Behind the Scenes at a Tropical Plants Research Greenhouse
(Left to right) Glow in the dark petunias, packets of good bugs used to protect the plants from bad bugs, and Kenny McCabe touching the sensory plant. | Iowa State University
On top of Bessey Hall at Iowa State University is a 12,000-square-foot greenhouse that houses the last remaining larger plant teaching collections on the campus, known as the Richard W. Pohl Conservatory.
The conservatory plant collection is mostly tropical in origin, and the rest are from various parts of the world, including Iowa. The greenhouse plants are propagated from seed, cuttings, air layering, or through divisions, and some have been growing for decades.
Bessey Greenhouse at the Richard W. Pohl Conservatory
The Bessey Greenhouse, built in 1967, includes 21 rooms, 15 of which are open to the public. Each room is climate-controlled to ensure plants have the proper conditions needed to grow.
Kenny McCabe has been the Bessey Greenhouse manager for nine years. Alongside McCabe are three undergraduate CALS student workers: Elijah Gumm, a senior in biochemistry; Natalie Moran, a junior in horticulture; and Tristan Weers, a senior in biochemistry.
“Working at the greenhouse gives me a wide range of experiences, including planting and transplanting, integrated pest management, taking cuttings, and more,” says Moran. “We’re always doing new things that I wouldn’t have done in class, like feeding the carnivorous plants or transplanting plants that are 50 years old. I learn something new every day, which I use to improve my education and help me in my future career.”
As the only full-time employee at the facility, McCabe gives many guided tours to classes and groups of all ages and interests.
“I love giving tours to younger folks because it sparks some enthusiasm in them,” says McCabe. “I give a lot of tours to high school kids, and that’s great because it’s further engagement for students in the future. They come up here and think it’s amazing.”
The Bessey Greenhouse is mostly used for teaching resources, with various classes receiving plants for labs and visiting to look at plant material. Research is not a primary focus of the Bessey Greenhouse, but occasional research can be conducted by members of the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology. The greenhouse also allows the EEOB Graduate Student Organization to use space to grow native perennials for their annual sale at Reiman Gardens.
To learn more about the Bessey Greenhouse, please read the original article written by Katrina Hageman and visit the Bessey Greenhouse (and Richard E. Pohl Conservatory) website.
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