Huge corpse flower’s ‘water broke’, but it still hasn’t bloomed

Botanic Garden spokesperson Julie McCaffrey said Spike, the flower, is not getting taller, but growing fatter.

Last week, Denver was filled with excitement as its corpse flower “Stinky” bloomed for two days at the Denver Botanic Gardens.

Botanists cited that the plant is not yet ready for its much-anticipated opening.

The Chicago Botanic Garden’s corpse flower could bloom any day now, according to the garden. The plant was still 68 inches since the night of August 23, 2015.

Generally, such rare plants bloom for 24 to 36 hours. “Spike” is located in the garden’s semi-tropical greenhouse at the Regenstein Center. Spike is still attracting huge crowds.

Over the weekend, thousands of people came to see the flower. DNAnifo Chicago is running a live feed of the event and the Gardens will be offering late admission to the Gardens until 2 a.m. the day of the blooming. The odor is strongest in the early morning. Parking will be free after 9:00 p.m. However, it is rare to see the titan arum bloom. When it does eventually bloom, the flower will emit a stench that’s described as a combination of “limburger cheese, garlic, rotting fish, and smelly feet”.