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Science Project: Flowers Colored Through Capillary Action

Flowers use capillaries to draw water and nutrients through their roots and to circulate those nutrients through the entire plant. Even when flowers are cut and cannot use their roots to draw water into the stalk, the capillary action continues. Water is absorbed directly into the stem through the capillaries. This phenomenon can be observed by coloring the water that the plant will absorb. By using different colors of water you can observe the way that capillary action functions in plants under different circumstances, such as when the plant receives nutrients from more than one source.

Three vases
Two carnations
Scissors
Red food coloring
Blue food coloring
Sharp knife
Paper
Pencil

Instructions

- 1
  Fill each vase halfway with cold water. Put 15 drops of red food coloring each in two of the vases. In the remaining vase, put 15 drops of blue food coloring.
- 2
  Cut the stem of one carnation at an angle and put it in one of the vases with the red food coloring. Set this vase aside.
- 3
  Slice the stem of the remaining carnation in half lengthwise. The cut should extend halfway up the stem.
- 4
  Put one half of the sliced stem in the remaining vase of red water and the other half of the sliced stem in the blue water.
- 5
  Use a paper and pencil to record your observations one hour after you have completed the experiment, two hours after, five hours after and 24 hours after. Note how the color of the carnations has changed each time you record your notes. Also, observe the differences between the two carnations.

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