The short, stinky and beautiful bloom of a rare corpse flower has begun in Rockford
By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — The short-lived, stinky bloom of a rare corpse flower is the plant’s way of attracting pollinators such as carrion beetles and flies from great distances.
At Nicholas Conservatory & Gardens, 1354 N. Second St., it also attracts people.
Dozens of people began filtering through the Rockford Park District-operated conservatory on Sunday after the 21-year-old, nearly 6-foot tall titan arum plant began to bloom for the first time in three years. The conservatory kept a live online feed on the plant so spectators could see the moments it started to bloom.
“It has its own unique look,” said Joey Stoyas, who hustled out to see the flower with Sarah Greer. “I’ve never seen something else that looks like this, or smells like it, frankly.”
Stoyas said his father, Mark, made the trip from Gurnee for plant’s first bloom on Aug. 15, 2018.
“My whole family and I were relaxing and he just drove up and showed up on the live feed,” Stoyas said.
Mark Stoyas died in February 2019, so coming to see the flower is “kind of a tradition that my family and I still carry on,” his son said.
The plant began its bloom around 3 p.m. Sunday, and it will last only about 48 hours. The smell, which some compare to rotting garbage or dirty diapers, starts off faint. Eventually, it will fill the whole conservatory. Lyndi Toohill, operations manager for Nicholas Conservatory, said it could be smelled from the recreation path outside during the last bloom on July 21, 2021.
“It’s kind of fun with it being its third bloom — he’s got his followers now,” Toohill said.
The flower quickly sprouts before its rare bloom, growing from 1-foot and 10 inches on July 11 to just shy of 5-foot, 10-inches today. The plant is nicknamed Grimace because of its purplish color and the face you make when you smell it. Most amorphophallus titanum plants have a yellow or greenish color inside, making Grimace’s bloom an even more rare site.
“Most of the year it’s not very interesting, and then when it does it’s thing it’s this magnificently huge flower,” Toohill said. “Even if you don’t get here when it’s smelly, it’s just an amazingly huge flower.”
The plant, which is native to Sumatra, can heat up to 100 degrees Fahrenheit while blooming, which also helps attract pollinators.
Sarah Greer, who is an art teacher in Marengo, said pictures of the plant become a learning tool for her students.
“I love sharing stories like this with my students because I think plants are just so beautiful,” she said.
But there’s another reason she said she makes a point to visit Grimace in person.
“You can’t smell it through a screen.”
If you go see Grimace
Where: Nicholas Conservatory & Gardens, 1354 N. Second St., Rockford
Special hours: Open until 10 p.m. Sunday, July 28; open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday, July 29
Admission: $10; $8 seniors and veterans and ages 5-17; $5 ages 3-4; free for ages 2 and younger
Regular hours: 10 a.m .to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (*Hours will be extended to 7 p.m. during the corpse flower bloom)
Online: Nicholas Conservatory & Gardens has a live feed on the corpse flower and will make announcements on social media as it begins to bloom. You can follow on Facebook HERE.
Fast facts | Grimace
- First bloom: Aug. 15, 2018
- Second bloom: July 21, 2021
- Third bloom: July 28, 2024
- Height of first bloom: 80.375 inches
- Height of second bloom: 68.75 inches
- Height of third bloom: 71.5 inches on Sunday
- Age: 21
- Duration of bloom: Two to three days
Learn more: HERE
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas
