We grow over 30 types of Eucalyptus to feed our koalas. These are two-week-old Eucalyptus camaldulensis seedlings.

We are propagating 13 of the most preferred Eucalyptus species, including Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Eucalyptus puntata, Eucalyptus rudis, and Eucalyptus robusta. A majority of theses species are not commonly available for purchase from nurseries, so that’s why we start the seeds in a greenhouse nursery. The seeds are sown in “conetainers,” which are long cylindrical containers that slide into trays. These specific containers allow the trees to establish good root development without the circling that occurs in some shallower pots. Each tray holds 200 containers that can be moved around and grouped together as the seeds germinate.

Eucalyptus seeds are very small; 1,000 seeds weigh about 1 ounce!

The San Diego Zoo has the largest koala population (11 currently at the Zoo, plus a dozen more on loan to other zoos) and the most successful koala breeding program outside of Australia. We were the first zoo in the United States to welcome a koala joey. The San Diego Zoo is fortunate to have such an ideal climate for growing fresh Eucalyptus for the koalas, because they eat a lot of it! Koalas eat about 1 to 1.5 pounds (454 to 680 grams) of leaves each day, which doesn’t include the several species they are offered but might not eat. Eucalyptus leaves are poisonous to most animals, but koalas have special bacteria in their stomachs that break down the toxic oils. Special cheek teeth grind the tough leaves. Koalas don’t get many calories from their diet, but they conserve energy by moving slowly and by sleeping as much as 20 hours each day.

The San Diego Zoo received its first two koalas, Snugglepot and Cuddlepie, in 1925, as a gift from the children of Sydney, Australia, to the children of San Diego. Koalas have few natural predators, although sometimes a dingo or large owl can take one. The most common direct causes of koala deaths are from motor vehicles and dogs. So they are definitely safest high up in trees. In the past, koalas were killed for their coats. In fact, from 1919 to 1924, eight million koalas were killed. Today, the koala is threatened by predation by domestic dogs and by a disease that has spread through most of the population. Unfortunately, some koalas get run over by cars. But the one thing that koalas and other wildlife can’t protect themselves against is the loss of their habitat. A combination of cooperative managed-care propagation programs, research, and support for habitat conservation projects continue to ensure the survival of koalas.

Christy Powell is a plant propagator at the San Diego Zoo.

Read more about the Zoo’s gardens

As Mike says, he has “come full circle now.” He is currently working as a lead gardener with the LIMS (Landscape Installation and Maintenance Specialists). LIMS is a crew of six gardeners working all over the Zoo on special landscape projects. He really enjoys being part of this group of gardeners who work so hard and have a good time doing it. Mike says, “I love working with others who are similarly afflicted by plants. It is great to work with people who are dedicated to making the Zoo the best garden it can be.”

Mike is a self-described “plant addict.” While he finds something he likes about all plant groups, he especially likes cycads, palms, and bulbs. When visiting a nursery or looking through catalogs, he is most attracted to the plants he doesn’t recognize. Mike enjoys the fact that the Zoo is such a great place to see plants one may never see elsewhere.

Mike considers himself to be a very fortunate person to make a living doing something he loves to do. He has been able to work with many plants and plant collections at the Park and Zoo. Mike has especially enjoyed working with the Aloes, the California Native Plants, and the Palm and Cycad collections. He also says that, best of all, had he not worked at the Park, he would have never met his wife, Joyce, whom he married in July of 1979. Their daughter, Caitie, now works at the Wild Animal Park!

I asked Mike what advice he would give to someone new to the Zoo. He replied, “Take advantage of the unique situation you have found yourself in. If you are doing something you truly love to do, the rewards are more meaningful than money.”

Mychael McNeeley is a lead gardener at the San Diego Zoo.

Read a blog written by Mike: Construction Zone Plants

Meet more Zoo gardeners:
Meet Our Staff: Gardener Judy Bell
Meet Our Staff: Gardener Tom Luedtke
Meet Our Staff: Gardener Bruce Fontaine

Every great organization has folks who stand out in their passion for what they do. It’s easy to see in the results of their work. Judy Bell is that type of gardener. She has worked in the Heart of the Zoo (an area that includes Monkey Trails, Absolutely Apes, Gorilla Tropics, and the bonobos) at the San Diego Zoo since 1991. Being in that area for so long, Judy has developed a unique relationship with the primates that probably wouldn’t occur to most visitors. That connection is where the flora meets the fauna.

One of the things that keeps Judy excited about coming to work is what she does to help provide the animals in her area with an incredible living space. She is in charge of keeping up the landscape all around the Heart of the Zoo. Judy does a great deal to create and maintain the tropical rain forest experience for guests, but she says her favorite part of the job is what she does inside of exhibits. Creating dense, jungle-like settings so the apes feel at home, coming up with ideas for giving them places of respite (Judy calls them “zones of privacy”) from the crowds when they need that, and providing the animals with enrichment items is very satisfying. Judy recently planted an “enrichment garden” with leftover plants from our Spring Garden Celebration. Now she’s able to bring treats such as basil and rosemary to the keepers to help enrich the sensory experience of the primates in the area.

Along with working so near to the animals, Judy says she loves to work with the keepers in the area who are so passionate about the work they do. She enjoys seeing new keepers coming in who are really interested in doing all they can to enrich the lives of the animals with which they work.

As she walks through the Zoo, Judy is constantly reminded of the unique and special place it is. “How many places can you go and see such wonderful and unique plants, and see bonobos playing in the grass, or siamangs playing in trees in the same space as the orangutans?” Judy muses.

Judy got her degree in the fine arts, along with an associate of science in horticulture. If you get the opportunity to wander through the Heart of the Zoo, you will notice the manifestation of her artful eye in many of the gardens there. See some of her creativity at work in the carnivorous Bog Garden (pictured) in lower Monkey Trails and the area surrounding the Albert’s Restaurant patio, where some of Judy’s favorite plants, the epiphytes, grow from trees and rock wall. Besides these and many other marvelous landscapes in the human part of the Zoo, remember to look for the personal touches displayed within the homes of the non-human primates who live in the forest around Gorilla Tropics and Absolutely Apes.

Mychael McNeeley is a lead gardener at the San Diego Zoo.

When Tiger River opened in 1988, Tom joined the team in that area. After six months in Tiger River (left), he returned to the Horticulture Department, joined the “Detail Crew” (now called Landscape Installation Maintenance Staff, or LIMS) and remains on that crew today. Over the years, Tom has become a highly valued member of the Horticulture team. Besides having an incredible breadth of experience and knowledge, he is also one of the hardest workers I know. From fine pruning to operating heavy equipment, Tom’s experience is indispensable when it comes to moving plants and trees to new locations, or in placing large landscape items like boulders or boxed trees into a garden.

Working at the Zoo for all these years has been a “phenomenal experience” Tom exclaims. He enjoys the creativity aspect. He relishes turning unremarkable landscapes into showcase gardens and working with nature to create something beautiful. While being interested in many types of plants, in particular Tom is drawn to the caudiciforms (plants with swollen bases), or anything unique, rare, or bizarre.

Mychael McNeeley is a lead gardener at the San Diego Zoo.

Bruce started working at the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park before it opened in 1972. Within a couple of years, he transferred to the Zoo. Although many of our original “Hort” staff started out in other departments, Bruce was actually hired by Horticulture and has stayed for 35 years!
He says he has always enjoyed working at the Zoo, but he likes it even more these days. He says the crew has become more professional over the years and Bruce notes that the people working in Horticulture really want to be here.

Hawaiian Garden

Some of Bruce’s favorite things about the job are working with both the people and the plants. The people are “earthy” and the plants “pretty.” He loves the satisfaction of seeing the finished garden after having put so much work into it. He especially enjoys the section of the Zoo that runs from the Terrace Lagoon to koalas. This strip begins with the Oriental Garden, and then the path meanders through our New World cycads, African cycads, the first of three Hawaiian Gardens, and below that, the Australian cycads. He loves to see some of the rare plants we have growing there “going bananas.” Some of the interesting things we have been able to participate in recently include assisting a local cycad expert hand pollinate one of our more rare cycads, Encephalartos munchii. Bruce likes seeing a stark and cold building or enclosure transformed into a beautiful, natural habitat by adding the right plants.

Cycad Encephalartos pterogonus

Bruce notes several changes over the years: The Zoo has gone from using mostly synthetic fertilizers to almost entirely natural ones. We have learned a lot about working with nature and soil to create landscape designs that are healthy for people and sustainable without using chemicals. We have gone from grid maps to GIS mapping. Irrigation has shifted from manual valves to state-of-the-art centralized computer controlled clocks (in process now). We are, according to Bruce, gardening smarter. He enjoys being on what he describes as the cutting edge of horticultural practices.

Working a physical job for 35 years could take its toll on the body. Bruce has some suggestions for longevity in a gardening career. Although many people would think that as a gardener one would get exercise enough, there are other kinds of exercise needed to keep in shape. Bruce goes home most days and does some stretching and cardio training. Keeping oneself limber and strong prevents a lot of injuries at work. Bruce must be doing something right. He’s been at it for three and a half decades and still keeps up with the younger workers. We are lucky to have Bruce around!

Mychael McNeeley is a lead gardener at the San Diego Zoo.

Zoo members and visitors often just happen upon what I consider to be the best day of the month at the San Diego Zoo: Plant Day! Those of us who work in the Horticulture Department focus on the Zoo’s flora every day of the week, but we share with the public more specifically the third Friday of each month. Come join us for a terrific day of Botanical Bus Tours and Orchid Odyssey some time over the summer. You won’t be disappointed.

Plant Day at the Zoo includes the opening of our orchid greenhouse to the public. Janette Gerrity, our orchidist, along with some very knowledgeable volunteers, will tour guests through the spectacular collection of plants from Orchidaceae, the largest of the flowering plant families. The Zoo is a rescue center for orchids that are confiscated at the border, and over the years we have built up a spectacular collection. You will be astonished by the beauty and diversity of the flowers.

We also offer Botanical Bus Tours each month on Plant Day. These are, so far, free with admission! Each tour is led by one of our Horticulture staff. Those who lead the tours each have their own unique style and focus, so you could take a tour each month and get a different perspective. Of course, along with that different outlook, depending on the tour guide, we also have new plants in bloom each month, so that adds to the diversity and freshness of each tour. The Botanical Bus Tours have become extremely popular, so get there a little early to reserve your place. Tours get under way at 2 p.m. and load at the bus unloading area. Turn right after entering the front gate and follow the signs.

If you are unable to make it to the Zoo on Plant Day (our next one is June 20, 2008), consider stopping by and picking up a self-guided walking tour map. There are maps available at the entrance and also near the Orchid House. Just past the Kopje exhibit, make a left. There you will find a display board with many tour maps covering everything from Fern Canyon to Ficus and Palms.

Other Plant Day Happenings
Throughout the year, we will have events scheduled such as Tropical Fruit Tasting, Pruning Demonstrations, and Botanical Beverages. Check out our “Plant of the Month” near the dining area across from the Reptile House.

For additional Plant Day information and dates…

Mychael McNeeley is a lead gardener at the San Diego Zoo.

The first step for the Horticulture Department was to begin salvaging almost all the plants in the former Horn & Hoof Mesa area. Those 7 acres (2.8 hectares) of the Zoo contained up to 95 percent of the Zoo’s Aloe collection as well as many other succulents and several of the more important specimens of our Cycad collection. For the next several months, the LIMS crew of seven gardeners worked just ahead of the bulldozers to remove and relocate as many plants as we could. Some of the plants were transplanted to improve other parts of the Zoo; the narrow bed at the top of Cat Canyon was re-landscaped with not only plants from the construction zone but also boulders and the display case for our caudiciform plants.

Other plants had to be put in pots and stored until the project has progressed to the point where the plants can be returned to the site. So far, the transplants have gone very well with very few unsuccessful moves.

Whenever accessioned plants are ever moved (or worse, die) they must be recorded. Each plant has an embossed aluminum tag that, with any luck, is the plant’s companion for life. The tag has the plant’s name and accession number embossed on it. For every accessioned plant moved during this project, the paper work was properly updated. In the case of the plants put in storage, the paper work will have to be done again when the plants are returned to Elephant Odyssey. Some of the trees salvaged from the project can be seen in boxes along the north side of Cat Canyon road.

Mike Masterson is a lead gardener at the San Diego Zoo.

Here is more information about Elephant Odyssey…

While the mahoganies were still in #5 pots (sometimes erroneously called “5-gallon” pots), we started pruning them to develop strong structure. We hadn’t worked with this species at the Zoo but noticed right away that the young trees had a tendency to develop “co-dominant stems”; instead of a strong central leader, the trees started to grow several competing leaders. In the forest, a young mahogany would typically be growing with a lot less space around it and probably much less light. It would tend to shoot up a long central leader, reaching for sunlight, rather than using its energy to push out growth in all different directions. Many times, when we use a tree in an urban setting, we give trees a lot of space and a lot of light. While co-dominance isn’t usually an issue with a small tree, if allowed to grow that way unchecked, problems usually develop later.

Co-dominant trunks tend to be weak at the crotch and will break apart easier than trees with a strong central leader. Once the tree is mature, rather than making small corrective cuts that close over easily, we might end up removing very large branches. These large cuts leave large wounds. The open wound leaves a tree vulnerable to all kinds of disease and pest infestation. And many times, removing a large limb leaves the tree looking lopsided, or with a large hole in the canopy. So, for the health of the tree, and for our sense of aesthetics, we know that it is always better to train a young tree to develop into a strong, mature specimen.

When we plant a tree, we try to project out perhaps 25 to 100 years. Many of the trees we plant will be around longer than those of us planting them. We ask ourselves lots of questions before we plant a tree: How big will this tree get? Will it be in the way of vehicles or pedestrians? How invasive will the roots become and what structures may be affected by the roots?

Trees in our communities and parks make us feel good. They create shade, screening, healthier air. They trap particulates, sequester carbon, and make our surroundings feel more natural and pleasing. They can also create problems when we don’t pay attention to what the tree will be like when it is mature. The first five years of pruning a tree takes discipline, but it can save countless hours of corrective pruning in the future and possibly even save us from the heartache of having to remove a beautiful, mature tree.

Keep an eye on those trees in Monkey Trails and all around the Zoo. These young trees will tower above us in no time, keeping us cool in the summer and making Monkey Trails become even more “the place where every monkey would love to live.”

Mychael McNeeley is a lead gardener and certified arborist at the San Diego Zoo.

Read Mychael’s previous blog, A Perfect Way to Start the Day.

Succulent plants also have ways of storing water, but what sets them apart from caudiciforms is that succulents store water in their thick, green leaves, while caudiciforms store it in their caudex, or base, which is not green and does not produce chlorophyll. On most caudiciforms, the foliage is usually small and brittle. This is because, in times of drought, many caudiciforms will become dormant, drop their leaves, and live off stored water reserves. In these times, the plant’s main goal is to make it through the dry period, so little energy is spent on producing vegetative growth. When the rains return, the plant is happy and produces a mass of greenery and flowers freely, while also storing up water for future dry spells.

Probably the most famous of all caudiciforms is the ponytail palm Nolina recurvata, formally known as Beaucarnea recurvata. Ponytail palms come from southeastern Mexico and are grown all over the world as house plants. They look a lot like palms, but they’re not: they are in their own family. In climates like ours, they can be grown outside and get to be very large. Here at the San Diego Zoo, we are lucky enough to have at least 60 ponytail palms on grounds, and some very old specimens measure over six feet across at the caudex (base)! In our Madagascar Garden, one can find an assortment of caudiciforms being grown, as Madagascar is home to a large number of these exotic plants. Hawaii is also home to a few of them, and in our Hawaiian Native Plant Garden, a grouping of the cabbage on a stick Brighamia insignis (pictured above) can be seen growing among lava rocks.

While many caudiciform plants are grown all around the Zoo, the Horticulture Department has a display box at the north end of Horn & Hoof Mesa filled with some exotic, caudex-forming plants. Next time you visit the Zoo, stop by the camels, but also keep your eyes out for the camels of the botanical world, caudiciform plants.

Seth Menser is a gardener at the San Diego Zoo.

Read Seth’s previous blog, New Browse Hill.

Jo collected well over 300 different plant species during this time. One copy of each species is kept in the National Herbarium of Cameroon in the capital, Yaoundé, and the rest are to be sent overseas to the herbarium at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, where they are available to the rest of the botanic world for taxonomic identification purposes and to document their existence in this part of Africa.

Victor Nana, National Herbarium of Cameroon, with an amazing flowering Rubiaceae plant

CRES has had a long-standing relationship in Cameroon with specialist botanists from both Yaoundé and Kew for more than five years, and we host regular visits from international experts. In April, we hosted botanists from Yaoundé, Kew, and Wageningen, in the Netherlands. I joined their search as an enthusiastic amateur: I have been collecting plant species eaten by gorillas, chimpanzees, forest elephants, and drills for many years now but have little knowledge of other species, whose fruits may be eaten and thus dispersed by smaller animals (such as bats), or may disperse with air currents.

Barbara Mackinder takes a sample of the new legume tree species

There was one species in particular that Drs. Barbara Mackinder and Jan Wieringa wanted to find desperately: a large tree that has only been collected once, decades ago, but in the same region as the Ebo forest. It is a member of the Fabaceae (Bean Family). There is only one collection of the species known to science, and it had not even been named yet because insufficient flowers and fruits had been collected to allow for a full scientific description. Imagine our delight to find it on day one of the five-day trip within 300 meters of our research station! Not only that, but within a 10-yard radius of the tree were four other leguminous tree species, one of which is another unnamed species! This species will be named after the Ebo forest, one of what we anticipate to be many new species to be found in this forest, one of the last remaining gems of rain forest found in this biodiversity rich area of Africa.

Meanwhile, we are currently arranging for our second botanist volunteer to join our team starting in July, when she finishes her undergraduate degree. Emma Fenton has visited Ebo once before, with a team from Kew in 2005, and so knows a little of what to expect in the coming months of documenting and discovering the diversity of plant species in the Ebo forest.

Dr. Bethan Morgan is a Conservation Research Fellow for the San Diego Zoo’s CRES.
Read Bethan’s previous blog, Recording the Primates of the Ebo Forest