The Plant Puzzler is a quarterly contest featuring weird plant problems that are tricky or that may defy diagnosis.
Plant Puzzlers will be published as images, anecdotes, or a combination of the two. Prizes will be awarded for the “most correct” and/or “most creative” answer to each plant puzzler. If multiple correct (or creative) answers are received, then a winner will be chosen randomly from the replies and notified by email. Prizes also will be awarded for new puzzler submissions that are selected for publication in a future issue of the Communicator. Answers and winners will be published in the next edition of The Communicator and prizes will be mailed to winners.
SUBMITTING ANSWERS TO PLANT PUZZLERS
- Email your explanation for the cause of the problem to newsletter_editor@npdn.org by the end of the month in which the puzzler was published.
- Be sure to explain the logic underlying your answer to the puzzler.
- Brush off your writing skills and be creative! The cause of some of the puzzlers may not be known. In that case, the most creative answer will win the prize.
SUBMITTING PLANT PUZZLERS FOR PUBLICATION
- Use previous plant puzzlers as a guide to writing your own plant puzzler. Include enough detail and clearly state the question you want people to answer.
- If images are included, make sure they are in focus and illustrate the problem. Include both overall shots and close-ups, if appropriate.
- Ensure that the necessary details can be seen in broader landscape or field shots.
- Although you may not know the answer to your own puzzler, please include what you believe is a reasonable explanation for your submission.
- Text* for new puzzlers and photo captions should be submitted as a Word file, ideally 300 words or less. Submit images for new puzzlers as .jpg, .png, or .gif files, separate from any text files. Email submissions to newsletter_editor@npdn.org .
*Editors of the Plant Puzzler reserve the right to edit the text as necessary.
