Repotting and maintaining overgrown vine plants

I returned to the greenhouse after having been away for almost 8 weeks (spent in Palm Springs). The day before, Wednesday, I sent Curator J... an email to give him warning I would be arriving, and to give him the opportunity to cancel my arrival if the conditions at the greenhouse prevented my working there at this time - I have been concerned since A... is still on medical leave that Curator has too much on his plate to shepherd volunteers through the morning. But, he replied to my email indicating that volunteers are welcome.

Curator had a list of plants on the “vine bench” for me to prune and move, this bench is located in the middle of room C3. B also had a few ideas for pruning a viney bush-like plant attached to the metal trellis in room 3 on the wall separating it from room C2.

I spent the majority of the time working on the vine bench in C2. I repotted two of the plants which had become root-bound and top-heavy. One of the vines had become so entwined in its tomato-cage that I had to use heavy metal shears to cut the cage apart. I prefer to build tripod teepees rather than use tomato cages for this reason. Teepees are easy to take apart or adjust without damaging the plant.

Since the spring has arrived, many of the plants are in full bloom. One cactus in particular, Disocacuts aurantiacus, has abundant bright orange blossoms on dangling, prostrate cactus stems (see google photos for this date)

Curator J asked if I wanted an ID badge. I said yes, it would be helpful to get in and out of the various greenhouse rooms since the doors are self-locking when they close. A valid ID badge is required to unlock the doors to the Collection, Display, and Staff rooms. This week I’ll arrange to register as a student at the U of M in order to get an ID badge. Ugh, I imagine I’ll have to submit a photo for the badge.

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Thrip control: peppermint and clove

Here's a question: how many natural plant scents do you find repellent? The one that comes to the top of my mind is the scent of the newly blossomed corpse flower, Amorphophallus titanum . It smells very much like the name implies. If I could produce a scratch-and-sniff blog post, I would be tempted. The odor is horrible to humans, but sweet to some flying insects which are also attracted to rotting flesh. But perhaps you cannot tolerate the scent of clove, or eucalyptus? Insect pests are like us in this respect. Pests in the garden and greenhouse Insects, arachnids, fungi, and viruses. Their numbers are legion. The battle is constant. The most effective weapon is vigilance. In addition to vigilance, there are biological controls made from natural compounds which are generally non-toxic to humans. Included in this category are essential oils. For example cinnamon, rosemary, sage, neem, clove, peppermint and many others. These oils are repellent, and even toxic, to many of the pests...

Remembering my former city garden

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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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