Tidy Up the Hidden Spots

Whether in our homes or workplaces, we all have a routine for cleaning things. But often apart from our routine, there are those hard-to-reach places where dust or other bits collect. Over time, the buildup of debris can be a shock when the existence of these neglected spots is finally realized.

Today at the U of M Conservatory greenhouse, where I am a volunteer indoor gardener, I spent my 3-hour shift reaching into out-of-the-way spaces to sweep, rinse, or wipe away fallen debris. I focused my efforts on the public area of the conservatory where new guests are more likely to see dusty surfaces that have escaped recent routine maintenance.

A similar form of untidiness is the sudden realization that a particular plant has grown immensely since the last time you noticed it. The leaves have overspread the space and blocked much of the sun light for everything below. It is time to prune away the excess.

My task for today included pruning the largest plant in the collection, a tree fern native to the small island of New Caledonia in the South Pacific. The fronds are each up to three meters long and span the width of the greenhouse room, encroaching into the neighboring space. Using large pruning shears, I was directed to cut down two of the fronds to allow more light to the plants underneath it.

Cyathea intermedia, perhaps one of the largest of the world's tree ferns.

Tree ferns are ancient plants, native to tropical and subtropical biomes. I've had the privilege of hiking in tree fern forests where the fronds grow up and out in huge fiddle head structures from the center of the trunk. Like all ferns, the fronds produce spores on the underside of each leaflet (in the greenhouse the spores fall to coat everything below in fine black dust). In the wild the spores go on to produce small intermediate plants with both male and female parts. The sperm and eggs from different plants recombine to form new ferns.

Fiddle heads of a tree fern, Hawaii's Volcano Nat'l Park

Tree fern shadow casting green filtered light onto the forest floor, New Zealand

A now-clean window sill helps to frame this Phaenocoma prolifera, cape strawflower from South Africa

A spot often missed in routine cleaning are the ledges underneath benches. They slowing collect fallen leaves and dust which potentially could include dormant pathogens waiting to find a plant victim.

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