Plant growth stages mirror other living things with an initial, reproductive, and final stage, except that some plants have an additional dormant stage. The terms for these stages are: Vegetative, Reproductive, Senescence, and Dormancy.

Starting with the seed, the seed of a plant is similar to a fertilized egg. It contains a food store for new plant life and a protective outer shell. In the first stage of plant growth, the vegetative stage, the seedling absorbs moisture and nutrients from the internal store of food within the seed. When the plant has absorbed the nutrients from the seed and begins to grow the root stalk and the shoot that turns into leaves, it penetrates the protective wall of the seed and begins to grow. The root grows downward into warm, moist soil, while the shoot rises up into sunlight and warm air. Upon emergence, the leaves unfurl and the roots continue to grow and spread. This continues until the plant seedling is fully developed with extensive roots, root hairs, and leaves. Roots and leaves absorb moisture and nutrients from the soil, water, and air.

The next of the plant growth stages would be a reproductive stage. At this point, when the seedling has matured, it will produce a flower that will have either male or female parts, or both. The flower contains pollen, which is then transferred to the egg part of the flower and a transformation into new seeds, or seed-bearing pods, begin to grow to maturity. Pollination can occur with the help of wind, vibrations, insects such as bees, and animals. However, humans can artificially breed and cross-breed plants through pollination efforts or by splicing branches with other plants. The benefit of seed pollination is that gene diversity can occur, which can aid survival.

A third stage of growth occurs after new seeds or pods have been produced and spread to form new plant life. This would be Senescence, or old age in plants. This can be seen in the fall when the leaves of certain deciduous trees change color before falling off. Plants show deterioration similar to that of other organisms in old age, such as free radical damage and shortening of telomeres.

Another growth stage that is different from senescence is the dormancy stage. In dormancy, the plant enters a state of hibernation, allowing it to survive the intense winter weather and revive in the spring with new growth, without going through a seed stage. This is easily seen in trees, which drop leaves in the fall and the sap rises, then the tree remains in a dormant stage until new shoots come out in the warmer weather of spring, to run the full cycle year after year. until the tree finally dies. Dormancy can give plants an advantage because they can build on the previous year’s growth instead of starting over from seed. This gives them a competitive advantage in the competition for sunlight and soil, as they are larger.

Plant growth stages are similar to the growth and decay of other organisms, all part of the chain of life.