A new greenhouse on the university campus creates an ideal climate for a wide variety of plants, regardless of the weather. This has made everyday life much easier - and more energy-efficient, says master gardener Martina Klinger.
Early March. While the first plants, trees and meadows are awakening from hibernation outside, there is already plenty to do inside the new greenhouse on the Wechloy campus. Master gardener Martina Klinger is keeping a particularly close eye on her plants these days. Is the air too warm? Too cold? Does it need more moisture? Do the leaves look limp, not growing as they should? Is fungal infestation setting in?
On Küpkersweg, Klinger and her team of gardeners cultivate plants all year round, regardless of the weather, for the public part of the Botanical Garden, for research and for teaching purposes. However, the entire plant stock has recently been relocated. The old, poorly insulated greenhouse, built in 1976, has given way to a modern new building with a total area of 827 square metres. The primary goal: to become more energy efficient. The cost: 3.8 million euros, financed by the university from its own funds. It was inaugurated in summer 2025.
"Energy screen" and automated climate control
We no longer have cold feet in the work area.
Martina Klinger; master gardener
While the plants still have to get used to their new surroundings as the seasons change, Klinger and her team, consisting of another gardener and two apprentices, have now settled in well to the new premises. The long glass fronts and the floor are noticeably better insulated. A big advantage in everyday working life: "We no longer have cold feet in the work area," reports Klinger. "That's pleasant for us - and good for energy consumption at the same time." The "energy screen", a translucent fabric installed under the glass ceiling that reduces heat loss in winter and provides shade on hot days, is also indispensable.
Several underground cisterns that collect large quantities of rainwater are also practical, allowing the plants to be watered without having to resort to drinking water. There are large mobile tables made of aluminium that can be easily moved back and forth on castors. Sophisticated control technology monitors the temperature and humidity inside and outside and automatically adjusts the climatic conditions in the greenhouse. "This allows us to create an ideal climate for very different plants in the five areas of the greenhouse without much effort."
Plants from all over the world - and kale
The flora in the university greenhouse comes from all over the world. Parts of it have a tropical atmosphere. Citrus fruits and palm trees grow at temperatures of up to 28 degrees Celsius. Bambara peanut from Africa. Aechmea, a bromeliad plant with pink inflorescences from South America. A carnivorous Nepenthes pitcher plant from Asia hovers in a pot attached to the wall. "It mainly feeds on our ants here," explains Klinger. One room further on, with slightly less humidity, where it should be frost-free but not too warm, the full bloom of a Strelitzia reginae, also known as bird of paradise flower, bright orange, originally native to South Africa, unfolds. Toddler-sized agaves and succulents line the ground.
Less exotic plants also find their place in the greenhouse: salt marsh plants from the Wadden Sea, the Veronica plantain, native herbs, potted plants and perennials. Klinger and her team use a large area at around 12 degrees for growing seedlings, cuttings, wild plants, lilies and hardy plants. And then there is the "wire hall": an outdoor area where a wire net is stretched over the sowing pots. This is intended to protect against hungry pigeons and crows. Ground cover plants, fairy flowers, forest stonecrops, astilbes and ferns grow there. As with the old greenhouse, a separate field has been set aside especially for scientific experiments with rare varieties of kale.
However, Klinger always leaves a little space free. She has to remain flexible for short-term orders - when a scientist requests a particular plant for trials in the nursery. "We never know what's coming," says Klinger. Sowing, pricking out, observing, repotting - the master gardener is always ready.
