In the Greenhouse
Talking about plants, with HCC biology major Avery Maltz
Editor's Note: This story also appears in the Fall 2020 issue of HCC's Alumni Connection magazine in a special section focused on life during the pandemic.
The mud daubers - that's a species of wasp - slip into the greenhouse through seams between the glass panes and build nests high inside. But that doesn't trouble Avery Maltz:
"I don't mind them at all," says Maltz. "They help pollinate, and they're predatory, so they will eat other bugs."
The insects that do concern Maltz, though, are plant parasites. Left untreated, infestations from vermin like mealybugs and scale can kill in weeks.
"We have 350 individual plants in here," says Maltz. "About 150 species, some of which are very delicate and sensitive, and some of which are critically endangered or vulnerable, so it's really important to take care of them. It's a really important resource for the college."
The HCC greenhouse is located on the third floor of the Marieb Building, right next to the botany lab. The 32-year-old biology major from Northampton has a part-time campus job as greenhouse assistant, though that title does not accurately reflect Maltz's role as the primary caretaker.
Maltz was one of just a handful of college workers designated as "essential" at the beginning of the pandemic and is perhaps the only HCC student who has been permitted regular access to campus buildings throughout.
In the spring, Maltz spent about 18 hours a week in the greenhouse, watering, weeding, cleaning, fertilizing, pruning, and repotting.
"There's a lot to do in here," Maltz said one April day. "Without the pruning and weeding and the pest control, it would just get really overgrown, and at the same time, a lot of it would be dead, and there would be lots of bugs everywhere slowly killing the plants that were still alive. It would be a very, very sad place. I think about it a lot. It's a big worry of mine."
Maltz, though, is determined to make sure it stays happy, and it shows. For anyone who might be interested about what life is like inside the greenhouse, Maltz provides frequent updates on Instagram (@hcc.greenhouse), including photographs and videos.
If you saw Maltz's Facebook posts over the summer, you'd have learned that the greenhouse's pineapple tree, Ananas comosus, produced a fruit ("It smells absolutely incredible!!!" Maltz wrote July 17. "It's got to be almost ripe. I can't wait to taste it!") and that the cycad, which looks like a squat palm tree, grew a new set of fronds in a single week, that the Glory Bower was making a strong recovery and may flower again in the fall, and that an ailing lime tree had grown its first new branch:
"It'll take years for this tree to recover, but I'm just so glad that we didn't lose it."
During the spring semester, Maltz broadcast live reports from the greenhouse, narrating tours and leading lessons on different aspects of greenhouse management, including sessions on plant propagation and endangered species.
"I get really excited about the greenhouse," Maltz said. "I get really excited about plants and teaching people about plants and talking about plants. I knew a lot of people were just stuck at home and had to be in really stressful situations, so I figured it might be a fun thing to just share with people, and I have the time to do it."
STORY and PHOTOS by CHRIS YURKO
