A growing interest

Powell student working hard to earn his green thumbs

Posted 3/24/22

On a recent trip to Cody, Powell High School senior Jace Bohlman was perusing the plant section when he noticed the store had a huge problem with identifications. The store, which he didn’t …

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A growing interest

Powell student working hard to earn his green thumbs

Posted

On a recent trip to Cody, Powell High School senior Jace Bohlman was perusing the plant section when he noticed the store had a huge problem with identifications. The store, which he didn’t name, had a monstera deliciosa labeled as a philodendron. It was an obvious mistake to Bohlman, due to its size and lack of fenestrations, or natural holes, in the leaves.

If that misidentification wasn’t bad enough, the store also had a monstera adansonii, “which is more of a vining type of monstera and fenestrated differently,” mislabeled as a monstera deliciosa. Bohlman had to speak up.

After pointing out the errors to the store manager, he was immediately offered a job. However, he recalled, “My mom made me turn it down, because I had already taken a job like the week before at the [Buffalo Bill] Center of the West.”

Bohlman isn’t your average high school student. His knowledge of botany, as well as his command of Latin, has been a growing obsession for the last few years and he’s turned his room and other areas of the house into sort of a terrarium. Even his sister’s room now sports some of his plants in need of special care while she’s away at college, though maybe you shouldn’t mention it to her.

The exceptional student received his initial experience with plants in the family garden. His parents, Dr. Michael and Kristi, have relied on the garden for fresh vegetables since moving to Powell about 18 years ago.

“I’ve never studied plants,” Kristi said. “I just water them and make sure they get some sun.”

Jace loved working in the garden, but like most young gardeners, weeds weren’t his favorites.

“He probably only weeded a few times,” Kristi joked.

“I work a lot during the summer. So it’s hard to be out there,” Jace claimed.

He does have chores. Bohlman is in charge of composting for the family and has helped to make the home full of greenery. His bedroom is his masterpiece, sporting 32 plants of several varieties. While the country was on lock down during the pandemic, Bohlman started experimenting with propagating plants as well as rescuing plants in crisis.

“I could have like an online shop for plants because I propagate so frequently,” he said.

Visitors, especially in the summer, have a hard time adjusting to the high humidity in his room. Vapors from a small humidifier constantly fill the space, making it stand out from the rest of the house. “I keep the door shut to keep the humidity in.”

One of his current favorite plants was originally a gift. “That one was actually my sister’s, but then it started to die. So she gave it back,” he said.

Another of his plants is too big for his bedroom. With giant leaves, this monstera variety earns its name taking up large sections of both the living and dining rooms. It’s constantly trying to put down more roots and a couple of its enormous leaves seem to be in the way of the television screen.

“This is the one that started it all,” Kristi said.

The family also has plants that are older than Bohlman — gifts from grandparents more than 20 years ago. They too are large and take up more room than most refrigerators. The gifts helped inspire his love for large indoor plants. 

Bohlman graduates in May and was one of three students at Powell High School to be awarded the University of Wyoming’s Trustee Scholar’s Award, a scholarship that can pay for four full years of college. Despite his affinity for house plants, Bohlman will probably pass on a botany degree and instead is considering studying to work in the healthcare industry. He currently shadows professionals at the Powell Valley Hospital while exploring his future options.

He also enjoys studying genealogy in his free time. Somehow, it makes sense Bohlman would want to study his family tree and how it has grown.

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