Long lineups at Bloedel Conservatory as smelly corpse flower blooms

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VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – There have been long line-ups at the Bloedel Conservatory in Vancouver today to get a glimpse — and a whiff — of “Uncle Fester,” the corpse flower.

Bruce McDonald is superintendent of the Conservatory and says the flower is as full as it’s going to get, giving off a smell described as a dead rat. But it won’t last long–the flower will go dormant.

“And probably within–it’s hard to tell, these things are so erradtic–it could be four or five months for the [plant] to go dormant,” he explains.

 

“We’ll repot it and it will most likely grow a leaf in the next growth cycle,” says McDonald.

He adds the flower will be “sort of looking a little worse for wear” after 48-hour bloom.

McDonald adds it only flowers about three times over its 40-year lifespan. He says the smell will be strong for about 24 hours and will start to subside at around 36.

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