Prairie Seedlings: The Last Wave

Yesterday afternoon, Dr. Karen Panter, the greenhouse guru who propagated and raised the commercially unattainable plants for the Berry Prairie at the UW Greenhouse, brought the last set of seedlings for installation this year.  Already planted in the Berry Prairie were over 100 of Karen's seedlings, and with yesterday's batch, there are now an additional130 plants of various species.

Dr. Karen Panter brought 130 seedlings to be installed in the Berry Prairie yesterday.

The species we planted yesterday include Laramie Columbine (Aquilegia laramiensis) which is a smaller, paler version of the Colorado Blue Columbine, Fewseed Draba (Draba oligosperma), Cushion Buckwheat (Eriogonum ovalifolium), Birdfoot Sagebrush (Artemisia pedatifida) and others.

Kyle Bolenbaugh is the Berry Prairie's dedicated graduate student, working on his master's of science in Botany.  Read more about Kyle and his project by clicking here!

Winter Propagation Plans

Laramie residents know this well, but for those of you elsewhere, this is about the latest part of the year one can plant seedlings in Laramie with hope for survival over the winter.  Evening lows here are already dropping to low-50's and before long, the green roof will be white. Plants need warmth and time to establish a sturdy root system to make it through the long, chilly winter.

Dr. Panter has worked for the UW and Extension for 13 years and has horticultural projects focused on high tunnels, green roofs, annual plant test plots and more.

Dr. Panter is keeping one group of Mountain Ball Cactus (Pediocactus simpsonii) seedlings over the winter, saying their cozy home in the greenhouse will allow them to develop enough for installation next summer.  She also has a list of approximately eight forbs (aka wildflowers) she will be propagating over the winter for installation next summer. 

Curious how Dr. Panter does all of this?  Stay tuned for an EXCLUSIVE interview with her later this summer!

Written by Brenna Wanous, Berry Center