Photo: Assiniboine Park Conservancy Horticulture Supervisor, Rhonda Halliday
Here in Winnipeg, we may be having one of the coldest and snowiest winters on record, but the greenhouse at Assiniboine Park is a bright and cheery oasis bursting with colour and life as our horticulture team prepares for the arrival of spring and the opening of The Leaf in late 2022.
A lot of careful planning goes into making sure conditions are right for growing plants inside when the weather is -30 outside. “We grow a wide variety of plant material, and each one has special growing requirements that we must try to duplicate in the greenhouse,” said Rhonda Halliday, Horticulture Supervisor. “Some of the plants we house are understory plants or are only found in shaded valleys, others grow in swamps or ponds, and still others grow without soil within larger plants.”
The new support greenhouse is designed to maintain a range of conditions to suit specific purposes and plant’s needs. Light, temperature, humidity, and nutrition must all be as close as possible to the conditions of the plants’ natural habitat to maintain its health and ability to grow. All the systems in place to control the growing environment must be flexible as the requirements of the plants change with the seasons and as the plants age.
“We even have cold greenhouses for plants that need a period of dormancy, and to store bulbs and tubers that we have harvested from the gardens,” said Rhonda. Dormancy occurs when plants stop growing and conserve energy as they wait for the return of ideal growing conditions or, in our case, the arrival of spring. The lower temperature and reduced sunlight in one room of the greenhouse allows plants to go into a time of inactivity over the winter.
The plants in our greenhouse all get their start in different ways. The eucalyptus plants were grown from seed, the poinsettias are cuttings from our Christmas displays, and some plants were kept from the old conservatory and await a continuation of life in The Leaf.
Staghorn Ferns: These plants are around 30 years old and grow on other trees, without harming them, rather than soil.
Australian Wollemi Pine: Once believed to have been extinct, will also make its new home in The Leaf.
In just a few more months you can wander the outdoor gardens and see the beautiful blooming hibiscus in the Shirley Richardson Butterfly Garden at the Zoo, stop to smell the lavender in the Herb Garden, or maybe you can laugh at the commonly named piss-off plant, which has a very unappealing smell that helps keep pests out of the Kitchen Garden. 
Coleus caninus, common name: piss-off plant
The plants we grow here at the Assiniboine Park Conservancy are chosen for many reasons, but ultimately, we hope to inspire you.
“We choose native perennials that are attractive to pollinators to inspire people to preserve our prairie plants and beneficial insects,” said Rhonda. "We choose plants and planting techniques that tell the story of our agricultural heritage, so visitors are inspired to learn more about the history of our province. The plants we choose create gardens that are biodiverse and hopefully inspire others to want to recreate that biodiversity in their own gardens.”
See you in the spring!
