by Connie Oswald Stofko The bad news is that the number of monarch butterflies has been decreasing in the past 20 years. Monarchs may be given protection under the Endangered Species Act in 2019. The good news is that the number of monarchs in Western New York appears to be on the upswing. You can find out more in the very first issue of the POLLINATOR, a new publication produced by the Pollinator Conservation Association. To subscribe to the POLLINATOR for free,…
Scholarships for college students and high school seniors are available from the PLANT WNY Foundation scholarships for spring 2019. The deadline has been extended to this Friday, Dec. 7. Applicants will be considered for one of three scholarships when applying with one application: The Mary Schichtel Memorial Scholarship, The George O. Adams and Kenneth E. Isaac Memorial Scholarship and The Fred Howarth Memorial Scholarship. See a pdf application here and find a fillable Word application here. In addition, the Toby Martino…
Each year the public is invited to submit photography and/or artwork to be considered for the New York State Arbor Day Poster. It’s a longtime tradition and posters have become collector’s items for many. There will be 100,000 posters printed for distribution to 3,500 New York State schools, at the New York State Fair and at other venues. The winning artist will be honored at the annual state Arbor Day celebration. The deadline is Dec. 31. To submit your…
by Connie Oswald Stofko It was a great year for corpse flowers at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens. Not one, but two of these plants bloomed in June. That’s amazing because the corpse flower or Amorphophallus titanum blooms just once in six to ten years! Morty bloomed in early June, which was just four years after it first bloomed in Buffalo. Fester, which started out as the smallest of the three corpse flower corms (bulbs) that the Botanical Gardens acquired in…
Garden Walk Buffalo, the largest garden walk in the United States, will celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2019 and needs artwork for the anniversary poster. Entries are due Jan. 31. This is an opportunity to share your artwork with hundreds of local gardeners and thousands of visitors. Artwork should communicate: • Descriptives: gardens, flowers, creativity, neighborhood • 25th Anniversary: You may choose to incorporate the number “25” into your artwork if applicable. It is not a requirement to do so, but…
by Connie Oswald Stofko Brenda Snyder was looking for a seed bank–a place where seeds are collected and shared–but she couldn’t find one in Western New York. “There were no seed banks I could even drive to,” Snyder said. “I thought, ‘How is that even possible?’ I decided somebody just needed to take the bull by the horns and get it rolling.” Working with other volunteers, she is setting up the WNY Seed Library, a free seed library for anyone who wants…
by Connie Oswald Stofko Fester, the second stinky corpse flower to bloom at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens, is already bigger than Morty was this year, and Fester may grow bigger than Morty was in 2014, said Erin Grajek, associate vice president of Marketing & Visitor Experience at the Botanical Gardens. Fester can grow two to eight inches per day and is now 63.5 inches or about 5 1/4 feet tall. Morty was about 4 1/2 feet tall this year, but was…
by Connie Oswald Stofko Fester, which started out as the smallest of the three corpse flower corms (bulbs) that the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens acquired in 2014, is ready to bloom and is on display now. This announcement comes a week after another of the corpse flowers, dubbed Morty, bloomed for the second time! Since these plants bloom only once every six to ten years, having two bloom within such a short amount of time is unusual. It’s…
by Connie Oswald Stofko Morty isn’t acting the way it did the last time it bloomed. The corpse flower or Amorphophallus titanum, which gives off the smell of rotting flesh to attract pollinators, revved up its smell, but didn’t unfurl the way it did in 2014. It’s shorter this time, too– about 4 1/2 feet tall, not the huge 7 1/2 feet he attained last time. Yet the fact that Morty bloomed again so soon is pretty exciting– These plants may…
We thought we might have to wait until 2024, but Morty the corpse flower, which bloomed in 2014 with the smell of rotting flesh, is ready to bloom again at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens. The corpse flower blooms just once every six to ten years. “It is hard to predict when the plant may be in full bloom, but our best estimate of bloom time would be within six weeks,” said Dave Swarts, president/CEO. Morty can grow about two…
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