Understanding plants

Ever wondered what's going on inside your plants? Understanding how plants grow helps you be more in tune with what they need to stay happy and healthy.

Plants are living beings. Like us they eat, drink and breathe and are influenced by both nature and nurture. Unlike us, they can’t move around and choose their surroundings. 

Knowing more about how they 'work' will help you look after your plants and ensure they thrive in your garden.

How plants absorb water

Learn more about plants’ amazing ability to absorb water, what happens when there is too much or too little, and how we as gardeners can help quench their thirst

How plants absorb nutrients

See what’s on the menu for your garden plants, how they use what they’re ‘eating’ and how we can make sure they get a varied diet

How plants breathe

Learn how plants ‘breathe’ even though they don’t have lungs to inhale the air around them and find out how oxygen in the soil is vital for roots

How plants lose water

Discover how ‘sweating out’ most of the water they drink plays a vital role in keeping plants cool and comfortable

How plants use light

Find out how plants use light to fuel their growth and how you can make sure your plants are getting the right amount

How plants sense their environment

Learn how plants sense their surroundings and how external factors like light, temperature and gravity influences them

How plants grow

Discover how plants grow upwards and outwards, how their environment affects growth and how we, as gardeners, can help them grow up big and strong

How plants age

Discover how plants ‘come of age’ and how gardeners can speed up or slow down the ageing process

How plants reproduce

Learn how plants reproduce and colonise, what they need to stay fruitful and how you can help them multiply and duplicate

Get involved

The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.