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Corpse flower ready to bloom at Roseville High

Domek Greenhouse open to public to view (and smell) rare titan arum

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED JUN 21, 2021

The corpse flower is about 6 feet tall, nearly ready

to bloom. (Photo courtesy Photo is by C.J. Addington)

Something’s stinky in Roseville. Head towards Roseville High School and look inside the Gene Domek Greenhouse.

That’s where you’ll find one of the rarest of blooms – a 6-foot-tall titan arum, also known as a corpse flower. With a smell and look like no other, the mammoth flower is expected to fully open Tuesday or Wednesday. Although it takes a decade or more for a titan arum to flower, the bloom itself lasts only a day.

To celebrate, the Domek Greenhouse will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, June 22. If that ginormus flower does indeed open, the greenhouse will stay open until 9 p.m. Admission is free.

To a receive a free, automatic text alert that the flower has opened, simply text the word "corpseflower" to 52855. It will not ask for any personal information.

Though unintentional, the corpse flower’s appearance is perfectly timed; this is Pollinators Week. And this flower smells the way it does to attract its favorite pollinators – flies.

When it comes to growing titan arum, the Domek Greenhouse staff has had unusual success coaxing corpse flower fully into bloom. This is the school’s fifth one.

“This is quite an achievement for a simple suburban high school, as these titanic flowers are usually only seen at large universities and well-funded botanical gardens,” said greenhouse manager C.J. Addington. “What makes this particular bloom even more unusual is that it is a repeat bloom. This plant successfully bloomed back in September of 2020, and has now made a second flower less than a year after its first.”

Titan arum, or Amorphophallus titanum , can be almost impossible to grow in Sacramento. Even under greenhouse conditions, small things can disrupt the bloom cycle. A security light left on outside the greenhouse stopped one flower from fully opening.

“These huge plants originate in the steamy jungles of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, and are extremely difficult to bring to bloom,” Addington explained. “One plant can take a decade to reach flowering size from seed, and when it finally does bloom, the massive flower only opens for one day before closing up again.”

The tuber for this specimen, nicknamed Titan Arum Thing II, weighed almost 40 pounds and measured more than a foot across. The entire process, from planting to bloom, is documented by Addington at:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/norcalaroids/albums/72157719311111513

“These finicky blooms do not always successfully open – and we have had two that have failed in the past,” Addington said, “but this plant has bloomed successfully once already, and we are optimistic that it will again.”

Depending on the flower’s condition, the greenhouse may extend viewing into Wednesday.

“The greenhouse is not normally open to the public, but due to the unique opportunity to see this botanical wonder, we are opening our doors to the general public for free viewings before the flower opens, and then for extended hours when it blooms,” Addington said.

The Gene Domek Greenhouse is in the central square of Roseville High, located at 1 Tiger Way, Roseville. Parking is available in the lot at the end of Campo Street on the west side of campus. Enter through the gate next to the swimming pool. The campus asks visitors to please practice social distancing; masks are at your discretion.

To view the corpse flower without the stench, check it out on YouTube. To see a live video of the flower in the greenhouse, search YouTube for "Roseville High School Corpse Flower" and look for the red "Live Now" tag.

For more information, contact Addington at caddington@rjuhsd.us .

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corpse flower Roseville High School gardening Sacramento rare plants tropical plants greenhouse perennials flowers

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Garden Checklist for week of April 21

This week there’s plenty to keep gardeners busy. With no rain in the immediate forecast, remember to irrigate any new transplants.

* Weed, weed, weed! Get them before they flower and go to seed.

* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat. These trees also look good in landscaping and provide fresh fruit in winter.

* Smell orange blossoms? Feed citrus trees with a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants.

* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.

* Thoroughly clean debris from the bottom of outdoor ponds or fountains.

* Spring brings a flush of rapid growth, and that means your garden is really hungry. Feed shrubs and trees with a slow-release fertilizer. Or mulch with a 1-inch layer of compost.

* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.

* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.

* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.

* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, radishes and squash.

* Plant onion sets.

* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias.

* Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.

* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom.

* Mid to late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Transplant lettuce seedlings. Choose varieties that mature quickly such as loose leaf.

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