Single-handedly Teaching About Titans

When Ross Gerbasi and his coworkers at Threaded Films heard that the Chicago Botanic Garden’s first titan arum, Spike, might bloom in August, they immediately thought, “puppet.” An unusual thought, unless you happen to be Ross…or his mom, Debi Gerbasi…or artist Jessica Plummer. These three started making puppets together for fun about a year ago. Naturally, … Continue reading Single-handedly Teaching About Titans

A Titan Leaf or a Titan Bloom?

“Titan Tim” Pollak here, with today’s update on Spike, our first-ever corpse flower. Spike just keeps on growing at the Semitropical Greenhouse, and visitors are loving it. As they learn more about the coming bloom from the docents posted there, one of the most frequently ask questions is, “How could you tell this time that Spike … Continue reading A Titan Leaf or a Titan Bloom?

Corpse flowers go on an excellent adventure

This is the story of a road trip I took with some corpse flowers, the rock stars of the plant world. One of the hallmarks of the Chicago Botanic Garden’s plant collection is the more than 70 species of Amorphophallus. In particular, Amorphophallus titanum, also called the titan arum or corpse flower, has gained attention … Continue reading Corpse flowers go on an excellent adventure

Of Assassin Bugs and Damselflies in the Summer Garden

If you happened to walk around the Heritage Garden in late June, the unusual blue color of the Moroccan mountain eryngo (pronounced eh-RING-go), Eryngium variifolium, probably caught your eye, and its peculiar perfume tickled your nose. It was also swarming with flying insects. The odor was not lovely and sweet. I would describe it as similar to musty, … Continue reading Of Assassin Bugs and Damselflies in the Summer Garden

Repotting Alice the Amorphophallus

I have an update on Alice the Amorphophallus: Alice has been repotted and has a leaf sprout. Yes, Alice is alive and well, happily growing in the production greenhouses here at the Chicago Botanic Garden. (Many of you might remember we successfully pollinated Alice with pollen from Stinky, donated to us from the Denver Botanic Gardens’ own … Continue reading Repotting Alice the Amorphophallus