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DESERT HOUSE
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House History:
This room has, perhaps, gone through the most
functional changes of all the original rooms in the Conservatory. When
the building opened in 1908, this space was called the Economic House
and featured many product-worthy plants. Then, in 1917, the Economic
House moved to what is now the Children’s Garden and this room became
the Bay House. During the winter months, it was used to store outdoor
plants brought in from gardens and field houses around the city. In the
summer, when the Bay House was empty, plants from the adjacent Economic
House would spill over into this space. In 1928, the Bay House, with its
cool, dry climate, found staying power when it became the Succulent
House (also known as the Desert House, now its current formal name). On
September 20, 1940, the Desert House garnered special attention when the
Conservatory stayed open until midnight so that the public could
experience a visit that included a profusion of night-blooming cacti.
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The Special Plants:
The name of the Century Plant is misleading, as many Agaves life spans range from eight to fifty years old. (The larger a species, the longer the life.) Whatever its name or life expectancy, the life of this plant is interesting in that it’s tall flower stalk (anywhere between 25- 50 feet) only blooms once, right before the plant dies. Our oldest Century plant at the Conservatory is around thirty years old. Its swan song bloom could happen anytime now. It could also take another twenty years, so keep checking back- you might just catch this Century Plan in its once-in-a-lifetime bloom!
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The
Special Plants:
There is truly nothing else like the Welwitschia in the plant world. It is the only member of its plant family, it goes through an extremely long life (up to 2000 years) with the same two “true” leaves it started off with, and it gets most of the moisture it needs to survive from the coastal fogs of southwestern Africa (the only place where it grows naturally). Our Welwitschia, grown from South African seeds at the University of Chicago, is a relatively young 16-year-old female plant. Keep in mind that, with the proper care, it could outlive not only you, but your great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, grandchildren! |
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