Santa Margarita Water District

Water-Drinking Plants

How do plants use water? Let’s find out!

You Will Need:

2 celery sticks, one with leaves
Jar or large glass of water
Red or blue food coloring
Table knife

What To Do:

Add five drops of food coloring to the water.
Using the knife, cut a little off the bottom of each celery stick. Put the celery sticks in the jar (or glass).
Thirty minutes later, peel away the outer skin of each piece of celery to see in which stick the color has moved higher.

Results:

Congratulations! What you just saw in the celery is similar to how trees use water. An important job of plant stems is to carry water from the roots up to the leaves and flowers.