Como Hosts Winter Carnival Show

Como Hosts Winter Carnival Orchid Show

The Winter Carnival Orchid Show was held January 26 & 27, and Como’s Marjorie McNeely Conservatory had another award winning display!

Of the 96 orchids exhibited, 56 were judged and 28 were awarded ribbons: 11 first place, 11 second place, and 6 third place. The conservatory also received 3 best of class awards, one of which was for the Orchid Exhibit.
Thanks to everyone who participated and attended the show this year!

Voodoo Lily is Blooming Again!

It's fall and the Amorphophallus Konjacs are blooming again this year!

These plants are the smaller relatives of the large and stinky Corpse Flower (Amorphophallus titanum) that bloomed here at the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory in June of 2011.

Don't be fooled by their comparatively small size---these plants have a very potent smell when the inflorescence is open. You must get fairly close to the inflorescence to get the full effect of the smell.

This plant has three blooms and there is a hope that at least one of them will last through the end of September. This plant is located in the back corner of the North Garden. Enjoy!!

Conservatory Orchid Collection Takes Home The Hardware!

The Marjorie McNeely Conservatory displayed over 40 orchids from the orchid collection at the Minnesota State Fair August 31st and September 1st.  The orchid show is hosted by the Orchid Society of Minnesota and features a wide variety of orchid plants, artwork, and collectibles from society members.  This year, the show's theme was "Olympics," inspired by this summer's games.  As an homage to ancient Greece, the conservatory's display included white columns, rocky "mountains," and foliage wreaths.  We also included colors from the contemporary Olympic flag.  The overall display won awards for "Best in Show" and "Best Display Over 25 Plants."  Thirty-three individual plants received awards--12 of which were first place!  The State Fair is a fun way for the conservatory to share its wonderful orchids with the public, and participate as an institutional member of the Orchid Society of Minnesota.

Groovin' In The Garden with Crankshaft!

Congratualtions to "Eleven Who Care" Nominees Mike Porcaro & Ken Ellis as they bring beauty to Conservatory

American Garden Award Entries on Display at Conservatory

The Marjorie McNeely Conservatory is one of 28 prestigious gardens participating in this year’s All-America Selections American Garden Award, the nation’s only popularity contest for flowers. The American Garden Award is a unique opportunity for the public to vote on a specific flower that they think has the most appealing garden characteristics. The six entries for 2012 are:

Angelonia angustifolia ‘Serena® Blue’

Begonia boliviensis ‘Santa Cruz™ Sunset’

Gazania ‘Big Kiss™ White Flame’ F1

Petchoa x hybrida ‘SuperCal® Pink Ice’

Petunia ‘Surfinia® Deep Red’

Sunflower ‘Goldie’ F1

Voting is open June 1 – August 31 and winners are announced in September. To view the entries and place your vote, visit the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory before August 31. You can also vote online at http://www.americangardenaward.com./

Marjorie McNeely Conservatory in Full Bloom...As seen on FOX-9!

The winter flower show is happening right now at the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory. Fox-9's Garden Guy Dale K. is there with more.

Marjorie McNeely Conservatory in Full Bloom at Como Park: MyFoxTWINCITIES.com

Dale K of Fox-9 Stops out for a Sneak Peek of the Winter Carnival Orchid Show

Winter Carnival Orchid Show Preview: MyFoxTWINCITIES.com

A blooming Voodoo Lily, Amorphophallus Konjac

When we came in to water the plants in this small greenhouse this morning, there was the familiar smell of dead mice lingering in the air! It is not that we have dead mice in the greenhouses all the time--gross-but we do occasionally have a blooming Amorphophallus Konjac at this time of year and that is it's tell tale smell! This plant has a great inflorescence (a grouping of flowers) that smells stinky to us but possibly lovely to it's pollinators. Some of you may remember another stinky plant that we had bloom here at the Conservatory last summer? Yep! It was the Corpse Flower, Amorphophallus titanum.

Come and see this fun plant in the Conservatory's North Garden. The blooms could last the week if we are lucky! And since there are actually three inflorescence's in this pot, the lovely aroma might just linger through the weekend!

What Is It?

This is a photo taken of the underside of a Victoria Water Lily crown. All of the Victoria Water Lilies have been removed from the pools at the Visitor Center Entrance. The center of the picture shows the hard, fleshy main stem of the plant. Secondary to that, is the white roots that supported the lily in the pot. The thick crowns were cut out while the water was still in the pools. We used a very sharp, high-tech pruning shears from the Japanese Garden. Several cuts were made to get through the heavy stem.

The top view of the cut crown shows 2 flower buds along with 2 folded, emerging pads. All of the bigger lily pads were cut off before the crowns were sliced off. Note all of the thorns. The stems, undersides of the pads, and the flower parts all have these spiny thorns. These lilies have great plant defense in the wild.

This last photo is a side view showing all of the old stems from the pads that were cut off. The most pads we had on one lily at a time this year was 15. Wind gusts of 10-15 mph can overturn the pads very easily, and this accounts for the majority of our damage.

You can look for the return of the Victoria Water Lilies to the Visitor Center pools, sometime in early June of 2012.