… From the 2015 archives: It is our pleasure to introduce another titan arum (in bloom!), which we have joyfully named Alice … structure, or inflorescence, is also known as a flower spike. But the true name of Spike (and Alice) is a title that can make you blush, do a double take, or send you running to Google. … existed. Linnaeus created the scientific shortcut of categorizing plants by their flowers and fruit (leaves had already been tried and abandoned). The elegant system caught on, and …
Type: Blog
… order to satisfy their chill requirement. Simply defined, the accumulation of chill units (CU) is a cumulative measure of the number of hours trees spend between 32 and 45 degrees Fahrenheit. Liken this process to a reset of the tree’s biological clock. This … the nutrients stored in the roots into a form that can flow up the trunk as the weather warms and support flowering and growth. Time spent at winter temperatures above 60 degrees and below 32 …
Type: Blog
… years ago, English poet William Wordsworth came upon the happy sight of daffodils in spring—and was inspired to write one of the most beloved nature poems in the English language. The poem, “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” is a reminder of the ability of the natural world to lift spirits. Wordsworth wrote the poem on … under the crabapple trees in the Graham Bulb Garden, masses of large-cupped daffodils are on and around the meadow on Evening Island, etc. Yep, he keeps those kinds of notes. In this …
Type: Blog
… Cook County in the summer. But now, thanks to the ban on certain pesticides (including DDT), and the creation of osprey nesting platforms, the fish-eating bird is breeding again in local forest preserves. The osprey looks somewhat like an adult bald eagle, … full white head or tail. Instead, it has a broad brown band through the eye, a brown back, and white belly. An osprey flies with a crook in its wings. Immature bald eagles, with their …
Type: Blog
… 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 … the day flower family, which commonly features plants with flowers that open for a day or less and then deliquesce (liquefy). If you pinch one of the blue petals between your fingers, you will … you break a leaf, you will understand how this common name came to be. The genus Tradescantia and others in this family have a mucilaginous sap that, for all you farmers out there, resembles …
Type: Blog
… I appreciate any cultivar name that invokes thoughts of my favorite holiday: Halloween. It is fun to stumble upon some Gaillardia ‘Goblin’ , Hemerocallis ‘Bela Lugosi’ , or Alchemilla mollis ‘Thriller’ and suddenly wonder, “What should my costume be this year?” One perennial in particular has a … partial sun will produce the darkest foliage. Side-flowered asters can grow three feet tall, and a striking effect is to plant it in front of Blackhaw viburnum (Viburnum prunifolium) or …
Type: Blog
… Tom Weaver recently moved to Minnesota to start a new chapter. Along with his husband and dog, he brought his plant family, a love he has nurtured since childhood. “My mom makes fun … I could read,” he said. Now he’s a proud plant parent to more than 100 plants. The collection is impressive, to be sure. But just how does one transport a thriving plant collection? As I … (only a few blocks away), I sat down with Weaver to learn how to make the transition happy and healthy for my green, leafy friends. Part of Weaver's houseplant collection, grown under …
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 … with no snow cover, the extreme temperatures could reduce the number of soil-dwelling insects and damage shallow-rooted, marginally hardy plants. Japanese beetles, a common garden pest in summer, are one of those soil-dwelling insects, and unfortunately, they will survive a polar vortex. Insects that live in the trees or on the …
Type: Blog
… A Paphiopedilum, or lady slipper orchid, is another popular orchid with collectors: it prefers high humidity and indirect light, faring best in eastern early morning light. But how do you ensure early … sphagnum moss in which they are sold provides too much constant moisture for the plant, and can damage the delicate, epiphytic root system. Anne Nies, a master’s degree candidate in the …
Type: Blog
… that this piece of loose bark was the day roost of a silver-haired bat. The silver-haired bat is a medium-sized bat that is a dark chocolate brown or black with white hairs scattered among … to see them all that often—especially at close range, in order to admire their delicate form and attractive appearance. Bats are in the order Chiroptera , roughly translated as “hand wing,” and are the only mammals that are actually capable of true flight (unlike flying squirrels—which …
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