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Welcome to
the Louisville Zoo's
online Horticulture Area
A message from
Horticulture Manager William Nay
If you think the Zoo’s horticulture
department hibernates in the fall and winter like most of their
foliage, think again. This time of year is actually one of the
busiest times of the year for the Zoo’s horticulture department.
Fall is when all annual flower beds are
stripped of old flower stems and put to bed (prepared) for
winter. Hanging baskets that were draped with flowers all
summer long will be emptied and stored for next season and large
tropical container plants scattered throughout the Zoo will be
placed in the greenhouse until next season. Canna flowers,
located around the Buffalo Sculpture and the HerpAquarium, will
be cut back to ground level to resprout again next year. And
last, but not least, falling leaves will be gathered up along
pathways and mulched up by lawnmowers in open lawn areas.
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GOING
GREEN
The Horticulture department is going green. This past summer
staff has started using two new products that are much
greener than some of the older ones. We now use a
chainsaw bar oil lubricant that is called BioPlus Oil
manufactured by STIHL. It has a vegetable oil base and
decomposes almost entirely within 21 days making it less
harmful to plants, animals, and us. STIHL also has a
product called Stihl HP Ultra 2-Cycle Engine Oil. It too
decomposes within 21 days and offers great lubrication since
it is a synthetic oil.
The Horticulture and Maintenance departments have teamed up
to recycle metal products over the past year. All efforts so
far have resulted in almost 18,000 pounds or 9 tons of
various types of metal being recycled.
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As fall turns into winter, leaf pick up
will continue as well as trimming back ornamental grasses,
eradicating invasive plants and dressing up beds with a fresh
coat of mulch readying for spring.
The horticulture department is also on
standby incase inclement weather arises. Last year, more than
3,000 yards of brush were hauled away along with lots of trees
due to the ice storm.
Even though fall and winter is filled with
a lot of foliage cleanup and cutback, the Zoo still has a number
of winter plants for you to appreciate. So come out, stretch
your legs and visit. The Zoo is open year round, only closing
three days a year (Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day).
 about
William Nay
Will is a graduate Oldham
County High School and received his bachelor’s degree in
horticulture from Eastern Kentucky University.
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