City Gardener

I met coordinator A... in the workroom where he was inspecting a Calycanthus occidentalis plant heavily infested with whitefly. The plant is native to California, called western sweetshrub or spicebush. It has large red blossoms. He put the plant outside in the rain until he decided how to protect it from the whiteflies. I asked him about his experiment with scale insects and the three types of predators he had purchased. Unfortunately he was not happy with the set-up of the experiment, the plastic bags were too wet causing the wasp predators to stick to the plastic rather than attach the scale insects. He also said the type of wasp was probably incorrect for our soft shell scale insects, and they are better suited for hard shell scale. Stephanotis vine Coordinator A... then assigned to me the task of cleaning and pruning a Stephanotis floribunda vine (Madagascar jasmine). The vine sits in a 12-inch pot on the sill of the workroom. The vine trails overhead along pipes and metal suppor...

 With temps in the low 50s F, I was happy to continue riding my bike to the greenhouse again this week. The wind was almost zero, and the risk of rain was low. As it happens, while I was at the greenhouse I noticed the rain falling. But, by the time I finished for the afternoon, the rain had stopped and I was able to ride home on relatively dry streets and paths. Yeah! Adam met me at the door in his office when I arrived at the greenhouse. He explained to me what he'd been working on: an experiment to see which predator is most effective at reducing the population of scale insects and white flies in the greenhouses.  He chose three different species of predator. He will add them to vessels containing scale insects and ?white fly?. Then, after some period of time he will assess the efficacy of the predators. The three predators are: parasitic wasps, Aphytis melinus, that their eggs inside the scale insects beetles that prey on scale, Lindorus Iophanthae (black lady beetle) para...

 Although the morning temperature outside was 44F, I was happy to cycle, given the relatively dry conditions. Rain was forecast for later today, but as I write no rain has fallen. My ID card malfunctioned when I went to use it on the door lock to room 1C. Curator J was there to observe the attempt. He said he’d look into the sponsorship program to see if I’m still enrolled. Coordinator A’s task list: trimming back a climbing vine on a white conduit pipe in 3C, and cleaning plants in 2C. In particular the white trumpet plant (Brugmansia suaveolens), this plant has a number of pests on its large leaves including white fly eggs, scale, and mealybugs. The plant is to let the plant finish its flowering, then cut down the main trunk and allow the smaller trunk to grow up. This will contribute to the reduction in the biomass in room 2C.  Brugmansia suaveolens (Brazil’s white angel trumpet)

Perhaps for the final time this season I was able to cycle to the GH. The temps were in the low 60sF, with a bit of a wind from the west (the ride home was a chore!). I was introduced to A..., the new Conservatory Service Coordinator. He's seems very pleasant, knowledgeable, and conscientious. He was happy to give me very specific instructions for tending the vines in room 2C and 3C, and then he let me see to the tasks without too much standing over my shoulder. Coordinator A had me trim most of the vines in order to reduce the overall biomass in room 2C. He and Curator J determined the pest problems could be somewhat mitigated by reducing the overall biomass pressure, particularly in room 2C where the plants seem to grow continuously through the year without much of a dormancy.  The vines in 2C that I cut back were: Dioscorea bulbifera (the yam family), Chondrodendron tomentosum, Stephanotis floribundia, Euphorbia heterophylla, Passiflora citrina, Thunbergia mysorensis, Thunbergia...