You CAN Have Nice Things... even in the country
Just Out: Bio Luminescent Petunias Glow Brightly!
Access to the latest and greatest products is something I used to associate only with city living, but that’s changed. Even here, where the asphalt ends, novel, leading-products are accessible if we care to look. Living, glow-in-the-dark petunias are the latest example.
Glow-in-the-dark plants are something I’ve wanted ever since I first wrote about firefly luciferase – the enzyme that causes fireflies to glow – a couple decades ago for my biotech clients.
I dreamed of moonlight gardens alight with naturally luminescent blooms. The bio luminescent forest in the movie Avatar, a few years ago, made me crave them more and more, but the scientists behind the technology were concentrating more on medical research than commercial products.
Now, the first plants that bio luminesce are available commercially from light.bio.
Rather than wait for Mother’s Day (May 12), my husband and I ordered Firefly Petunias as soon as we read the news release back in March. Our first Firefly Petunias (ten of them!) arrived in early April. We unpacked them from their boxes, repotted them, and put them in a moderately sunny location indoors. (Our nighttime lows are still in the 30s, so I can’t put them outside until it warms up.)
Even that first night, after being packed in a dark box for shipping, they emitted a faint glow.
Now that they’ve had weeks of daylight, they glow brightly, from stems to buds and blossoms. I am enthralled by their beauty and amazed by the fact this this is even possible. I love science!
I’m utterly blown away by this. If either my husband or I get up in the middle of the night, we end up gazing at them, quietly glowing on a shelf. He’s only half joking when he says we don’t need a light-light anymore!
These “Firefly Petunias” are genetically engineered, which is to say the gene that expresses firefly luciferase (which makes fireflies glow) was incorporated into white petunias. This is a novelty plant, of course, and an amazing Mother’s Day gift! It is one example of what science can do to make our lives more pleasant.
We’ve shared some of these wonderful Firefly Petunias with a few friends — plant enthusiasts, all. I can’t wait to hear what they think! I’m certain they’ll be as enthralled as we are.
These aren’t plants you find at the local nursery. They’re quite special, but are available through the light.bio website. It reminds me that we needn’t live in the city or suburbs for us to have unique, beautiful things, and Firefly Petunias certainly qualify!
Most of my roses have been Mother’s Day gifts — live plants that bloom year after year, compounding the love behind the present. They’re doing great, even years on. This Mother’s Day, my wonderful husband made sure I’m celebrating with true, glow-in-the-dark petunias. I wish my mother could see them! She would be amazed!
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