So long Carolus

Carolus closing Thursday morning.
Carolus closing Thursday morning.

Carolus’s spathe continued to wane overnight. The plant was not pollinated and so will not set seed. But staff did collect pollen for future pollinations and to share with other Titan Arum growers.

Carolus will whither and go dormant for months. Then a single leaf will sprout from the underground corm as it goes into its vegetative stage. After several cycles of the vegetative stage, Carolus will likely flower again in the new Liberty Hyde Bailey Conservatory on the south side of the Plant Science Building on Tower Road.

Meantime, Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station greenhouse staff are busily preparing plants for the move from Kenneth Post Laboratory greenhouses to the new conservatory.

Kenneth Post Laboratory greenhouses are now closed to the public.

If you would like to receive email updates to this blog so that you will receive notifications when the next flowering is imminent (and when you can view the time-lapse video of this flowering), submit your email address in the subscription form in the sidebar.

See you at the next flowering.

Research technician Kendra Hutchins gathers pollen from Carolus Wednesday morning.
Research technician Kendra Hutchins gathers pollen from Carolus Wednesday morning through a small window cut into the base of the spathe.