The Marjorie McNeely Conservatory recently was awarded a $400 grant from the Mid-America Orchid Congress (MAOC). The receipt of this grant is based on our active efforts to promote orchid conservation and awareness. The classes, talks, and displays we offer provide examples of primarily neo-tropical (Central and South American) specimens. Our weekly Gardener Talks on orchids are also an opportunity for the public to ask questions, see our plants up-close and learn more about the Conservatory's collection. Since 2003, The Conservatory has been a designated Plant Rescue Center through a program administered by the U.S. Fish and Willdlife Service. In doing so, we provide a site for the care and conservation of illegally imported orchids, among other tropical plants. These plants remain a part of our collection, and will not be sold for profit. Our participation in this conservation effort, combined with our non-profit status and the educational experiences we offer has made us eligible for this grant. The MAOC is an organization of orchid societies and works to promote worldwide orchid conservation. We appreciate their consideration of our institution and are honored to receive their grant. This money will be used for the purchase of additional orchid species that enhance the diversity of our orchid collection.

Saving Echeveria

This time of year many of our plants outside are either being cut back to the ground for winter, or some tender, non-hardy plants are taken inside to be saved for next year. One example of a plant we save is our Echeveria. Echevaria is a large genus of succulents with many drought tolerant species. These plants form rosettes of succulent leaves on a fleshy stem.

We use about 50 flats of these Echeveria in our display at Gates Ajar every year. These plants work great to form the detailed symbols on the Gates. When we plant them in the wall we cut all of the roots off and just stick a little stub of the stem into the soil. These plants quickly form new roots and attach themselves to the wall.

We harvest the Echeveria off of the wall by simply pulling them out. Once back to the greenhouse, staff and volunteers clean up the old leaves, cut the roots off, and stick them in flats of soil to grow in the greenhouse until we need them outside next spring!

Fall Flower Show Featured on Fox-9 With Dale K.

The Fall Leaves are Falling

If you haven't already noticed, the leaves are changing into their beautiful fall colors, and many have already fallen to the ground. Do you know why the leaves change color in the fall? There are a couple of things happening as the days shorten, and the fall nights get cooler. The production of the large amounts of food, or sugars the plant was making throughout the summer begins to slow down. The chloroplasts that make this food are what gives plants their green color. Once these cells shut down, the green color on the leaves slowly fades away. What is left are some other pigments that have likely been in the plant the whole time, but masked by the powerful chlorophyll. These pigments called anthocyanins, and give a nice red or purple color. Other pigments form other common fall colors. The orange colors come from carotene and the yellows from xanthophyll, other common plant pigments. This year we have had perfect weather for brilliant fall colors. Dry weather with warm sunny days, and cool nights enhance this process, and therefore enhance the colorful pigments we see.

The leaf 'stem', or petiole is also going through a change this time of the year. There are certain cells that are found where the leaf attaches to the tree that start to break down, and eventually the leaf falls off. That's when our job begins (after we enjoy the color of course), and raking and bagging leaves become a big part of our fall clean up. Hopefully you have had the chance to get out and enjoy the beautiful fall we have had!

The Results Are In!

Horticulture staff have happily represented the Conservatory's collections of bonsai and orchids at the Minnesota State Fair. We displayed 63 orchids in the Orchid Society of Minnesota's annual room exhibit, and three bonsai trees in the Minnesota Bonsai Society exhibit. The Orchids garnered 13 first-place ribbons, including a "Best Exhibit" of greater than 26 plants. Of the bonsai trees displayed, the Korean beech received an "Award of Merit."

Though the State Fair is over, visitors can still see parts of the conservatory's orchid collection displayed on a rotating basis, as well as our Sunken Garden Flower Shows, and lush tropical collections in the North Garden, Fern Room, Palm Dome, and Tropical Encounters.

Orchids and bonsai at the state fair!

Over the past week, Conservatory staff have been diligently preparing for the showing of our plants in the Horticulture Building (near the food building) at the State Fair. All day Friday, September 3rd and Saturday, September 4th several orchids from our award winning neotropical orchid collection, and a few of the best bonsai from our bonsai collection, will be displayed. The orchids will be judged by peer judges including three horticulture staff from the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory and an American Orchid Society Judge. In order to prepare for the show, orchid leaves are cleaned to remove superficial defects that could impact appearance such as residues on the leaves from watering or fertilizing. The display for the orchids is also set up in the greenhouse so staff can preview and perfect the display before it is disassembled and moved to the Horticulture Building. Horticulture staff always have to keep in mind how much space is available in the vehicle that will transport our plants, that means limiting the number and size of plants that we send to the Fair as some of the bonsai are quite large. The bonsai also take some preparation. Some of the pots are oiled so that they do not look too dull and the trees receive some final pruning to maintain a finished look. In the end all that work is worth it! All you have to do is show up at the Fair to see them on display!

2010 Lantern Lighting Festival

On Sunday, August 15th the 12th Annual Japanese Lantern Lighting Festival took place in front of the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory (MMC) & the Como Ordway Memorial Japanese Garden. This year Bonsai and Ikebana were featured as the theme of the festival. Eight bonsai from the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory's collection were on display at the historic entrance to the conservatory. Bonsai demonstrations were given throughout the evening and the junipers used in the demonstrations were then given away to audience members thru a raffle. If you have not yet been to this festival, mark it on your calendar for next August 21st! Regular attendees look forward to the food, music, dancing, exhibitors, martial arts demonstrations, and the view of the 300 white paper lanterns floating on the water in the Frog Pond & Japanese Garden pool at the end of the evening.

DOG DAYS OF SUMMER!

The dog days of summer are officially here. We are on day 15 of temperatures 90 degrees and higher for the year. Staff and visitors should be very aware of the heat wave we are in. Everyone should drink plenty of water, wear loose fitting clothing, wear sunscreen, and take frequent breaks in the shade. Outlook for next week is predicting mid 70's, that will be very refreshing! Stay safe and cool everyone!

What would you rather have right now?

Gardeners working in exhibits

As horticulture staff, we get to experience what its like to work in an animals home and beautify their surroundings. We start with contacting zookeepers and letting them know that we would like to get into the exhibits to do work. The morning of our scheduled work day we call zookeepers so they can secure animals and unlock gates for us.

Tasks we usually perform in the exhibit are; pulling toxic weeds to prevent the chance of an animal eating them, mowing, pulling weeds, pruning, planting, trimming and mulching. We finish before 10am so the animals have a chance to get on exhibit for the visitors to view them.

When we do exhibit work its nice to see the animals come out for the first time. Sometimes they seem curious about the changes we made. In the Polar Bear exhibits, after we mow, it is very fragrant, the polar bears seem to really enjoy that too.

Flowers blooming in the greenhouse

Most visitors don't get to see much of what is inside the greenhouses at the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory. Here are a few of the flowers that were seen blooming inside the greenhouse today.