… against the odds, a single endangered flower has bloomed here. The only wild lakeside daisy in Illinois, blooming on Chicago’s Southeast Side under a protective wire cage. Photo by Casey … Its presence is thanks to the Chicago Botanic Garden and conservation partners who set out to test whether an industrial dumping ground could host plant life. “The conservation community is … at the Garden—Northwestern Ph.D. candidate Rafael Urbina Casanova. In collaboration with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Urbina Casanova has collected and saved seed from the last …
Type: Blog
… It’s official, sunshine lovers! While October in the Chicago area is usually one of the most pleasant seasons of the year, in recent years, bright sunshiny days, and warm weather has prevailed and with some exceptions, … allowing for the full-body structure they are going to assume. An alternative would be to buy transplants and pop them in wherever you want them. Leaves from transplants can be harvested …
Type: Plant Info
… research assistant and graduate student Alison Branz studies soil from the experimental plots in the soil lab at the Garden’s Plant Science Center. The buzz around sustainable lawn … is planted with a range of different grasses and sedges grown from both seeds and plugs to test implementation and maintenance of lawn alternatives. Plots at the Garden will grow for … and how to keep each option looking good. “Thirty to sixty percent of potable water in the U.S. goes to lawns,” Barak said. “Out west, they’re banning or limiting watering, providing …
Type: Blog
… crop can be harvested after the first frost, and sometimes even as late as December. In fact, frost makes kale taste sweeter! Looks Good & Good for You Kale, the cabbage without a … From obscurity to obsession: kale’s gone from hard-to-find to not only a must-have in gardens, but also on menus. This powerhouse plant should be part of our go-to medicine cabinet … they grow, allowing for the full-body structure they are going to assume. An alternative is to buy transplants and pop them in wherever you want them. Leaves from transplants can be harvested …
Type: Plant Info
… some fresh, open mushrooms, paper, and a bowl. You can use mushrooms found growing outside or buy them from the market. When selecting mushrooms for spore prints, look for these things: The … were placed on black paper. They will be covered with a bowl and then left overnight. In the morning, carefully lift your bowl and the individual mushrooms and see what you get. If … gills are not as straight and rigid as portobello gills, so you’ll get less gill definition in the print and a more wavy, swirling print. If your mushrooms are too wet, or are starting to …
Type: Blog
… and scientists around the world. It is no surprise that orchids have a special place in our homes and hearts. At the Chicago Botanic Garden, we celebrate the world of orchids with our annual Orchid Show. We work to conserve native orchids. Our research team is involved in studying and preserving the endangered ghost orchid. We also have orchids on display throughout the year. Members and visitors often glimpse orchids in our Tropical Greenhouse, like the whimsical clamshell orchid. You do not need your own …
Type: Page
… What an amazing plant science moment occurred in the Semitropical Greenhouse this morning, as a fascinated crowd gathered to see what was … energy it needed to continue its bloom cycle. Spike is powered by energy from the sun, stored in its beach-ball-sized corm—a tuber-like underground structure. A tremendous amount of energy … IT EVERY DAY. EVERY 20 MINUTES OR SO.” First, Still assembled a working kit: scalpel, probes, test tubes, paintbrushes and a “scoopula” (to collect pollen). At 10 a.m. today, staff gathered …
Type: Blog
… for its year-round interest. An extremely hardy deciduous shrub that will reach maturity in five years, the black chokeberry is a perfect choice for naturalizing. If left alone, the … the rose family, Aronia melanocarpa tolerates partial shade (up to 50 percent) but thrives in full sun. Hardy to zone 3 (the Chicago area is zone 5), it is also an excellent choice for … Howard Brooks, of the United States Department of Agriculture, collected plants in Russia to test at an Iowa site. The plants there suckered freely — a trait that may be desirable, depending …
Type: Plant Info
… A biting February morning in Chicago can be a challenging experience for anyone, but for a lover of trees, it can also turn … cold and the winter sun rocketing off the white of the snow, all plants are revealed in their naked glory. This is a moment when you really love your birch. But even if the following … as are most birches in our area, and proper siting for this tree should include a soil test to be sure the soil is acid enough. 'Little King' Touted as an excellent alternative to …
Type: Plant Info
… of water and nutrients from the soil to the upper canopy of the tree. This manifests itself in the characteristic "flagging" of solitary upper branches, where leaves suddenly wilt, turn … green, yellow, or brown, curl, and drop off the tree. Often these symptoms are first noticed in June when one or two dead branches appear high in the tree. Infected branches will also exhibit brown streaking in the sapwood immediately under …
Type: Plant Info
