Solarium+Report

November 30, 2011 ENSCI 185 McIntosh

The Aiken Center Solarium
A solarium is a room with glass walls and or a glass roof to let sunlight into the room. This sunlight can then be used in many ways from decreasing energy usage, or to growing plants. The solarium in the new renovated Aiken Building will be using the sun for both decreasing energy usage and growing plants. The solarium at UVM is unique because it is an “outside inside” room. This means that the temperature and humidity outside will generally be the same as the inside of the room. This will be accomplished by the windows in the solarium that will open when the room gets too hot, and close when the room gets too cold. This “outside inside” room also means that the solarium will have very little heat, dehumidification, and extra light added to the room. This might not seem like a big deal to people, but plants tends to be very specific about what conditions they will and will not tolerate. These conditions also change throughout the solarium depending on the location of the plant beds. The room will contain a small heater on the north wall that will keep the room above 50 degrees.

The layout of the solarium is a large obtuse triangle with three major beds. The first bed seen when walking inside the Aiken center is the northeast corner bed. This bed will contain eye catching plants being the first bed seen when entering the solarium. This area will not get the most light in the room but will be the warmest. This is due to the heater being located behind the bed. There will be a raised bed directly across from the northeast bed. This bed will be raised so it will be away from the cold floor. It will also be way from the cold wall and near the windows which provides a great growing environment. The largest bed is along the south side. This bed will be split into two different beds. The one on the eastern wide will be an aquatic bed. This will divided into three separate pools which will hold many different types of aquatic plants. The western bed will be dry and contain many different types of flowers and low-lying plants. The south side is the wall of windows, which will be letting in all the natural light. It is this area that will get the most light and contain most of the plants. This will also be the coldest of the beds since it is right up against the wall facing outside. The third bed is in the northwest corner. This area is the darkest of the room. This is due to the location and the wall in the corner blocking sunlight. This bed will not be especially warm being far from the heater and close to the wall of the outside. This bed may call for extra light to increase sustainability of the plants and enable the ability of a potential green wall. This area also needs to be attention grabbing because it is the second place the eyes are drawn to when entering the solarium.

In designing the solarium it was very crucial to have aesthetically pleasing flora throughout the space. There were several factors to take into consideration when planning what plants went where and what types of plants went into the solarium. One of the leading factors in deciding what went where and what were chosen were visuals. When you first walk in you would see the northeast bed so that would be the area with the most bang in it. The most eye catching plants would go in that area. The brainstorming process was used to determine what plants were going to be put into the solarium. Everyone generated a list of some plants that they would like to see in the solarium. There were certain factors that prevented some types of plants to be included in the solarium. Some of the factors were that the temperature in the winter was to be set at 55°F with one heater so the general temp in the winter time would be cold, and during the summer time it would get to be over 100°F. The plants needed to be able to survive in cold and hot temperatures. Another factor was room space. Height was an issue for some proposed tree ideas. Some of the plants that were not chosen were the water lilies, strawberries, plumeria, croton, palms, and impatiens. The leading cause of these plants not being chosen is because of high maintenance and temperature restrictions. The impatiens were not selected because they do not do well in temperatures lower than 65°F and they are high maintenance and easily catch diseases and attract pests. The palms were no selected because they do not do well in cold temperatures. The crotons were not selected because they aren’t tolerant to temperatures over 80°F and below 65°F. The strawberries were not chosen because they have a short flowering period and need a lot of maintenance to rid pests and disease.

The aquatic and the south bed are located in front of the window that takes up almost the entire south wall. Therefore, both these beds will be receiving the most light in the solarium. The aquatic bed will be made up of three kidney shaped plastic ponds measuring 53 in. x 30 in. x 17 in. The water in the aquatic bed will give it a slightly warmer microclimate compared to other locations in the solarium. The aquatic bed will be made up of both aquatic plants growing in the ponds and potted terrestrial plants surrounding the ponds. The giant taro (Alocasia macrorrhizos), the blue taro Colocasia esculenta) and the green taro are all aquatic plant that will be in the ponds. All of these are tropical plants that are in the same family and will do well in the warm environment. The various taro plants all have large cordate, or heart-shaped, leaves that range from 20 to 90 cm in length ("Aroids of yunnan," 2000). These large plants will greatly contribute to making the aquatic bed look full with vegetation. Alligator flag (Thalia geniculata) is another aquatic plant that will be included in the ponds. Alligator flag grows six to eight feet tall which will add a fair amount of height in vegetation to the aquatic bed. The alligator flag has bright red stems with large green leafs and purple flowers when it is in bloom, these characteristics will add a great variety of color to the area (Duke, 2011). The umbrella plant (Cyperus alternifolius) has clusters of oval shaped leafs that form a circle. This interesting structure will add variety in appearance of the vegetation compared to the other large leafed plants that will be in the aquatic bed. Although, the most important reason for including the umbrella plant in the aquatic ecosystem of the solarium is that it grows a very intensive root system with a lot of surface area that will play a large role in purifying the water in the ponds ("Umbrella plant," 2011). The last plant that will be found in the ponds is water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes). The water lettuce is a low lying plant with thick, soft leaves that form a rosette; it has a flower type appearance that is very pretty. It also has an intensive root system that will contribute to water purification but will also thrive in the shallow waters of the plastic ponds ("Water lettuce," 2011). In the aquatic bed there will be one banana tree which will be potted as a terrestrial plant outside of the ponds. The banana tree will be more extensively discussed in a later section. Giant peace lilies (Spathiphyllum sensation) will be the other terrestrial plant that will surround the ponds. They grow a white flower and are a common indoor plant that will fare well in the solarium. The last factor that will be included in the aquatic bed is the addition of fish to the ponds. Gold fish will live in the ponds because they are hardy and inexpensive.

As mentioned earlier, the south bed is also against the large window in the solarium and will receive a lot of light. Flamingo flowers (Anthurium andraeanum) will be included in the south bed. They bloom a pink flower and stand 15 to 30 cm tall. The flamingo plant has a spadix and spathe flower structure. The spathe of flower has a leathery type texture. The spadix has a spike type shape and grows out of the spathe. The benefits of having the flamingo plant in the solarium is that it will keep its flower and color during the winter, it is low maintenance and can withstand a wide range of temperatures ("Flamingo flower," 2008). The foxtail fern (Asparagus meyeri) is an evergreen shrub with needlelike stems which will contrast the bold glossy leaves of the flamingo flower nicely. The foxtail fern will also fare well in the solarium environment because it thrives in a wide range of light and temperature conditions. The variegated spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum) is a long grass like leaves with will cascade over the rocks in the south bed. The vegetation of the spider plant is green and white which adds a nice variation in color. Overall the spider plant is a good choice for the solarium because it is low maintenance and easy to care for (Cox, 2007). The ZZ plant ( Zamioculcas zamiifolia) grows 45 to 60 cm tall which will add some height to the south bed. It is a deciduous plant. It grows shiny, dark green leaves that grow opposite each other; generally six to eight pairs grow on each stem. The ZZ plant is an excellent choice because it is virtually indestructible; it can survive drought, high and low temperature and light conditions (Antosh, 2011). Lastly, in the in the back of the south bed there will be a row of bamboo (Dracaena surcolosa) stalks. They will add a great deal of height and variety in appearance of plant material.

The Northeast and northwest beds of the Aiken Solarium will house a number of different plant species which were carefully chosen to match the habitat they will be growing in. Due to inconsistent lighting and varying temperature ranges in the solarium throughout the year, the plant species need to be tolerant to a wide range of light levels and heat. The Northwest bed is darker and will be warmer than both the northeast bed and the southern beds. Two species of plants, the flamingo flower and foxtail fern, will be grown in the Northwest bed and can flourish in the wide range of light and temperature. The characteristics of the flamingo flower and the foxtail fern were discussed earlier. Buddhist pine (Podocarpus macrophylla) will also be growing in the Northwest bed, which is a low-maintenance species which is very tolerant to drought and humidity fluctuation.

In the Northeast bed, plant species will need to be able to survive in varying temperatures and light as well. The Northeast bed will receive a lot of light through the large windows and the largest plant in the solarium, the banana plant (Musa acuminate), will resided in the corner of the bed. The banana plant will provide shade for the foxtail ferns and New Zealand flax (Phormium tenax) which both are able to flourish in shady areas. The flax is a large leafy plant which will add to the volume of the plants in the Northeast bed. The foxtail ferns will be placed around the banana and flax in order to fill in empty space in the plot, and the bushy look of the ferns will add volume to the plant material in both beds.

In setting up the solarium, we needed an abundance of plant material in order to make the room look full and lively. Since it would be much too costly to purchase individual plants for every inch of our beds, a major component in achieving this fullness of life was the propagation of plants. Propagation is the process of creating new plants from plants you already have. First, we cut the stems of the plants below their nodes, the part of the stem in which a leaf or branch grows. Some plants could be cut multiple times all down their stems, while some plants could only be cut with their terminal bud, located at the tip of the stems. We then placed the cuttings into either pots of vermiculite mixes, or pots of water. Vermiculite was used because it was a soil-less mixture that would allow new roots to grow, as would water. After leaving the cuttings in the pots for a period of time, new roots became visible that would eventually lead the plant to be large enough to plant by itself. In using the vermiculite mix, indole acidic acid, a growth hormone was used. By dipping the cut ends of the stem in the growth hormone before sticking it in the vermiculite, we increased our chances of successful propagation and a speedier launch of roots. Propagation is an easy, effective, and inexpensive way to gather as much plant material as possible, without purchasing several individual plants.

In the solarium, we propagated variegated spider plant, purple heart, basket grass, and licorice plant. Basket grass was potted in water, while the rest were potted in the vermiculite. Purple heart and basket grass could be cut multiple times throughout the stem, while the licorice plant and spider plant could only have cuttings from their terminal ends. Not all of the plants that were propagated ended up being chosen to include in the initial layout of the solarium, but they may become part of the space at a later time when they have grown to a considerable size.

The solarium is a beautiful space that the University of Vermont will continue to grow into as time passes. It will become an ever changing environment of plants as the seasons change. Many great ideas for the future have been taken note of on the website and will not be forgotten. The expenses of doing everything right now would be steep and rushed for the opening, so it is something that will happen over the years.

A few of the possibilities that were discussed in the solarium was about doing something dramatic in the west bed. The west bed is the farthest dark corner of the room. The ideas were to have a green wall, sculpture, or a fountain that is lit up so that when a person enters the solarium their eyes go all the way to the back. Even though these features will be costly they will add a new texture to the room and create a center piece. The fountain would be nice because then there will also be the soothing sound of water. A green wall is another great idea because it is a wall of vegetation. It is a series of compartments going up the wall that hold different plants. This would add height to the plant material in the solarium.

Another possibility for the future in the solarium is different types of fish in the ponds in the south aquatic bed. Goldfish are the priority because they come in many different colors and are relatively inexpensive, but other types of fish would be nice later on down the road.

The last possibility discussed for the solarium in the years is an addition if aquatic plants. Some of the aquatic plants that were talked about are Water Zinnia, Lotus, Tropical Lilies, and Egyptian Papyrus. All of the aquatic plants on the list on the website are versatile plants. They do well in both warm and cold temperatures. The plants also do well in shallow water environments and are found in the lakes and streams of New England.

The solarium is a green space that will always continue to grow and change. The green wall, fountain, sculpture, diverse species of fish and aquatic plants are only some of the changes that we can expect to enjoy in the solarium.