Week 9

We start this update with a bit of sad news. It seems that another sunflower plant is now pushing up daisies. It was a race well ran for Emma and Leoni’s plant, but in the end a split stem plus a bit of splotchy leaf disease proved too much for the little guy. RIP:

You shall be missed.

In happier news, the battle for the tallest plant continues to be intense, with Eilidh and Louis once again coming out on top and just ahead of Iain et al. Eilidh and Louis also take this week’s prize for fastest growth rate, averaging an amazing 3.86 cm/d! Florence and Roger managed to stay near the lead as well, though it’s worth noting that their growth rate is declining precipitously and is now less than half of what it was two weeks ago. Have they been falling down on their watering regimen? Have they stopped singing to their plant? Only they know for sure.

Sunny and Tiziana admire the plants.

Here are the heights for July 29, 2011. Shoutouts to Ashley and Siobhan for assisting with the measurements this week.

Adam/Gemma	800
Amy/Lyndsey	1460
Caroline	1030
Donald	1250
Eilidh/Louis	1740
Eliza/Vic	1300
Emma/Leoni	0
Florence/Roger	1520
George/Karen	0
Iain/Rob/Liam	1700
Justyna	1000
Lesley	990
Matt	1150
Natalie	550
Nick	1290
Rob	1140
Roman	1040
Shaun	590
Sunny	1200
Willie	1070
Zara	1230

Week 8

It’s been a big 7 days for the sunflower competition, with the plants growing an average of over 21 mm/day over the last week! Eilidh and Louis still sit atop the leader board but their spot is being seriously threatened by the team of Iain, Rob, and Liam. In fact, Iain et al. have had the highest growth rate the past two weeks (37.14 mm/d this week). When compared to that of Eilidh and Louis (34.29 mm/d), it is reasonable to expect that we may have a new leader a week from now.

Among the lowest growth rates this week were the team of Gemma and Adam (8.57mm/d) and Natalie (also 8.57mm/d). Saddest of all, however, was Shaun, who actually managed a negative growth rate (-1.43 mm/d), probably owing to the amputation of the dead and gangrenous section at the top of his plant.

Interestingly, growth rate shows a strong linear relationship with size:

A special mention goes out to Nick, whose plant showed the highest growth rate for its size (i.e. showed the largest positive residual… this contest is being run by a bunch of nerdy scientists, remember). At the other extreme is Sunny, whose plant showed the lowest growth rate for its size (other than a certain plant that was surgically altered). Time to step up the watering, Sunny!

Also, we've received a pic of the sole entry from the vet school from Matt. It looks as though he's the first to utilize the "anchor to a wall with rope" technique. Lookin' good!:

Here are the scores as of June 22, 2011. Special shout-out to Winnie Boner and Nick Beevers for help with the measurements this week, and Donald Reid and Ashley LeVin Last week. The plants are getting so big now that measuring is a 3 person job!:

Adam/Gemma	700
Amy/Lyndsey	1230
Caroline	940
Donald	1120
Eilidh/Louis	1470
Eliza/Vic	1100
Emma/Leoni	800
Florence/Roger	1370
George/Karen	0
Iain/Rob/Liam	1440
Justyna	910
Lesley	930
Matt	970
Natalie	520
Nick	1090
Rob	1030
Roman	990
Shaun	590
Sunny	1040
Willie	930
Zara	1050

Week 7

Can you believe the competition has been going for 7 weeks now? A few plants are now over a meter tall with several more about to pass that milestone in the coming days.

Brightening up the social room

Lovely leaves

Is it possible to have too many teabags?

Several competitors have re-potted their plants to gain an extra edge. Eilidh and Louis continue to dominate the competition and are sending a clear message that they mean business with the addition of their new 3 meter support stick. The team of Iain, Rob, and Liam have made a serious move to second place after being in the middle of the pack two weeks ago. At the other end of the spectrum, Shaun’s pitiful looking plant is no longer in last place amongst the living – that dubious honour now belongs to Natalie. Tragically, however, after a spirited two weeks in which it displayed the highest specific growth rate of all plants, the top of Shaun’s plant has completely wilted and it looks as though death could be imminent. Could foul play have been involved?...:

An overnight tragedy... seems suspicious.

Also of note to competitors: you may want to move your plant away from Donald’s plant as well as Emma and Leoni’s because it looks like they have contracted some sort of nasty-looking leaf disease:

Donald, Emma, and Leoni: nasty looking (their plants, that is)

Here are the heights (in mm) as of July 15, 2011:

Adam/Gemma 640

Amy/Lyndsey 1030

Caroline 810

Donald 960

Eilidh/Louis 1230

Eliza/Vic 920

Emma/Leoni 710

Florence/Roger 1140

George/Karen 0

Iain/Rob/Liam 1180

Justyna 750

Lesley 780

Matt 700

Natalie 460

Nick 860

Rob 850

Roman 880

Shaun 600

Sunny 940

Willie 810

Zara 890