Activities of a greenhouse volunteer

I was assigned to volunteer on Thursdays, from 10 am to 1 pm. I have been able to take blocks of time off from the schedule for traveling, particularly during the winter season.

All year I’ve been working closely with a PhD candidate, and undergrad students, along with the greenhouse assistant director who formerly managed landscaping for a local municipality.

Generally, my duties have included weeding, repotting, sweeping, preparing potting mix, etc. I have been allowed to collect and plant seeds in trays, and to transfer small seedlings to larger containers.

On 9/1/2022 I transplanted a euphorbia in room D4 (Diverse Desert), and cleaned and pruned trees and shrubs in room D2 (Mediterranean Scrubland, Australia).

The assistant director has produced a handy list of duties which generally take 15 to 30 minutes to complete. If I'm at a loss for tasks, I can always go to the posted list and find something to do.

In the first year, highlight plants have been:

Cacti native to Minnesota (south east quad)
Cacti and other desert plants, repotting in room C4
Brighamia insignis, native to Hawaii (I pollinated the flowers, then collected the seeds, then transplanted the seedlings to a new plant tray)
Nesocodon mauritianus seedling transplantation
Corpse flower blooming
Vanilla vine, repositioning, blossoming

Comments

I celebrate learning this about cycad plants

I didn't know that the cardboard palm - Zamia furfuracea - is a cycad. It isn't a palm tree (don't judge me, I'm not a botanist). But it also doesn't look like the other more familiar types of cycads with their fluted upright palm-like fronds. I didn't know it is said to be the second most commonly cultivated cycad, after Cycas revoluta . I didn't know this plant is unrelated to the common ZZ plant - Zamioculcas zamifolia - although they have a similar appearance. Before today I didn't know any of these things, but now I am happy to have learned them. From the parking lot I walked to the U of M Conservatory greenhouse in near-zero F weather. Stepping into the tropical spaces was a joy of its own. But being able to learn new information and experience new procedures was a compounding factor. Joy squared. During my 3-hour volunteer shift, my initial task was to clean the parasite critters (mealybugs and scale) from the stems and leaves of the cycad, Zami...

The eponymous palm of Palm Springs

Tens of thousands of native California fan palms ( Washingtonia filifera) rise over the gardens and streets of Palm Springs. The fan-like leaves flutter and wave as the trees gently sway in the desert breeze. If a plant could be described as elegant, this plant would certainly be one. Delicate fibers peel away from the leaf blade as they age, giving the palm part of its name, filifera . The advantage of the fibers to the plant is uncertain; however, the fibers were used by the indigenous Cuhuilla tribes for tools and fabrics. It is no accident the city is named for the palm. For centuries the native Cuhuilla residents were vastly outnumbered by fan palms. For the Cuhuilla, the plant became an important resource for their tools and shelters. Even today, I wouldn't be surprised if the number of palms outnumber the residents of the current modern city. Bird's eye view over old Palm Springs neighborhood; fan palms are everywhere. In their native environment, the palms grow best al...

Another routine spectacular day in the greenhouse

It has been a sincere pleasure for me to volunteer a few hours a week at the University of Minnesota Botanical Conservatory. After many visits over the last few years, exactly none of those days have felt ordinary or repetitive. If there is a routine , it is that the botanic diversity of the collection - with over 3000 species - is displayed in a spectacular way each day. The Conservatory is located on the St. Paul campus, and is free of charge and open to the public during typical weekday hours. For instance, today most of my allotted time was spent in just one of eight rooms, the room that houses the tropical collection. The chores included pruning, re-potting, spraying, sweeping, etc. As I moved through the room, in every direction, there seemed to be a stunning plant pleading to be admired. After the chores were complete, I had the opportunity to go back and photograph some of the beauties that surrounded me while working. Dendrobium tangerinum , Papua New Guinea Dendr...

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