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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Rebuilding the support for vanilla vines

Raining in February The morning began with a walk in the rain from my car to the Conservatory greenhouses - in the month of February. According to the calendar, we should be in the depths of winter. The precipitation today should be snow not rain. The storm system that we're experiencing is probably related to drenching rains moving inland from the west coast. I met Coordinator A... at the door of the Conservatory. His office desk faces one of the main doors to the building. He cannot escape observing everyone who enters...poor guy, it must be distracting for him. Anyway, as soon as I entered the building we started to discuss his plan for my activity of the morning. He offered me the project of rebuilding the support for vanilla vines which have been suffering from overexposure to sunlight and dry air. A bit of background The vanilla plant (Vanilla planifolia) is in the orchid family. It is native to Central America and Mexico. The seed pods were used by the Aztecs to flavor coc

Frankincense and Myrtle: Fragrant Treasures

If you were raised in the Christian religion, you've probably heard of frankincense and myrrh. But, do you know much about them, beyond being fragrant commodities as precious as gold? Until today, I could not have described frankincense, myrrh, or citronella. But, by the time I was finished with my volunteer shift at the U of M Conservatory greenhouse I knew more about them. However, I will have to wait for another time to actually see a myrrh tree. I'm not sure if the Conservatory has a myrrh tree. I do know myrrh is in the Burseraceae family, the same family as the frankincense tree. They are not in the myrtle family as the name would suggest. The myrtles (or Myrtaceae) are the gum trees of the Australasia, one which gives us citronella (see below). Maintenance of small trees The day's duties assigned to me were to provide general light maintenance to a group of small trees located in the desert and subtropical rooms of the greenhouse. Maintenance included pruning and mak

Infection control in the Conservatory, from mundane to amazing

Volunteering at the University of Minnesota's Conservatory Greenhouse As mentioned in prior blog posts, for the past three years I've been volunteering for a few hours a week at the Conservatory greenhouse at the St. Paul campus of the U of M. This blog is about activities there, and the many fascinating and beautiful plants in the collection. A little background about plant infections Everyone who has cared for a plant, from houseplant lovers to professional nurserymen, has learned the hard lesson that plant pests and diseases are an inescapable fact of life. All plants, domestic or wild, are susceptible to the infectious agents and parasites. Plants in their native habitats are largely protected by the ecosystems surrounding them, where pests do not have the luxury unfettered consumption. Plants grown indoors have been removed from their ecosystem and they are sitting ducks for parasites to proliferate unchecked. Indoor gardens rely entirely on pest control methods with var

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