Greetings From SeaWorld’s Garden of Discovery

November 2003

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What’s Happening in SeaWorld’s Gardens This Month?

Perhaps no group of plants contributes as much to defining the SeaWorld landscape as our tree collection. Trees bring structure, continuity and exquisite beauty to the park plantings. They form the foundation of the SeaWorld landscape presentation.

SeaWorld has a large and diverse tree collection. Well over 2,000 trees of size (exceeding 15 feet tall) grace the park and surrounding parking lot areas. How can the collection be described? First, from the early days certain tree species were planted based on design and durability attributes. Consequently rusty leaf fig (Ficus rubiginosa), Mexican fan palm (Washingtonia robusta) and paperbark (Melaleuca quinquenervia) are dominant specimens. For plant enthusiasts these may seem mundane, but they serve a purpose as dependable “backbone” trees for the landscape. In assessing the collection it also would be fair to say that many species are native to the Mediterranean climate areas of the world. A characteristic that applies to the SeaWorld plant collection in general.

Pines as a group are common throughout the park. Many species are represented including Torrey (torreyana), Italian stone (pinea), Canary Island (canariensis) and Russian (eldarica). SeaWorld has an outstanding palm collection as well. Besides the Mexican fans, kings, queens, kentia and Mediterranean fan palms are in common use.

Given the age and ongoing development at SeaWorld the park doesn’t have many very large trees, but there are some exceptions. In general, the larger trees are found on the west side of the park. This, of course, is because this area dates back to the original SeaWorld developed in 1964. The magnificent Torrey pine trees around Shipwreck Rapids have been growing at this location since SeaWorld opened. Torrey pine is the rarest native pine in North America. Of all the trees in the park one stands out as a botanical giant. The Moreton Bay fig (Ficus macrophylla) is a massive and majestic tree growing in the lawn area west of the Skytower. A large buttressed trunk, huge scaffold branches and incredible canopy spread combine to make this species one of the giants of the plant world. For overall height the Mexican fan palms on the west side of SeaWorld should be mentioned. Like the Torrey pines most of these date back to the original SeaWorld and now exceed 70 feet.

A final member of the tree collection deserves recognition because it’s rare and has such an exotic appearance. We probably get more questions about the dinner plate fig (Ficus dammaropsis) at Mission Bay Theater (Haunted Lighthouse) than any other plant in the park. You cannot miss the massive corrugated leaves of this New Guinea native. Parts of this Ficus are used for food and as cooking utensils.

Many elements work together to make the SeaWorld landscape successful. Trees, perhaps more than any other factor, define our gardens and ultimately the park environment.

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Outreach Update

Mark from St. John of the Cross School works on his science project
about composting at the Garden Of Discovery.

 

Wildlife Watch

Recent entries from our Wildlife Spotters log include:

Sparrows enjoy a bath at the Garden of Discovery pond.

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Weather Report

While much of the country prepares for freezing conditions and snow SeaWorld San Diego counts November as one of our finest months. Daytime high temperatures near 70° with nighttime lows in the mid 50’s. Average rainfall for the month is just under 1”. Our November possible percentage of sunshine a stunning 75%.

Live weather from SeaWorld

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