Weather: Overcast, cool.
The mornings project was attempting to control a Norantea brasiliensis vine in the Cascade garden. N. brasiliensis is native to Brasil (hence the ensis suffix). It has ovate, alternate glossy dark green leaves and also produces fleshy adventitious roots. The plant at longwood has not been flowering, and after some research Joyce discovered that it flowers on the terminal ends of shoots. Therefore as the plant had been pruned to control its size, it was not getting the opportunity to flower. In order to attempt to both control the vine but give it a chance to flower Joyce has been tying and training the vine in using black wire. Whilst I was working away near the roof in a tucked away corner I noticed a flower bud! So exciting, it hasn't flowered in... Well, no one knows, maybe never. Pat Nutt (an ex longwood employee and local legend) said that it may have flowered in the 60's here.
Lunchtime included a brown bag presentation of the Grad students trip to India. Very interesting, though it sounds like a tough trip. I want to go!
After lunch I worked on a project for Joyce, compiling information on nutritional deficiencies of palms.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Dividing more ferns, all staff meeting and orchids
Weather: Really windy, high of 38.
First off today it was back out into the fern passage dividing the biggest specimens. We're onto the third long bed out of four, so getting there! Today the four of us (Mark, David, Andrew and I) were ambitious and set the objective of getting the last big specimens in the third bed done by 10.30 when we had an all staff 'town hall' meeting. It was a bit of a rush but we got it done and tidied up on time. We repotted another huge Dicksonia antartica, two large Asplenium australasicum and a number of smaller ferns, Colysis sp etc.
photos finally!
After finished tidying up the fern passage we had a town hall meeting. It mostly focused on acknowledging the 'victories' of the past quarter; Christmas, snow ops, online course registration etc. Paul Redman (director) also gave an update on Longwoods finances and an update on the 40 year master plant being developed by the landscape architecture firm West 8. Pretty cool stuff really. Its all conceptual at the moment but its interesting to see an institution completely re-envision layout, buildings etc. It will be pretty neat to come back to Longwood in 20 or 30 years and see how its evolved.
And after lunch I was with Marie and the Orchids again. Started by repotting a few Laeliocattleya hybrids.
Then pricked out some Disa uniflora hybrid seedlings. Disa uniflora were bought back by a longwood gardens expedition to South Africa and have since been hybridised at Longwood. The seedlings are sown in wet sphagnum moss. I pricked out approximately the 40 strongest and potted them into fresh sphagnum with a bit more space to grow, about 15 to a pot. They're tiny so it was fiddly work, I used the wire of two paper clips to help prick them out. worked well enough. the pots were then placed in a pan full of water.
First off today it was back out into the fern passage dividing the biggest specimens. We're onto the third long bed out of four, so getting there! Today the four of us (Mark, David, Andrew and I) were ambitious and set the objective of getting the last big specimens in the third bed done by 10.30 when we had an all staff 'town hall' meeting. It was a bit of a rush but we got it done and tidied up on time. We repotted another huge Dicksonia antartica, two large Asplenium australasicum and a number of smaller ferns, Colysis sp etc.
photos finally!
After finished tidying up the fern passage we had a town hall meeting. It mostly focused on acknowledging the 'victories' of the past quarter; Christmas, snow ops, online course registration etc. Paul Redman (director) also gave an update on Longwoods finances and an update on the 40 year master plant being developed by the landscape architecture firm West 8. Pretty cool stuff really. Its all conceptual at the moment but its interesting to see an institution completely re-envision layout, buildings etc. It will be pretty neat to come back to Longwood in 20 or 30 years and see how its evolved.
And after lunch I was with Marie and the Orchids again. Started by repotting a few Laeliocattleya hybrids.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Ferns, orchid repotting, and dividing
Weather: Sunny, high of 40oF
Monday. Well, first off today it was back into the fern passage to continue the large repotting/dividing project. We split into two teams, I worked with Andrew Hemme, and David and Mark worked together on a different section. Because the fern passage is narrow its really a matter of getting the biggest plants done before opening at nine. And today Andrew and I only managed to get two plants done, a massiveTasmanian tree fern (Dicksonia antartica) and a large giant maidenhair (Adiantum trapeziforme). The Dicksonia took awhile as we had to take it out of the wooden planter box it was in (with a hatchet...) and significantly reduce the rootball with the aid of an old pruning saw to make it fit into the largest planter bag (21") we had.
I was actually meant to be working with Marie with the orchids today, but will be helping out with the fern passage projects before nine to try and get the large stuff done as soon as possible. So after cleaning up a bit with the ferns I found Marie and went to work with the orchids. The main tasks with the orchids are staging the display, repotting those that come off display and watering. Marie is a wealth of knowledge on the many different species and cultivars of orchids as well orchid pests and diseases, care etc. We started by repotting some Miltonia. After lunch I watered the orchid baskets in one of the orchid houses, and then we continued repotting, this time Laelia.
At two I went back to Tims team and helped divide and repot some Papyrus (Cyperus papyrus) that has been sitting in one of the houses since the waterlily display closed for the season. Dividing and giving the plants some room now will prepare them for the upcoming season, which really isnt so far away now. We potted them up in crates lined with plastic bags, and used a clay soil. Cyperus papyrus is a member of the sedge family Cyperaceae and is best known for being used by the ancient Egyptians to make paper. It has also been used to make rafts and parts of the plant are also edible. Papyrus is a clump forming perennial, with tall triangular stems that are topped by tufts of thinner stems arising from a thick woody rhizome.
Monday. Well, first off today it was back into the fern passage to continue the large repotting/dividing project. We split into two teams, I worked with Andrew Hemme, and David and Mark worked together on a different section. Because the fern passage is narrow its really a matter of getting the biggest plants done before opening at nine. And today Andrew and I only managed to get two plants done, a massiveTasmanian tree fern (Dicksonia antartica) and a large giant maidenhair (Adiantum trapeziforme). The Dicksonia took awhile as we had to take it out of the wooden planter box it was in (with a hatchet...) and significantly reduce the rootball with the aid of an old pruning saw to make it fit into the largest planter bag (21") we had.
I was actually meant to be working with Marie with the orchids today, but will be helping out with the fern passage projects before nine to try and get the large stuff done as soon as possible. So after cleaning up a bit with the ferns I found Marie and went to work with the orchids. The main tasks with the orchids are staging the display, repotting those that come off display and watering. Marie is a wealth of knowledge on the many different species and cultivars of orchids as well orchid pests and diseases, care etc. We started by repotting some Miltonia. After lunch I watered the orchid baskets in one of the orchid houses, and then we continued repotting, this time Laelia.
At two I went back to Tims team and helped divide and repot some Papyrus (Cyperus papyrus) that has been sitting in one of the houses since the waterlily display closed for the season. Dividing and giving the plants some room now will prepare them for the upcoming season, which really isnt so far away now. We potted them up in crates lined with plastic bags, and used a clay soil. Cyperus papyrus is a member of the sedge family Cyperaceae and is best known for being used by the ancient Egyptians to make paper. It has also been used to make rafts and parts of the plant are also edible. Papyrus is a clump forming perennial, with tall triangular stems that are topped by tufts of thinner stems arising from a thick woody rhizome.
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