… this unusual zinnia cultivar. Plant this zinnia in full sun and in moderate soils, and water to establish seedlings and thereafter only during droughts. It thrives during warm summer days. Zinnias benefit from a little "elbow room" to allow air movement around the leaves and so decrease the incidence of downy and powdery …
Type: Garden Guide Plant
… As we are all adapting to new ways of connecting for work and play, students in Windy City Harvest’s Youth Farm program … a few obstacles, but discovered some positive surprises along the way. Windy City Harvest is part of the Chicago Botanic Garden’s urban agriculture program that strives to bring food, … It’s been lots of fun and it feels like a second family." Ordinarily, youth farmers work on-site and attend in-person workshops, five days a week for eight weeks. This year, because of the …
Type: Blog
… Are there bees in Chicago? How many different species? We’ve learned that the short answer to this question is: “Yes, there are wild bees in Chicago, and there are more than 80 species!” But is there anything special about these bees that allow them to persist in harsh urban environments? Do they possess certain ecological traits? Do they live …
Type: Research
… moment occurred in the Semitropical Greenhouse this morning, as a fascinated crowd gathered to see what was happening with Spike, the titan arum. On Saturday, it was determined that Spike had run out of the 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 …
Type: Blog
… Many students I know struggle to find a good idea for science fair projects and sometimes wait until the last minute to do their experiments. We in the Education Department of the Chicago Botanic Garden are … and teachers by offering some simple ideas for studying plants. A no-brainer botany project is testing germination of radish seeds in different conditions. Radish seeds are easy to acquire, …
Type: Blog
… supervisor of plant health care, said an insulating blanket of snow on the ground helps. Snow is a good insulator for plants that are exposed to extreme cold temperatures, so any plants that are covered should not have damage to their root zone or plant parts covered by the snow. In one polar vortex, two sycamore trees in …
Type: Blog
… From the 2015 archives: It is our pleasure to introduce another titan arum (in bloom!), which we have joyfully named Alice the Amorphophallus. Given the history below, it’s a name to remember! Alice the Amorphophallus is caught blooming on webcam at 12:22:39 a.m. today—the …
Type: Blog
… celebrates the achievements of women in all fields and walks of life. It’s also a day to advance the cause of gender balance in every aspect of our lives—an equal number of men and … at workplaces, in government, in science, etc. Unfortunately, the number of women in science is still pretty dismal. Despite earning about half the doctorates in science, only 21 percent of full science professors in the United States are women. When students are asked to name pioneers in conservation biology, they tend to name men. Rarely do they mention some of …
Type: Blog
… supervisor, and grounds manager—before he became the director of horticulture in 1996. Johnson is an instructor at the Joseph Regenstein, Jr. School of the Chicago Botanic Garden. He writes a … for the Chicago Tribune and a weekly gardening tips column for the Daily Herald , and responds to other media request. He is a regular speaker at the American Public Garden Association's annual meetings. Johnson's …
Type: Staff bio
… walk of the Garden. Or did you say cow slobbers? Whatever you call it, Tradescantia ohiensis is just one of the prairie plants that has a unique story to tell. Tradescantia ohiensis , better known to most as spiderwort, blooms in late spring in moist prairies. Its brilliant, royal blue flowers …
Type: Blog
