Recycle at the Zoo

On Wednesday, June 25, Como Park Zoo and Conservatory hosted a press conference announcing the new recycling program. Eureka created new blue recycling bins where plastic, glass, aluminum cans, milk cartons and juice boxes can be recycled. The events of the day consisted of a student message board explaining why it is important to recycle at Como Zoo and the press conference included a short show from Sparky showing how to recycle. Eureka will be visiting Como Park Zoo and Conservatory once a week to take inventory on how well the program is running.

Sunset Affair

This year, Travelers Sunset Affair presented by McGough, will be held Thursday, July 24, 2008 at Como Park Zoo and Conservatory. The theme is Summer Matsuri. Celebrate the evening with Taiko drumming, colorful kites and many other activities in honor of the Japanese culture. For more information please visit
http://www.comozooconservatory.org/supp/Sunset08.shtml

Sunken Garden flowering plant care

Every morning before the conservatory opens, the gardening staff are hard at work making sure the plants on display in the public areas are sufficiently watered, fertilized or otherwise cared for. Staff work independently or with other horticultural staff in our various display gardens. Today, some of the oriental lilies in the Sunken Garden were replaced with more oriental lilies because the flowers on the older plants had faded. Horticulture staff are often accompanied by volunteers that help keep the gardens looking good by dead-heading spent flowers. In horticulture, faded flowers are called spent flowers and the removal of spent flowers is called dead-heading.

In order to care for the flowering plants in the sunken garden, old and faded flowers are removed along with broken plants that are damaged by daily traffic from visitors or events such as weddings. Old flowers are removed not only in order to maintain an aesthetically pleasing garden but also to promote the production of additional flowers on a plant. Plants put a lot of energy into producing flowers and seed. When old flower structures remain on a plant, they may develop seeds and as a result may stop producing many new flower buds. Try this on geraniums and petunias.

Summer is here!!

Finally! Even with the cool weather, it seems like we can finally say that summer is here! The spring projects are finished and the weather is really starting to warm up. The Gates Ajar, located near Como Lake, is finished. Staff are watering the plant material on the Gates twice a day. This will slow down to once a day once the material roots into the soil base.



And the Blooming Butterflies exhibit is open! The many butterflies can be seen resting on the tropical plants under the yellow, black and white building covering.

The Dakota Skipper Garden, located in the Bird Yard on the Zoo grounds, is 90 % planted. This means annual plants have been installed. Como Town annual bed plantings are completed. Look for these splashes of color as you walk around the Zoo grounds! Watch the hillside near the Blooming Butterflies as the staff install additional annuals.

Enjoy the beautiful weather!

Victoria waterlilies have been planted in the VC pools for the summer season. They looked so big and crowded in their 8’ diameter tanks in the greenhouse. Now that they are out in a several thousand gallon pool they look much more at home! Each plant only covers an area of about 5 square feet, by the end of July they should reach as much as 25 square feet! We are being challenged with our cool spring right now, as these giant waterlilies prefer water temperatures of 80F day and night. The heating system in our pools has been working overtime to accommodate them. Hope for some sunshine and warm weather, and then they’ll really grow!

Aquatic marginal plants have also been added to the VC pools! With the wonderful help of volunteers, we were able to plant the entire display in one morning! There will be additional plant material added to the containers as it becomes ready in the greenhouse. As these plants root into their new homes for the summer, watch them burst into bloom. Look for all colors of a sunset, from Reds and yellows to purples and soft pinks accented by tropical looking foliage.

The pool displays are not done yet... we will continue our plant palette by adding a wide variety of tropical and hardy waterlilies to both pools. The pools will feature both night and day blooming varieties.

The horticultural preparation for Como's Blooming Butterflies has been intense for the past three weeks. Working around the unusually cold weather while dodging the electrical, plumbing carpentry and masonry work, the tropical floral gardens were deftly installed by horticulture staff and interns. Just in time for the June 3rd preview of Como Friends and invited guests, all the landscape design elements of the 2,500 square foot space coalesced into an elegant butterfly friendly habitat. Plant species selected for their flowering nectar or roosting potential for the Lepidoptera were obtained through nursery sources from Florida and California as well as home grown in the MMC production greenhouses. A floral nectar tree is the centerpiece of the exhibit; a unique feature to butterfly exhibits which varies the display height of favored nectar plants thereby offering views at all eye-levels. Two fourteen foot Weeping Podocarpus, or African Fern Pines (Podocarpus gracilior) are striking trees. Upon closer inspection, roosting butterflies appear through the soft green vegetative canopy. The native and exotic butterflies released into the exhibit garden have been nourished and protected by this garden designed specially for all their needs save one - host plant species for breeding.

Gates Ajar is being planted

The Gates Ajar, located near Como Lake and the Lakeside Pavilion, have been planted for many years by the gardeners from the Conservatory. The Gates, representing the open gates to Heaven, have been planted in the same location for at least 80 years. The first gates were planted in 1894! It takes at least 100 hours of work to install all the cuttings of alternanthera and the plants of echeveria in the shapes of various Masonic symbols. The plantings must be watered at least twice a day, every day. A number of gardeners generally work at the gates daily, usually in May, to install the small plants. The frame of the gates is wire, mudded over with a moist soil mix. Tools are used to make a slanted hole that the small cuttings are slid into. The design is sketched into the mud and the plantings follow the outline.

There is still plenty of work to complete at the Gates before they are completed for this year. Take a few moments and wander over to the Como Lake area and admire this historical planting!

The Butterflies are Coming!!

Even with this very cool weather, the Blooming Butterfly exhibit with it's tropical plants is still on schedule to open June 6th! The outside covering has been installed and the building looks like a giant monarch caterpillar! The folks installing the covering actually used an open area in front of the Conservatory to spread out a huge plastic sheet, lay out the netting and paint the design on the netting. This area was surrounded by caution tape for a few days while the "skin" dried in the sun. Crews have been busy bringing in the soil for the planting beds as the walkway and the bed edges are finally completed. The largest plants are planted in the ground and the crews are bringing in rocks and smaller plants today. This is going to be a great addition to all the other wonderful things to do and see at Como!

Updates!

This cool Minnesota weather has slowed and held back many of the outside plantings. The tulips are still beautiful in the Butterfly Garden in the front of the Conservatory. The Birdyard wall, with the orange tulips in full bloom, is a wonderful accent for the flamingo's as they wade in the pool. The Blooming Butterflies Exhibit is starting to look like an exhibit! A shipment of tropical plants arrived yesterday and included pentas, palms and other butterfly friendly plants. These plants will be installed soon---the weather needs to warm a bit and the remaining flooring and planting bed edges need to be finished.

The bananas are heading out of the greenhouse tomorrow. These were started from seed about 18 months ago. The nights need to stay above 50 degrees before these huge plants can be set outside to acclimate. These plants are headed for the east side of the Primate House on Zoo grounds. They are too large to fit in the Zoo pots this year!

The Sunken Garden is blooming and a number of plants have already been replaced as they have reached their prime. Many lilies are filling the air with their perfume and the level of maintenance in the room has increased for the volunteer groomers as well as for the staff.

The Children's Gallery is full of children and adults most days. The plants in the replica conservatory are growing well under the new grow lights. Just as with every other area in the Conservatory, Staff are checking this area daily to see how the plant material is adjusting to this new location.

The Bonsai are on exhibit! It is great to have part of the collection on display at this time of year. Staff are assisted each week by volunteers from the Bonsai Society of Minnesota, assuring that the plants are always well cared for and maintained at exceptional levels.

The North Garden Pool is back to normal. The pool was filled, the dye was added and the fish were returned this past week. We could not repaint the entire pool this year so hopefully that might happen next year.

And the Victoria Water Platters are growing very rapidly! The plants that were started from seed in late February are already filling the inside and outside tanks!

The pool in front of the Visitor Center on the side closest to the Carousel is being heated as of today. There are heating lines in the pool bottom that maintain a pool temp in the low 80's. The Victorias need lots of warm water to grow and thrive. Watch for these giants as June approaches!

And then there is BOB.... the Amorphophallus titanum has withered to almost nothing at this point. Staff are watering the soil occasionally to keep it moist and hoping that the leaf stage will soon appear. Soon, all that could remain visible is the large empty looking pot! It will be interesting to see what happens next!

It has been another busy week here at the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory as we ready for the Memorial Day weekend!

North Garden Pool cleaning this week

It is May and time for our annual (or almost annual) pool cleanings. The Sunken Garden pool was cleaned during the last show change. This week, the North Garden Pool is being drained, cleaned and repaired. We have a good system in place to empty the pools and remove the koi. The zoo aquarist directs the netting of the fish and their transport and storage until the pool can be refilled and declorinated. For this move, the koi are being held in our garage in 100 gallons tanks with bubblers. The hope is that the koi will be put back in the North Garden pool sometime this coming weekend.

This winter, staff noticed a constantly wet area in one of the planting beds in the North Garden. It seems as if the large kapok tree that was previously growing poolside may have cracked the pool edging. This was confirmed as the water level in pool was lowered this week. Another large broken area next to the Travelers Tree was also discovered. Trades staff fixed both cracks today and we hope to fill the pool tomorrow! Someday, it is hoped that the entire pool could be painted black. Maybe next year!

The trades staff also took care of another historical problem today! For many years, as toys, glasses, cameras, cell phones, rings, earrings, car keys and every other item imaginable have fallen into the pool, it has been very difficult to retrieve these items at the time they were lost. There is a deep sump pit near the viewing area where all the treasures tended to congregate. No more! A wonderful stainless steel mesh cover was placed over the large pit today. So if your precious items fall in the pool, there is a better chance you might get them back before the May cleaning!

The pool surrounding the porch area of the Visitor Center is finally full and looking ready for the marginal plantings. Watch for these stunning plantings as the weather warms up! The pool in front of Tropical Encounters is being prepared for the Victoria Water Platters. Staff were busy today adding soil to pots buried in the rocks. Fertilizer was added directly to the soil as it was placed in the pots. This will save hours of staff time as additional fertilizer, which is normally added weekly in the form of plant tablets, will not have to be added for about two months. This pool is actually heated to give the Victorias the warm temperature that is needed for their growth.

Come visit! There is always something going on here!

Summer is here

The Sunken Garden Summer Show is open and beautiful! It took five days to remove the spring show plant material, prep the planting beds, plant and water in all the summer plant material for this show. The tulips, daffodils and lily bulbs are dry and ready for the bulb sale on May 17th. The growing houses, that seemed so full before the show change, are still bursting at the seams with material for the outside gardens. Flats and flats of annuals are lined up on the benches in many of the greenhouses!


There are tubs of aquatic plants scattered throughout the growing areas, full of plants growing larger for the front pools. Some of the Victoria Water Platters are already measuring 6" across their pads! Remember, these were started from a seed the size of a pea in February this year. The Victorias have the potential to have pads up to 5 feet wide in our heated pool in front of Tropical Encounters by the end of the summer! Keep an eye on the front pools as the weather continues to get warmer. The pools were filled over the weekend to check for leaks. And of course, there were leaks spotted, so the water is being drained out and the mason has been called to repair them.......




The large decorative pots are being planted for the Zoo grounds this week. The pots are set out on our service road where they can be filled, planted, watered and then eventually placed around the Zoo grounds. There might even be some huge banana plants, started from seed about 18 months ago, filling a few of the largest pots! They are a wonderful chartreuse green!

The Japanese Garden looks very serene and very calming. The pools are filled and there are fern fiddleheads starting to emerge under some of the trees. Come and see this wonderful garden!





The Alternanthera cuttings have been taken for the Gates Ajar. The Gates, located by Como Lake and the Pavillion, have been planted for over 80 years in their present location. In past years, volunteers and staff have spent hours making the cuttings, sticking the cuttings in trays of soil and then placing the cuttings in the propagation house to root. This year, a wonderful group of about 20 volunteers took the 4000+ cuttings on Monday in record time!! What a deal! Prep work on the Gates could start as early as the end of next week.


The Butterfly Garden in front of the Conservatory has some lovely tulips in bloom as well as Scilla and the pots in front of the Conservatory and the Visitor Center are filled with an assortment of pansies. There is color inside and outside now!! Come visit!