We're all going to the zoo tomorrow, zoo tomorrow...! Morticia, one of the Amorphophallus titanum that lives at our Franklin Park Zoo in Boston is about to, or may have already bloomed by this morning, 6/16. One of their others, Fester, has already done so a couple of weeks ago. I will be there. they are having special viewing hours starting today and I invite you all, on behalf of us stinky plant lovers everywhere, to come on down! Regular zoo admission applies, special viewing hours tonight after close, go in the Zebra Entrance!! {humming the Addams Family theme as I go off to run my plant sale!}
Martha
Boston Giant Stinky Plant alert!
Have fun! let us know how bad it really stinks
I'd love to see pictures since you won't be sending a stinko-gram!
Special sight......there's one at Uconn that blooms occasionally.......
Precious my husband took us down to the Zoo this morning but Morticia was still hanging on tight. Latest update this evening is that she grew two inches. Maybe tomorrow. PMH will be taking me down there tomorrow as well. What a man!
Robin, I have seen the one at UConn that bloomed about 6 years ago. They had a 24/7 webcam on it at the time because they had squadrons of graduate students watching it. Simple matter to put it up on the web. They invited people to come on down and see it when it bloomed. So we did. They wanted to catch it a peak bloom because they wanted to hand pollinate it. We saw it shortly after they did this. UConn has a couple of them. Smith College has one, I think. The ones at the zoo are a gift from a hobbyist who has 50 of them up in New Hampshire. Update tomorrow.
Martha
This message was edited Jun 17, 2012 6:03 PM
This is a newspaper article about the gentleman who donated the stinky plants to the zoo. He lives in NH which puts him right in our Northeast Gardening jurisdiction!
http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009703179779
I remember seeing this on line when he had the fund raiser with his tallest one.
Martha
Not only is Morticia famous now, her personal Stinky Plant stalker, yours truly has got about 30 seconds more fame.
They were there with the camera when I was early this morning. No bloom yet and it is 1:57 pm EDT. Going back tonight after 6.
Martha
http://www.necn.com/06/18/12/Stinky-flower-to-bloom-in-Boston/landing_newengland.html?blockID=726470&feedID=4206
Yay Martha you're a celebrity!
lol Never ask for my opinion unless you really, really want it! It's been fun. I had to go to the doctors this morning and my husband reports that there has been no progress this morning so, unless blooming happens in the next 6-8 hours, we won't be going back until tonight after 6. Dang those doctor's appointments anyhow! Don't they realize what's really important?
Martha
It's postings like Martha's that keeps me addicted to DG. Way to go Martha, way to go Fester and Morticia!
Morticia finally bloomed fully at about 9:30 last night. We were there at about 7:30 pm and of course, she chose to bloom after they closed the park and everyone except the zoo guys went home. We got there at about 8:30 this morning and there was still a noticeable scent in the air, but we all missed the overwhelming nasty part. A WBZ radio reported described it as "old smelly sweat socks" and that was about right. it was kind of like the smell you get in your damp basement, or mildewy. Lots of people showed up to see it this morning and there was a long line which there hadn't been over the weekend and monday and tuesday. But it moved really fast. They think almost 10,000 people have been through though they counted some of us more than once. I have been there 5 times! It's been fun. I am going to suggest that when the next one comes to bloom, which would probably be Pugsley in a couple of years, they make it a perk of your zoo membership to attend the special blooming party they should hold.
Martha
UGH all that and it blooms when no one was around
martha that was a great clip on NECN
Thanks!
Martha
Here' s the interview from Greater Boston on WGBH tonight with Emily Rooney. Harry Liggett was the nicest man. Patient as he answered the same 10 questions over and over again. I talked to him every time I visited.
http://www.wgbh.org/programs/episode.cfm?featureid=39685
Martha
Not to change the subject but here I go. Hubby works in a lumber mill. A NH state worker comes in and looks for bugs. He looks at the pile of lumber for a couple of minutes and goes on his merry way.
WTH? We are paying this person, probably big money per hour to look for a BUG? Ok some logs come from VT but the BUG could fly across the river! A potato launcer could make it.
DUH
What bugs is he looking for? Asiatic Longhorn Beetles?
Martha