Week 9: Animal Kingdom

Friday was my last day at the resorts. This week I begin my last rotation which is Animal Kingdom.

Monday morning Vanvisa and I trimmed Muhlenbergia dumosa which is the grass pictured to the left and some bamboo near the front entrance at Animal Kingdom with Rob. Then, we removed and replaced some bromeliads in the beds just inside the entrance to the park. After that, we walked around the oasis a little to get to know the area better. While walking through Oasis Rob pointed out some of the plants that were on our plant ID test as well as pointed out the Ling Ling Tree as well as the Shave Brush Tree. After that, we helped Karen clean up some debris. We also had a short gardener meeting to go over the safety tip of the week.

Tuesday morning I went with Karen and did some planting in the entrance area of discovery island to fill some empty spots. One of the things that we planted is Sasa bamboo which is a dwarf variety of bamboo. The shrub crew was in Karen's area so we had to show them what to trim which involved cutting back some bamboo and cutting shrubs in various flowerbeds down to waist height in order to open up the view. Then, we trimmed back Tecomaria as well as the other plants in the island bed. After that, Karen showed me around her area which is discovery island. She went through some of the plants which would be on our plant ID test as well as showed me some other plants including the Monkey Puzzle Tree and Musenda which is pictured above. Next, we planted some liriope near the large gift shop in discovery island. To end the day we cut some cat's claw vine which was growing up some of the palm trees. After work on Tuesday was our plant ID test.

Wednesday morning Vanvisa and I went with Cindy and did some mad calls which are calls that come in from the managers within different departments of the park requesting that a project gets taken care of. In this case the mad calls were about some bamboo which had bent over one was near the train station in Africa and the other was for the ice cream shop in Asia which we had the area gardener take care of. After that, we planted six lady palms in the fastpass queue line for the Jungle Safari. Next, we had the opportunity to feed the otters backstage with the keeper watching us while Karen weed whipped in the exhibit. After weed whipping was completed we went down to the pond by flame tree BBQ and measured the water temperature as well as the size of Victoria water lilies as this data will be plugged into a program to determine how much fertilizer is needed. We also used the pole saw to cut off a seloum branch which was yellow and hanging down. Then, I trimmed back some Thunbergia erecta plants which were getting leggy as well as some jasmine and Tecomaria which were too tall near flame tree BBQ and pizzafari. After that I went over by the Galapagos turtle exhibit and pulled some cats claw off of the rocks as well as trimming back some Tecomaria while Karen went back near the tree of life. I couldn't go back there as they were working with the high reach and I didn't have a hard hat. To end the day I went with Vanvisa and Cindy and picked up some plants that Cindy was going to use on Thursday. Also, we got an email saying how we did on the plant ID test. I am happy to announce that I got 100%.

Seaworld

Hanging baskets Seaworld

Thursday we had a class trip to seaworld and gaylord palms instead of our regular work. It was very cool to tour seaworld and see the different topiaries as well as the similarities and differences of the plant palette. We had the opportunity to see the dolphins and do a walk through of the nursery while we were there. Two people work at the nursery, but unlike Disney which buys in plugs for the topiaries and only grows the hanging baskets seaworld gets plugs in and re-pots them in larger pots until they are ready to be planted outside. Gaylord palms is a large hotel with a huge indoor Atrium. It was interesting to hear about how the larger trees were brought in before the roof was put on and now if any need to be replaced they have to be brought through the giant front door. They also talked about integrated pest management which is how they take care of any pest problems. While at gaylord palms we got to see some unique plants that they have in their collection specifically the Coco de Mer also known as the sea coconut. To end the day some of the interns worked on their projects, but I had mine finished so those of us who were finished worked on putting name plates on mickey statues which are to be given away to people who helped out with the flower and garden festival.

Coco de Mer

Friday morning Vanvisa and I trimmed jasmine while Karen watered. We also picked up the older brown branches which had fallen off of the monkey puzzle tree.  After that we went back by the tree of life with our hard hats since this is a construction area and picked up debris piles that Karen had left behind. After that we had a short meeting to review the safety topic of the week. To end the day Vanvisa and I dumped the Toro and watered in the yard.

Plant of the week: 

Branch of Monkey puzzle tree

The plant of the week is Tecomaria capensis also known as Cape Honeysuckle. It is found in the Bignoniaceae family. Cape honeysuckle is a sprawling, sometimes vine-like shrub with evergreen, opposite, pinnately compound leaves about 6" long. There are 5-7 diamond-shaped leaflets that are toothed and about 2" long. Cape honeysuckle produces clusters of red-orange to scarlet tubular flowers in the fall and winter, each about 2" long. As a shrub it can be maintained to 10' or more in height and half as wide, but if left alone without pruning it can cover 25' or more. Cape honeysuckle grows rapidly. Specific cultivars include 'Apricot' which is smaller and more compact with orange flowers and 'Aurea' which has yellow flowers. Cape honeysuckle originates from the Cape of Good Hope region of South Africa, where there are more endemic plant species (species that occur nowhere else) than any other area in the world. It has escaped from cultivation and become established in disturbed areas in Hawaii and Central Florida. Cape honeysuckle does best in full sun but tolerates light shade. It needs good drainage and does best with regular water, but is moderately drought tolerant once established. Tecomaria is for USDA hardiness zones 9-11 and is hardy to at least 26ºF. Propagation involves softwood cuttings at any time of the year and by seeds. It will take root anywhere branches touch the ground. Common uses of cape honeysuckle include as a climbing vine or barrier hedge/screen, trained as a specimen shrub or used as a ground cover on steep slopes or rocky banks. It can also be used as a cascading plant over walls and planters or trained as a garden arch. Tecomaria is salt tolerant and accepts acidic to alkaline soils. Cape honeysuckle is known to attract hummingbirds and orioles and flowers most of the winter. Information from: http://www.floridata.com/ref/t/teco_cap.cfm