ChiIL Mama's Adventures With Persephone, Garfield Park Conservatory's Stinkin' Corpse Flower, Blooming Now

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Persephone is no longer just the Queen of the Underworld, but the queen of the botany world as well. Blooming corpse flowers are one of the largest, rarest, and stinkiest in the world! I headed out to Garfield Conservatory on Friday as soon as I heard she was blooming, since it's a rare event and over quickly. Blooms can be 7-10 years in the making, and often don't happen at all. Check out my stills and videos here. 




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Favorite Photos are embedded below.




Persephone was given to Garfield by Chicago Botanic Gardens who had a highly hyped Corpse Flower last year, Spike, that was looking like it would bloom any day then fizzled. And now they've had several successful blooms, Alice and Sprout.



Baby Corpse Flower

Good news is Garfield Conservatory does have a number of Corpse Flowers they've grown from seeds, including a 6 year old, so more blooms may be in the conservatory's future. If things continue at this rate, Chicago (whose name may be derived from the Miami-Illinois word “shikaakwa,” which means “striped skunk” or “smelly onion”) may become more famous for smelly Titan Arum sprouts, AKA: Amorphophallus Titanum or Corpse Flowers.

Note the GoPro Camera. They're filming a time lapse of the blooming that will be available on Garfield Park Conservatory's social media later. 

We also love the penny & dime art in the wishing pond! GP Conservatory has a long tradition of dying the water and making seasonal words and images for holidays. This is my favorite to date!

If you're heading over, go ASAP. The blooming began around noon Friday 6/17 and generally only lasts 24-48 hours at the very most. Also, wear cool, summer clothes. This plant likes it HOT & humid, so her room is 90 degrees and I believe at least 70% humidity. She's native to Sumatra's tropical forests and rare there too! Check out our past Persephone coverage HERE and follow along on social media with the hashtag #‎GPCPersephone

ChiIL Mama's Photo Favs:

Corpse Flower Blooming Imminent at Garfield Park Conservatory

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GARFIELD PARK CONSERVATORY’S RARE CORPSE FLOWER IS BLOOMING!

ChiIL Mama's waiting with baited breath for Garfield Park Conservatory's #‎CorpseFlower to open it's stinkin' bloom. We missed both the Chicago Botanic Garden's recent corpse flower flop and success. Chicago will have a new rep as smelly corpse flower land instead of smelly onion swamp at this rate. Hope to see this one! Follow along at #‎GPCPersephone!

  

Persephone's bloom cycle has begun, a rare event that can take a decade and reek like rotting flesh! The Chicago Botanic Garden donated the titan arum, also known as the corpse flower, to the Garfield Park Conservatory on May 31, 2016, and it is finally ready to bloom! Don’t miss this rare opportunity to see (and smell) one of the largest and rarest flowering plants in the world. 

The exact time of its flowering is hard to predict and happens very rapidly after the blooming process begins. When the corpse flower does bloom, it is usually open for ONLY 24 to 36 hours. The staff predicts that Chicago's current warm and humid weather will hasten the plant’s opening.

The Garfield Park Conservatory staff is excitedly tracking a rare spectacle unfolding in its own backyard. Meet Persephone, the titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum), also known as the corpse flower. For a titan arum to germinate from a seed to a corm that can send up a leaf and then bloom, it can take more than a decade. Once the unique plant opens, it will release a distinctive bad odor, which some describe as being similar to that of rotting flesh and smelly feet. 

(updated photo shoot as of Wednesday 6/15/16)

Since the odor is strongest in the early hours of the morning, the Garfield Park Conservatory (300 N. Central Park Ave) will be open to visitors until 12 a.m. (last admission will be at 11:30 p.m.) the day Persephone blooms, and re-open at 6 a.m. the following day. 

Normal hours are from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday thru Sunday, with extended hours from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesdays. Admission to the Garfield Park Conservatory and parking is free. It is also accessible via the Green Line – Conservatory stop. 

Get Social:

For updates follow the conservatory on Facebook and Twitter hashtag #‎GPCPersephone‬, or call the Garfield Park Conservatory at 312-746-5100.