So many of you corpse flower fans had questions about Alice’s bloom time and scent that I thought I’d give you a timeline and extra details about Alice’s big night and the day that followed. Over the course of 2 days, over 13,700 people came to see Alice the Amorphophallus; by the end of the … Continue reading Alice’s Big Bloom Day
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 will be on display in the Semitropical Greenhouse through Sunday, October 4—view what she looks like now on our webcam. When the Chicago Botanic Garden’s first … Continue reading About that name: behind Alice the Amorphophallus
Did you have a flashback to science class when you saw Spike, the titan arum? I sure did. At my not-really-science-minded high school, botany (the study of plants) was taught as a subsection of biology (the study of all life) class. During the botany rotation, we learned a bit about plant names and plant parts, sprouted … Continue reading Pollen 101
What an amazing plant science 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 … Continue reading Spike’s Teachable Moment
One of the top questions we have been getting about Spike the titan arum is “How do you know how much water to give him?” The care and feeding that we have given Spike and his fellow titan arums—our collection of nine Amorphophallus titanum growing in our production greenhouses—is very specific! Yes, the cultivation requirements for these … Continue reading Care and Feeding for a Giant Bloom
