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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 May 19

Temperatures will be a bit higher than normal in the afternoons this week. Take care of chores early in the day – then enjoy the afternoon. It’s time to smell the roses.

* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. If you haven’t already, it’s time to set out those tomato transplants along with peppers and eggplants. Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.

* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.

* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.

* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters.

* Plant dahlia tubers. Other perennials to set out include verbena, coreopsis, coneflower and astilbe.

* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia and verbena.

* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.

* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.

* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.

* Don’t forget to water. Seedlings need moisture. Deep watering will help build strong roots and healthy plants.

* Add mulch to the garden to help keep that precious water from evaporating. Mulch also cuts down on weeds. But don’t let it mound around the stems or trunks of trees or shrubs. Leave about a 6-inch to 1-foot circle to avoid crown rot or other problems.

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