Up-potting native cactus seedlings

It was a pleasure to once again cycle to the GH. The weather was cool and dry after a night of clouds, high winds, and threatening storms.

At the GH, B... allowed me to water the plants in room C1. I had to accommodate an electrician who was working in the room to install wiring for overhead lights to be used during evening hours. Apparently, the original strip grow-lighting was intended for this purpose, but proved to be complicated and impractical given all the automation already controlling their operation. So the solution was to now install simple overhead lights independent of the grow-lights.

While watering, the room felt cold. This is the “cloud forest” room. The temperature is set to be in the 50s and 60s F, with high humidity and a breeze through the room. In these conditions I found it chilly to work, so I put on my cycle jacket which kept me warm enough.

Minnesota's winter-hardy opuntia cactus

Later, I joined B..., Curator J..., and student R.... in their effort to transplant cactus seedlings from their nursery trays into more compact trays. The cacti are one year old. They are native Minnesota “ball” cacti (Escobara vivibara), along with two other cacti: Opuntia fragilis (brittle cactus), and Oputnia macrophilia (purple cactus). One year ago, A planted seed she had collected in the original nursery trays.

Almost 90% of them germinated and grew to the size of a small pea over the next year. Some were considerably larger and bifurcated, but most were smaller than pea-size. The cacti were very well spaced, and took up more room than needed. Curator J and B decided to condense the cactus seedlings into trays with higher density. The seedlings will surely grow just as well if they are 1 inch apart, rather than 3 inches apart. Many of the cacti will be given to a particular researcher at the U of M who is planning to study how to re-introduce the cacti into the wild of Minnesota (predominantly the southwest corner of the State). The seedling trays are to be housed in the ancillary greenhouse room B1. The new ancillary room B1 is being renovated with the installation of an irrigation system called Aquatmat (aquamatsystem.com). It is a water-soaked mat on which nursery pots sit to draw up water by capillary action.

Finally, I had 30 minutes to spare, so I found a rake and bucket to clear away dead leaves and debris from the beds in the display rooms D2 and D3.

Comments

A Sensitive Plant and Common Weed

Mimosa pudica, also commonly called the sensitive plant was a popular houseplant when I was growing up in the 1970s. It was popular for its ability to quicky change shape by folding up its leaves to protect them from herbivore predators. At the slightest touch the plant is able to expell water from special cells in the leaves, changing the shape from frond-like to a stick-form. The plant creeps along the ground, never for than a foot or so in height. In tropical parts of the world this plant is considered and invasive weed. Today, as I was treating plants to remove pests I happened to touch the leaves of a Mimosa pudica , one with a pretty puff-like flower. Sure enough, the leaves all folded up to almost nothing. Mimosa pudica , the sensitive plant Other more routine chores during my four-hour shift at the U of M Conservatory included cleaning three plants of Hibiscus clayi, native to Hawaii. These three plants in particular have suffered repeated infestations with a variety of in...

A Thames River Walk Through Time: Repurposing Tow Paths

I love it when old technologies are repurposed to solve entirely different problems. A perfect example is the extensive system of canals and tow paths throughout England. Before the Industrial Revolution and the advent of railways, these canals were built to transport goods between cities and towns. Narrow boats pulled by horses or mules along tow paths were a common sight. Today, however, these tow paths have found a new purpose: recreational walking. They offer picturesque routes through the English countryside, allowing people to explore the beauty of the canals and rivers. The commerce that once flowed along these waterways may have shifted to railways, but the paths themselves continue to serve a valuable function. This year, I had the privilege of joining three other hikers on a journey along the River Thames tow path, from the city of Oxford to its source, a distance of about 50 miles. Farther upstream, the river gradually narrowed, eventually transforming into a swollen creek b...

Plantulary: Botanical Dance

The title of the dance performance was Plantulary. The theme, botanical. On a whim, my partner suggested we attend a performance of a new dance work by a small immersive arts collaborative, Aniccha Arts. Through the arc of a single year—from growth through to dormancy—the dancers describe the story of plant life using percussive dance rhythms, music, literary, and various vegetable props. For me, this dance performance was a challenge to appreciate; it was no Swan Lake. I didn’t fully understand the connection between many of the sound and dance elements. But, curiously, the memory of it has stuck with me for the past few days. To set the scene, the stage consisted of a simple dark room lit by spotlights and early evening sunlight coming in through large windows. Along the baseboard of the stage were narrow trays of green seedlings lit by fluorescent grow-lights, forming the outer limit of the performance space. To further imbue the stage with plant life, several moss balls (kokedama-l...

City Gardener

Search This Blog