Mecklenburg-West Pomerania: Energy crisis and botanical gardens: concern for plants

Tropical plants are particularly demanding when it comes to the right temperature.

Mecklenburg-West Pomerania: Energy crisis and botanical gardens: concern for plants

Tropical plants are particularly demanding when it comes to the right temperature. Because of the energy crisis in the north-east, they sometimes have to make do with less heat.

Greifswald/Rostock (dpa/mv) - Because of the energy crisis, the head of the botanical garden in Greifswald is worried about his plants. "These are difficult times," said Martin Schnittler of the German Press Agency. For greenhouses savings opportunities are small. "They have to be transparent. We can't insulate them," explained the botanist. "Therefore, there is only one thing we can do: we can bring the temperature down to the lower limit of what is tolerated by tropical plants."

This limit is five and for some very sensitive plants ten degrees. In the long term, these temperatures also caused damage to the plants. Under no circumstances should they be undercut. "Not even for a few days." It has not yet been lowered to this minimum. Temperatures varied in the houses. In order to save costs, the temperatures have been reduced by three degrees on average. "You can see it in the plants if you look closely. But they should survive that."

The approximately 1,500 square meters of greenhouse space would be heated with district heating. The price for this has "risen dramatically".

Apart from normal winter operations, the temperatures in the Rostock Botanical Garden have not yet been further reduced, said the director there, Stefan Porembski. Any measures are a matter for the administration of the university, to which the botanical garden belongs. "I think the priority there will be so high that we will also be at the top."

According to Schnittler, less sensitive plants overwinter in Greifswald in a so-called cold house. "It's kept at five to eight degrees." In order to save space, it is now so full that the gardeners have difficulty getting through. A smaller greenhouse has been shut down and another will probably follow. "We restrict ourselves where it is possible."

Some of the plants have been in the greenhouses for almost 100 years and are "living exhibits" beyond their scientific value. Schnittler named a grass tree from Australia, which already shows a photo from the beginning of the 20th century. "Of course, these are all plants that we would not like to lose, that we cannot replace in any way, just like that."

In the event of an emergency, a small emergency heating unit was received from the university administration. For a greenhouse, however, that could only bridge one night at most. "We can only hope it goes well this winter." Apart from the question of whether there is actually a temporary lack of heat, there is still a cost problem. The University of Greifswald expects additional costs of several million due to the increased energy prices. Despite the help announced by politicians, he still has no concrete information about it, said Schnittler.