What’s in Bloom This Winter?

In this video, Boyce Tankersley takes us on a tour of what’s in bloom in the three Greenhouses in the Regenstein Center. We’ll learn about carnivorous plants, a Sago Palm and some giant aloe plants. He also shows us a plant that blooms outdoors even in winter. Visit http://www.chicagobotanic.org/inbloom for more information.

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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.

2 thoughts on “What’s in Bloom This Winter?”

  1. Hello i was a commenter on youtube i would like to inform you that the North American Pitcher Plant also called sarracenia like other North American Carnivorous Plants need a Dormancy period or they will become week and die in the summer they go dormant from November to early March this resting period is needed for the plant to be healthy.
    If you don’t follow dormancy all your Pitcher plants will die off and you will be helping to make the plant extinct .
    Many wetland bogs they grow in are being drained and destroyed to make way for roads ,and malls,etc…

    I would also like to say that the North American Pitcher Plant needs to be grown in full sun and can be grown outside during the summer their are some variety of sarracenia that grow in Illinois and the Midwest and even parts of Canada

    1. Hi Malcolm, you are correct that wild species of Sarracenia require a dormancy period in order to live and thrive in their natural habitats. To avoid any adverse impact on wild populations, the Chicago Botanic Garden Greenhouses feature cultivars of Sarracenia that have been selected to tolerate greenhouse conditions – they still go through a dormancy period – just not during the months of January, February or March. These accessions are three years old, so obviously they are responding well to the care provided by the horticulture staff. The Chicago Botanic Garden carnivorous plant collection is used to exemplify the wonders of the plant world, and is oriented so that younger visitors can get up close to the plants – you should see their faces light up.

      The use of cultivars to relieve the collection pressures on wild species has been successfully demonstrated by the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and their work with orchids. The Kew efforts have proven that cheaply produced cultivars of rare plants effectively eliminate the financial rewards of plant thieves who steal plants out of the wild.

      For more about Sarracenia and the conservation efforts surrounding the wild species, please visit the Center for Plant Conservation supported collections at the Atlanta Botanic Garden where the majority of Pitcher Plant species can be grown outdoors. CBG’s conservation efforts are oriented to the rare and endangered species of the Tallgrass Prairies and upper Midwest whose plants are more suited to this climate.

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