The 'Plant' Motif in Head Reading at Lawn Bowls

In a lawn bowling head, two bowls touching each other are what is called a 'plant' situation. Contact with the shorter bowl will send the second bowl away precisely along the line connecting the centers of the two bowls. This is the tactical advantage: that even if the closer bowl is not hit flush, the further bowl will move in an exactly predictable direction.  A plant can involve more than two bowls so long as each bowl touches the next. As before, the main bowl that moves is the bowl furthest from the mat and it moves dependably along the line joining the centers of it and the bowl it is in contact with in the 'plant' arrangement.

A skip analyzing a head should be on the lookout for a 'plant'. The two bowls can be both yours, both opponent’s, or one yours and one the opponent’s. In each case, the potential is the same. A hit on the shorter bowl will cause the further bowl to move predictably by recoil action. The distance it will move is determined by the vigor with which the pair is impacted. The shorter bowl that is hit may not move much at all if hit squarely.

The distance the further bowl moves is affected by both the angle and the velocity with which the closer bowl is impacted but if that distance is not critical then the chance of success is higher.