Sustainable and Green: The Cincinnati Zoo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I spent the afternoon today at the BYGL Diagnostic Walk at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical gardens, which to us in the horticultural world passionately refer to it as the Cincinnati “Botanical Gardens and Zoo”.  Our host today was Steve Foltz, who is the Director of Horticulture at the Cincinnati Zoo and a highly knowledgeable horticulturist. There is a great deal of activity abuzz on the grounds these days, all of the new annual beds are being amended and planted. Steve referred to the Zoo as a, “giant container planter”, this he explained is because of all of the concrete that makes up the Zoo exhibits with small plots of soil here and there. If you have ever been to the Zoo you would know about the world class displays that can be found all over the Zoo grounds. It begins in April with Zoo Blooms. If you have not experienced this event then you are missing out on the vibrant palette of colors of 100,000 tulips amassed throughout the zoo grounds.

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As the month of May is ushered in all of the tulips are dug up and the beds are prepared for annuals to take over the landscape. The Cincinnati Zoo prepares all of their bed with a blend of pine fines and peat for the best results. They find that this mix gives the soils the ability to drain off quickly, which is important to be able to work the soils and get all of the plants into the ground as quickly as possible. Steve shared some of the challenges at the Zoo such as, the Lions in the African Savanna exhibit having the need to mark there territory on the trunk of trees in the display with his sharp claws. Then there are the giraffe that can pick the trees clean of their leaves. It’s not just the animals that are horticultural challenges, but Zoo visitors are challenges too. Steve showed us how the Zoo protects the visitors from getting to close to dangerous animals with fences that have to be masked with dense shrubs and bamboo to maintain the experience each exhibit is designed to represent.

The Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens isn’t just a place of beauty and wildlife, but an example of sustainability and green stewardship. As you arrive at the Zoo it’s hard to miss the massive series of solar arrays that cover the parking lot. This structure not only provides shade for the cars that park below them, but provide about 20 percent of the zoo’s electrical needs. You can also find other examples of green living such as waterless urinals in the men’s restrooms, there are pervious pavers laid as walkways that allow storm water to drain thru them and into a huge tank that is used in exhibits on the Zoo grounds. Did I mention that they have examples of green roofs on several of the buildings. In addition to these examples, the Zoo also has a trial program that rates plants according to how well they perform in the Greater Cincinnati region. This allow them to grow plants that do well, and eliminate plants that are not suitable for this area. All of this information is available to the public on http://www.plantplaces.com and is given out during sustainable symposiums held at the Zoo. If you want to learn more about being green in Cincinnati the Zoo is a great place to start, and did I mention they have world class animal displays too?

 

~ Michael

Upcoming Boone County Extension Classes

If you have wondered how they get tropicals to grow in cooler climates, this class is for you. VooDoo Horticulture meets at the Boone County Arboretum.

Want to try you hand at growing a productive fruit bearing tree with a tropical look. “Who’s your pawpaw” can give you the edge and insight to grow them like a pro.

You want to live a bit greener but you just don’t understand composting. “Don’t Waste It!” will help you what can be composted and what is just waste.

For more information or to register for any of these or other classes you can visit the link below.

https://secure.boonecountyky.org/fbca/eventregistration/

What is a Rain Garden?

After such a long, snow and ice, below freezing forever kind of Winter, I am really looking forward to the things of Spring. I enjoy seeing the birds, bees, and butterflies and all of the beautiful flowers, trees and shrubs that make our communities beautiful. If you enjoy these things also, one way you can attract more of them to your yard and help reduce rain water runoff is to build a rain garden. What is a rain garden you ask?

A rain garden is any man made landscape feature that creates a depression for the collection of stormwater runoff to be collected and used to maintain moisture tolerant plants. Rain gardens are unique in that by reducing stormwater runoff you develop an environment that supports many plants that like wet areas, and also attracts pollinators such as butterflies and hummingbirds too.

 It’s not just pretty flowers and beautiful butterflies though. Rain gardens help to reduce the excessive amounts of water that densely populated urban spaces cause. These waters that are captured would otherwise cause flooding, water contamination and soil erosion if allowed to run to creeks and storm sewers.

Rain gardens effectively collect excess runoff and allow it to filter through the soils back into the water table without causing erosion, added silt or fertilizer runoff into our lakes, creeks and rivers. What an amazing way to do your part in improving the community you live in, and it can be a simple garden or as expansive as you desire.

Rain Garden

 I’m hoping that this may have inspired you to look into possibly developing a rain garden in your yard this Spring and create a place you can enjoy the beauty of nature while making a difference in your community too. If you found this article inspiring and useful please share it with others by clicking on one of the social media buttons below and help others discover rain gardens too.

  ~ Michael

Plant Hormones And What They Do

I was giving some thought to all of the things that will need to be done this Spring and Summer with the plants. There will be repotting that needs to be done, and cuttings to be rooted, seeds to be germinated. Then I started thinking about the processes that must happen for the seeds to germinate, and the cuttings to root. The processes that cause branches to grow longer, for roots to grow and expand through the media. All of these processes are related to plant hormones. Some plant hormones inhibit functions, while others initiate functions and processes. If you have an understanding of what the hormones are, what they do, and how to use them, it takes your abilities to a whole new level. This topic is quite expansive and can be technical. With this in mind, I’m going to give some basic knowledge that you can use to build on. Take what’s discussed here and use it as a springboard to get where you want to be.

There are five common types of plant hormones; Auxins, Abscisic Acid, Cytokinins, Ethylene, and Gibberellin. Of the five hormones Abscisic Acid and Ethylene are not used much with ornamental plants. Ethylene is primarily used to encourage fruit ripening and the dropping of leaves. Abscisic Acid inhibits growth in maturing leaves and inhibits seed germination.

Auxins are known to cause many different response in plants, some of them are in combination with other hormones. Auxin stand alone responses include cell elongation, stimulates differentiation of phloem and xylem, can induce fruit set and growth in many plants, stimulates root initiation on stem cuttings, delays leaf senescence, delays fruit ripening, stimulates growth of flower parts and mediates tropistic responces to gravity and light.

Cytokinins are compounds that are known to stimulate cell division, stimulates growth of lateral buds, and stimulates leaf expansion. There are about 136 different types of gibberellins derived from the basic GA skeleton, and are known to facilitate specific responses in different plants. Some of these responses include the stimulation of stem elongation via cell division and elongation, can cause the absence of seeds in fruit development, aids in breaking seed dormancy, initiates sex development in dioecious flowers, can aid in stimulating bolting and flowering in response to longer days, and delay senescence in leaves and citrus fruit. 

As you can see plant hormones are essential in almost every function of a plant, so if you can understand the plant hormones function it gives you more control in the cultivation of your plant. To expand on this thought, if you are growing a plant and it requires branching for flowers or fruit, you can use GA’s to to stimulate the stem elongation. If you are trying to propagate a favorite plant by cutting you can use auxins to help develop new roots on your cuttings. I hope this article helps get you thinking about how you can be a better grower by understanding and using plant hormones. If you find this writing useful please help others find it by clicking on one of the social media buttons below.

~Michael