Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hello, so I attempted to clone a cabbage by cutting the stem into 3 pieces, planting them in separate pots, and letting them grow. As a result the top part of the stem grew the most (had lots of leaves and long roots). The middle part had some leaves but not that as many as the top stem part. The bottom part didn’t have any leaves but had some roots.

I was wondering if someone could explain these results. Do they have something to do with the Xylem or Phloem? Or the meristems? Or even the photosynthetic processe of the plant (More leaves=More photosynthesis)?

Thank you

Check out this website that details a very similar experiment. It discusses the biology involved in the results toward the bottom.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/arti ... ge-clones/

The Scientific American activity Dr. Sullivan linked is a Science Buddies activity. That is geared for informal family science, so I would suggest you look at the project on the site: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... age-clones

Was that already the project you used for your experiment? The background tab contains information that may help, and you may want to do further research using the bibliography provided.

Amy
Science Buddies