The zoo plans to held its first Plant Trials Day Thursday. The event included lectures and seminars on rare plants and plant propagation, and Steve Foltz, the zoo’s director of horticulture, said the event showcased a very active, but little known, side of the zoo’s mission.
“We probably have one of the best horticulture crews in the region,” Foltz said.
He explained that his team, which maintains the zoo’s lush gardens and planters, does much more than grab convenient plants off garden center shelves for decoration. The team uses planters to test — or ‘trial’ — various plant strains to see how they grow and perform in the Cincinnati climate.
The tall grasses planted around the zoo’s parking lot, for example, include more than 30 varieties, all of which are being monitored for height, growth rate, and ‘flop’ — the way the grass bends over time. The resulting data helps landscapers and other botanical gardens choose plants that are prettier, hardier and lower maintenance for their given soil and climate conditions.
This is only part of the zoo’s range of botanical initiatives. Another large one involves the Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife . The same umbrella program that protects rare rhinos and large cats also hosts extensive plant research. CREW Plant Research Director Valerie Pence said her team conducts genetic analyses, live-tissue culture and cryogenic preservation to help preserve — and in some cases reintroduce — rare plants in their native habitats.
One of the highlights of her work, Pence says, is working with out-planting programs that are reintroducing rare plants in the wild.
“It’s fun for me when I can get out and actually see the plants out growing, knowing we produced some of the plants in the lab,” she said.
The CREW plant labs are some of only a few in the country that use their techniques to work with endangered plants. And while their work may not be as on-display as the horticulture research underway in the zoo’s planters and flower beds, it combines with this more visible work to make the zoo as much of a resource for flora as for fauna.
About the Author