the sunny time of the day.

First, find a real glass lens and look at it carefully, noting the curves of the glass. It's convex on both sides, right? That is the only way that the light can be focussed to cause a burn, as those of us who played with magnifying lenses as kids recall. The water on a plant is not a lens and can't burn the plant.

Secondly, plants evolved to endure rain and then sun immediately afterwards. Check some plants outdoors after a thunderstorm and tell me how many leaves you can prove were burned by this alleged lens.

Anyway, that's how I see it.

Cheers, Linda Ferzoco
On Thursday, October 12, 2006, at 04:32AM, Helen Bates wrote:

>Hi,
>
>Ellen Currans mentioned that she does allow water to touch her St. Paulia (I
>love that name for African Violets.) The one book I read years ago
>suggested that the water acts as a lens if the plant is in a bright window