I grew some Firefly Petunias (https://light.bio/) last year, and they were an absolute blast. They're GM, and the glow is most active in dividing cells, and it was utterly fascinating to watch the...
I grew some Firefly Petunias (https://light.bio/) last year, and they were an absolute blast. They're GM, and the glow is most active in dividing cells, and it was utterly fascinating to watch the plants go through surges and lulls in their growth, as well as where the active parts were; it wasn't always the apical meristems!
These are more tattooed, I guess, but still very neat. :)
Oh that's so cool. I backed the OG "glowing plants" Kickstarter back in like 2012 maybe? Only time I've ever lost money on Crowdfunding. A greenhouse 30 mins from me carries these petunias, going...
Oh that's so cool. I backed the OG "glowing plants" Kickstarter back in like 2012 maybe? Only time I've ever lost money on Crowdfunding. A greenhouse 30 mins from me carries these petunias, going to go get some!
What a time to be alive. Cool idea though but unobtainable outside the US.
Can I propagate or breed the Firefly Petunias?
Our Firefly Petunias are protected under patent, and as such, propagation and breeding are not permitted. These petunias are sold exclusively for personal use.
They don’t. They say that it’s fine to make cuttings or reseed them for personal use, but request that no one make a commercial business out of it. Presumably, if you do so they can sue you for...
They don’t. They say that it’s fine to make cuttings or reseed them for personal use, but request that no one make a commercial business out of it. Presumably, if you do so they can sue you for patent infringement.
Seems fair to me. Can’t be cheap to develop something like this.
I grew these as well. I really enjoyed it. I tried to take some cuttings and have them root but I wasn't successful. I don't really grow perennials. So it was enjoyable to try once but I won't be...
I grew these as well. I really enjoyed it. I tried to take some cuttings and have them root but I wasn't successful. I don't really grow perennials. So it was enjoyable to try once but I won't be buying them year after year. I loved seeing these at night. Too bad all my neighbors have their lights on 24/7 though.
I was able to get some cuttings going, but unfortunately while I was away on a business trip they didn't get watered, so I lost them all. I had them growing in my kitchen under a grow light, and...
I was able to get some cuttings going, but unfortunately while I was away on a business trip they didn't get watered, so I lost them all. I had them growing in my kitchen under a grow light, and it was truly delightful to look over at them at night after I'd turned off all the lights and watch them glow away while I was getting ready for bed.
Petunias are pretty easy as far as plants go, and are fantastic continuous bloomers. The only real downside is that they are a 'full sun' plant, so it's difficult to move them indoors. Possible,...
Petunias are pretty easy as far as plants go, and are fantastic continuous bloomers. The only real downside is that they are a 'full sun' plant, so it's difficult to move them indoors. Possible, you just need good lights. Here's a small photo album of what the looked like: https://photos.app.goo.gl/E4kkd7BvochwobfS8
Gotcha, I'm glad I didn't get them then. I would have wanted to have them inside so that probably wouldn't have worked out well. They do look pretty cool in the pictures though!
Gotcha, I'm glad I didn't get them then. I would have wanted to have them inside so that probably wouldn't have worked out well.
You’re right, I got carried away with a desire to turn my own succulents to an organic night-lite, regardless of relevance. removing my mistaken post as I wither away at my own cringe
You’re right, I got carried away with a desire to turn my own succulents to an organic night-lite, regardless of relevance.
removing my mistaken post as I wither away at my own cringe
Fascinating. I couldn't tell, but it sounds like they put the phosphors in the soil and the succulents pick it up that way. I wonder what impact it has on the photosynthesis process. Respect.
Fascinating. I couldn't tell, but it sounds like they put the phosphors in the soil and the succulents pick it up that way.
Finally, they arrived at a simple, low-cost formula that loads the phosphors onto the plant’s mesophyll cell wall, a section of the leaf where photosynthesis takes place.
I wonder what impact it has on the photosynthesis process.
For now, Liu wants to conduct further “rigorous, long-term biosafety evaluations” to ensure that this future is also a good one for the succulents involved.
There's a short video clip in the article showing them injecting glowing liquid from a syringe directly into the leaf of a succulent, which is sort of how I pictured they were doing it from how...
There's a short video clip in the article showing them injecting glowing liquid from a syringe directly into the leaf of a succulent, which is sort of how I pictured they were doing it from how the article is worded. It could just be a glamor shot that's not actually representative of the process though, I dunno.
What I'd like to know is, is the luminescence somehow powered by the plant itself--like as long as the plant is alive it will continue to glow--or is this just turning it into a glow-in-the-dark toy where you need to expose it to a bunch of light to charge it up and then it slowly dims until the next time it gets charged again? The former I would think is kind of awesome, but the latter not so much (glow-in-the-dark toys and paints have existed forever but I don't think anyone considers them as a serious ambient lighting source).
Oooh, maybe you're right. I was surprised when they said that it was less costly then genetic modification, just because injecting each one seems like a lot of work. That's when I thought maybe...
Oooh, maybe you're right. I was surprised when they said that it was less costly then genetic modification, just because injecting each one seems like a lot of work. That's when I thought maybe they were putting it in the soil itself. But I guess that wouldn't get the concentrations needed, so injections make a lot more sense.
While I would also be psyched for a self-powered glow, I’m expecting these to be the same kind of phosphors in the toys I grew up with as a kid. The shame with that kind of phosphor is that it can...
While I would also be psyched for a self-powered glow, I’m expecting these to be the same kind of phosphors in the toys I grew up with as a kid.
The shame with that kind of phosphor is that it can be charged up, but it hits a ceiling on the total power stored. This inevitably gets discharged over the span of an hour or two when it literally loses its luster (although looking it up, it might effectively last in some faint form for up to 6-8 hours).
While it might be nice to have some plants retaining ambient light once the sun sets, I actually most want this type of ambient light when it’s late at night (i.e. 10pm and later). It’s during this time I have automated timers to turn down/off room lighting and make everything more warm-hued.
Post sunset glow might look cool, but wouldn’t be particularly useful outside of some novelty for guests (especially in the Winter when the sun sets earlier). My fear is that the only way to extend the “charge” for these plants would be to put them into some irregular lighting patterns that could be the bigger impact on plant health rather than the toxicity of the phosphors themselves.
Edit: I do remember the phosphors as a kid could be charged by standard home lighting, so it’s a possibility that they can retain non-UV light/energy. If so, these might actually fit the bill for my use case!
I grew some Firefly Petunias (https://light.bio/) last year, and they were an absolute blast. They're GM, and the glow is most active in dividing cells, and it was utterly fascinating to watch the plants go through surges and lulls in their growth, as well as where the active parts were; it wasn't always the apical meristems!
These are more tattooed, I guess, but still very neat. :)
[edit]- Here's a small photo album of what the looked like: https://photos.app.goo.gl/E4kkd7BvochwobfS8
Oh that's so cool. I backed the OG "glowing plants" Kickstarter back in like 2012 maybe? Only time I've ever lost money on Crowdfunding. A greenhouse 30 mins from me carries these petunias, going to go get some!
What a time to be alive.
Cool idea though but unobtainable outside the US.
… How do they intend to prohibit propagation?
They don’t. They say that it’s fine to make cuttings or reseed them for personal use, but request that no one make a commercial business out of it. Presumably, if you do so they can sue you for patent infringement.
Seems fair to me. Can’t be cheap to develop something like this.
I guess they have grounds to sue if you’re making a business out of it.
I grew these as well. I really enjoyed it. I tried to take some cuttings and have them root but I wasn't successful. I don't really grow perennials. So it was enjoyable to try once but I won't be buying them year after year. I loved seeing these at night. Too bad all my neighbors have their lights on 24/7 though.
I was able to get some cuttings going, but unfortunately while I was away on a business trip they didn't get watered, so I lost them all. I had them growing in my kitchen under a grow light, and it was truly delightful to look over at them at night after I'd turned off all the lights and watch them glow away while I was getting ready for bed.
Here's a small photo album of what the looked like: https://photos.app.goo.gl/E4kkd7BvochwobfS8
So gorgeous. They were really fun! Nicely done.
I thought about buying some of those but I've never really taken care of plants. How difficult are these to keep alive?
Petunias are pretty easy as far as plants go, and are fantastic continuous bloomers. The only real downside is that they are a 'full sun' plant, so it's difficult to move them indoors. Possible, you just need good lights. Here's a small photo album of what the looked like: https://photos.app.goo.gl/E4kkd7BvochwobfS8
Gotcha, I'm glad I didn't get them then. I would have wanted to have them inside so that probably wouldn't have worked out well.
They do look pretty cool in the pictures though!
The post they were replying to was about petunias though which aren't succulents.
You’re right, I got carried away with a desire to turn my own succulents to an organic night-lite, regardless of relevance.
removing my mistaken post as I wither away at my own cringe
Fascinating. I couldn't tell, but it sounds like they put the phosphors in the soil and the succulents pick it up that way.
I wonder what impact it has on the photosynthesis process.
Respect.
There's a short video clip in the article showing them injecting glowing liquid from a syringe directly into the leaf of a succulent, which is sort of how I pictured they were doing it from how the article is worded. It could just be a glamor shot that's not actually representative of the process though, I dunno.
What I'd like to know is, is the luminescence somehow powered by the plant itself--like as long as the plant is alive it will continue to glow--or is this just turning it into a glow-in-the-dark toy where you need to expose it to a bunch of light to charge it up and then it slowly dims until the next time it gets charged again? The former I would think is kind of awesome, but the latter not so much (glow-in-the-dark toys and paints have existed forever but I don't think anyone considers them as a serious ambient lighting source).
Oooh, maybe you're right. I was surprised when they said that it was less costly then genetic modification, just because injecting each one seems like a lot of work. That's when I thought maybe they were putting it in the soil itself. But I guess that wouldn't get the concentrations needed, so injections make a lot more sense.
While I would also be psyched for a self-powered glow, I’m expecting these to be the same kind of phosphors in the toys I grew up with as a kid.
The shame with that kind of phosphor is that it can be charged up, but it hits a ceiling on the total power stored. This inevitably gets discharged over the span of an hour or two when it literally loses its luster (although looking it up, it might effectively last in some faint form for up to 6-8 hours).
While it might be nice to have some plants retaining ambient light once the sun sets, I actually most want this type of ambient light when it’s late at night (i.e. 10pm and later). It’s during this time I have automated timers to turn down/off room lighting and make everything more warm-hued.
Post sunset glow might look cool, but wouldn’t be particularly useful outside of some novelty for guests (especially in the Winter when the sun sets earlier). My fear is that the only way to extend the “charge” for these plants would be to put them into some irregular lighting patterns that could be the bigger impact on plant health rather than the toxicity of the phosphors themselves.
Edit: I do remember the phosphors as a kid could be charged by standard home lighting, so it’s a possibility that they can retain non-UV light/energy. If so, these might actually fit the bill for my use case!