A Winter Tour of The Greenhouses

We recently toured the Greenhouses with Boyce Tankersley, director of living plant documentation, to see what’s in bloom and take in the different climates visitors can enjoy.

In the Arid Greenhouse, we saw a number of species of aloe from South Africa just coming into bloom as well as cacti and succulents.

In the Tropical Greenhouse, we were surrounded by palms and cycads while we admired the many orchids in bloom. Tankersley pointed out the acanthus cultivar (Aphelandra sinclairiana ‘Panama Queen’) native to Panama and Costa Rica, as one of his favorites. 

PHOTO: Panama Queen acanthus (Aphelandra sinclairiana 'Panama Queen')

The Semitropical Greenhouse was filled with blooms like pinkball dombeya (Dombeya wallichii). Native to East Africa and Madagascar, the genus is a highly sought-after ornamental in USDA Zones 9 and warmer.

PHOTO: Pinkball dombeya (Dombeya wallichii)

One of the rarest plants in our collections is Deppea splendens. Native to the mountains of western Mexico, this plant is extinct in the wild.

PHOTO: Deppea splendens

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hUGioICTIU]

Visit our What’s in Bloom highlight page each week — twice a week during the summer bloom season — to learn more about the different plants in bloom. Then, come out to see them in person for their fragrance and the humidity of the warmer greenhouse climates.


©2013 Chicago Botanic Garden and my.chicagobotanic.org

Published by

Julie McCaffrey

Julie McCaffrey is media relations manager at the Chicago Botanic Garden and is responsible for promoting the Garden's programs and events through traditional and social media. Julie holds a B.A. in English from Northern Illinois University and an M.S. in Communications from Northwestern University.

7 thoughts on “A Winter Tour of The Greenhouses”

  1. Absolutely love The Botanic Gardens! It’s a gardner’s paradise! Thanks for all you do!

  2. Hi Julie, I am considering a trip to Chicago with my daughter the weekend of March 29th. I’m guessing there will be other beautiful plants in bloom for us to see then? Where can I get more information on the tour.

  3. Beautiful flowers and beautiful pictures of those flowers. I think I visited the gardens for an outdoor tour many many years ago when I lived in the Chicago area.

  4. Enjoyed your video of your plants that are in full bloom. I have to visit your greenhouse the next time I’m in Chicago. Keep up the good work!

    Cheryl

    1. Thanks Cheryl! Can’t wait til we can make a spring blooms video! We do have witch hazels in bloom now, but we’ll wait until some bulbs start coming up.

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