Smell ya later (this week): Nicholas Conservatory prepares for rare corpse flower to bloom

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
Get our free newsletter

ROCKFORD — A rare corpse flower at Nicholas Conservatory & Gardens is nearly ready to put on its short but visually stunning and olfactory disgusting show.

The titan arum plant, or amorphophallus titanum if you want to be technical, is getting ready to bloom for only the third time since it was donated to the conservatory in 2011. The large, smelly flower’s last bloom was July 21, 2021.

“The plant totally sets its own schedule,” said Dan Erwin, facility manager for Nicholas Conservatory, 1354 N. Second St. “It can be 15 to 20 years before they first bloom, after that it’s more frequent. … We really have no knowledge of it until it starts sprouting and gets about a foot tall, then you can start seeing some differences.”

More news: Rockford Area Arts Council reveals plan to weave arts ‘into the very fabric of our community’

The plant is now more than 5 feet tall and showing signs it’s ready to open. Erwin said signs the flower is about to bloom are the loosening of the frilly leaf called a spathe, revealing a burgundy color inside. He said the flower may bloom by the end of the day. The bloom typically last just a day or two.

Once it blooms, it lets out a smell like rotting meat or burning sugar. Erwin compared it to “an overripe diaper pale mixed with something dead.”

The smell and warm temperature of the plant, which also generates heat, are meant to attract pollinators such as flies and beetles from long distances.

At Nicholas Conservatory, it attracts thousands of guests who want to witness the rare bloom.

The last time it bloomed thousands of people visited the conservatory to take photos and experience the smell. The smell is strongest at night and the conservatory will host special extended viewing hours once the plant blooms.

The corpse flower was donated by the Huntington Conservatory in California when Nicholas Conservatory opened in 2011. It was a baseball sized bulb at the time, and it took about seven years before the first bloom on Aug. 15, 2018.

The Rockford Park District then held a naming contest for the plant, which was dubbed Grimace for its color and the face you make when inhaling the stench.

Track the bloom

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.

Where: Nicholas Conservatory & Gardens, 1354 N. Second St., Rockford

Admission: $10; $8 seniors and veterans and ages 5-17; $5 ages 3-4; free for ages 2 and younger

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)

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