MINOT, N.D. – Minot’s greenhouses are planting and blooming as they wait for the weather to clear up.
The plants have to develop some here before they’re taken outside but this year could see new challenges in taking care of them once they leave the greenhouse. The plants are ordered in October so it’s difficult to plan for the weather.
“We have to look at what is our water source going to look like, how much are we going to have to water a certain area so I can do some adjustments, but as far as the plant material that is already here it’s already set,” said Shannon Paul, Horticulturist.
They said the season is shaping up and if the weather clears up they plan to get these plants outside by the end of May.
“It’s looking good, hopefully we have a good staff that comes back so we don’t have to train everyone back in,” said Cammi Campbell, horticulturist.
The department expanded last year, and staff members are making use of their third greenhouse.
“This greenhouse is new. This is our first full growing season so this is the 2,500 square feet that we added this previous year, and we are sitting in the green house where we have a lot of our tropical plant material. A lot of this will go over to the zoo,” said Paul.
They have 35,000 plants in the greenhouse this year that they’ll use to fill about five acres worth of gardens and flower beds across the city.
The department had a $30,000 botanical budget in 2020, and Paul said each plant costs between 1 cent and $1.