Plant of the Month
Wednesday, September 24th, 2008
I have learned many new plants in my three months at the Scott Arboretum. In fact, it would not be an exaggeration to say I learn a new plant every day. One of the very first plants I learned upon starting work here, though, was not a cutting-edge cultivar or a unique specimen tree. It was a plant with quite a reputation around these parts, not for its aesthetic appeal, but instead for its stubbornness and invasiveness. This month’s Plant of the Month is the weedy Pinellia ternata.
The volunteer who first introduced me to Pinellia described this invasive plant with a…
Continue reading »
Monday, August 25th, 2008
Reflecting on my time so far as the curatorial intern (I just finished my second month here), I would say one of my favorite parts of the job is my daily interaction with Scott staff, volunteers, and visitors. Inquisitive visitors often stop to chat and ask me questions; if I were to tally all these questions, the top three would probably be:
1) “Excuse me - Could you please tell me how to get to the admissions office (Parrish Hall)?”
2) “Wow! What is that plant?” (Referring to Musa sikkimensis, our resident banana plant that we planted about 3 years ago and…
Continue reading »
Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008
Next time you walk along College Ave. past the Scott Arboretum office, be sure to notice the beautiful display of Echinacea purpurea ‘Rubinstern’. This relatively new purple coneflower is an improved cultivar of E. purpurea ‘Magnus’, the 1998 Perennial Plant of the Year, awarded by the Perennial Plant Association. Breeding efforts in the development of ‘Rubinstern’ have resulted in more uniformly-sized plants and larger, darker flowers. ‘Rubinstern’ will produce intense carmine-red blossoms from July through September and, like other E. purpurea cultivars, takes full sun and is a wonderful bee and butterfly attractor!
The roots and rhizomes of Echinacea plants have long been…
Continue reading »
•
earlier posts »
