The University of Connecticut Botanical Conservatory is preparing to host large audiences for the rare bloom of a pungent corpse flower in their collection, according to the collection managers.
Matthew Opel, a research laboratory aide who has worked at UConn for over 20 years, said the last bloom in the conservatory happened in 2013. He added how the first corpse flower to bloom in New England happened at the UConn Botanical Conservatory in 2004 and drew over 20,000 visitors.
“This is the first flower we’ve had during the semester,” Opel said. “All of the other ones happened during the summer.”
Cole Geissler, a tropical horticulturist at the conservatory, has been one of the primary caretakers monitoring the corpse flowers. He said the horticulturists work to mimic the corpse flower’s natural environment, the tropical rainforests of western Sumatra, as much as possible.
The bloom of a corpse flower, scientifically known as amorphophallus titanium, could’ve been negatively affected by recent temperature extremes like last week’s heat wave, Geissler said.
“Last week was rough because of the heat wave,” Geissler said, noting how employees had to open vents in the greenhouse and place a screen above the corpse flower to filter out some of the excess sun. He added how the heat may have caused the flower’s earlier bloom and some of the rapid growth rates observed.
“Having a heat wave like that last week was very early for us,” Geissler said. “I think it sped up the development of growth.”
The bud on the corpse flower grew the most rapidly around one week ago, with the bud growing 4.5 inches, Geissler said. He added how the bud’s growth slowed down to about 1.5 inches on Wednesday.
Geissler has worked as a tropical horticulturalist for over two years and said the current bud was the first specimen he got to flower. The corpse flower cycles through different stages of foliage, changing between growing leaves or the flowers famous for their foul odor.
Corpse flower growth isn’t only impacted by warm temperatures. Geissler said cold conditions could also change its budding behavior.
“A big temperature drop wouldn’t be bad for the plant, but bad for the bloom we’ve been working so hard for,” Geissler said. He added that the buds flowering under his care has been a point of pride for him.
The corpse flower is only days away from blooming, Geissler said, and most of the work happening at the UConn Botanical Garden recently comes from planning for the large audience.
“The corpse flower doesn’t really care that it has visitors,” Geissler said about the risks a crowd could have on the plant.
Geissler added that some of the crowds will be repeat visitors, noting how two visitors who saw the plant bloom in 2004 came in to show their children the corpse flower.
“It does have this kind of fame, maybe even notoriety, with how stinky it is,” Geissler said.
Employees at the conservatory have been fixated on preparing for the large audience. Meghan Moriarty, a plant growth facilities manager at the conservatory, said they have been lining up grad student volunteers and are in contact with the UConn Police and Fire Departments for crowd control.
“People are definitely excited, and they remember past blooms and come in with their families,” Moriarty said. The conservatory employees are currently working on plans for the bloom, including a route through the greenhouse and an Instagram livestream of the bloom.
Moriarty said the conservatory’s Instagram had gained over 100 followers in one day after posting about the corpse flower blooming.
Large crowds and interest around the corpse flower blooming stems from its short time frame. Olivia Delello, a student plant care specialist for the conservatory, said the flower only takes about two hours to fully open once it’s mature.
The strongest smell for the flower occurs the evening after it opens, with the bloom beginning to shrivel and the smell fading the morning after, according to a fact sheet Delello sent.
“It will definitely be a busy night, but it’s only one night,” Delello said.
Hours for the conservatory will change from the normal 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. public hours the day of the corpse flower’s bloom. Delello said the greenhouse will stay open until 2 a.m. for the bloom with freeadmission to the public.