For years, the New Ulm Chamber, the city and the mayor have collaborated to pay for and staff the downtown flower program.

The agreement it the Chamber of Commerce pays for the flower and the city coordinates the volunteer watering program. Years ago, the city hired part-time workers to water the plants, but watering responsibilities became a volunteer operation. Former Mayor Joel Albrecht took charge of recruiting and organizing volunteers for watering and this has remained the status quo ever since.

Recently a volunteer shortage has created a problem that could threaten the viability of downtown flowers.

“We use to have five volunteers to water flowers Monday through Friday,” Volunteer Keith Rolloff said, “Now we’re down to three. That leaves two out of five weeks uncovered for watering.”

Staff photo by Clay Schuldt Baskets of red flowers decorate 300 North Minnesota Street in downtown New Ulm.

Rolloff has volunteered to water flowers for 14 years. He was originally approached by Albrecht. He explained the scheduled call for a single volunteer to water all the flowers Monday through Friday. Other volunteers who are unable to work weekdays, water the flowers on the weekends.

Each new week, watering responsibilities switch to the next volunteer. With five people, this meant a single volunteer was only needed once every five weeks. With the loss of three volunteers, it has fallen to a three-week rotation.

A five-week schedule was already prepared for the summer. Switching to a three-week rotation will conflict with the remaining volunteers’ summer plans. Rolloff said at least one of the volunteers has a separate part-time job.

Watering the downtown flowers in New Ulm may not seem like a significant investment in time. But considering the number of plants involved, it is a serious commitment.

On Minnesota Street from 1st South to 4th North, every lamp post holds at least two flower baskets, but some have more. There are roughly five lamposts on each side of the street, per block. According to Chamber reports, 122 hanging flower baskets need to be watered each day.

Staff photo by Clay Schuldt There are several different vibrant flowers classing up downtown Minnesota Street in New Ulm. Volunteers are needed, however, to keep these flowers blooming.

There are also large flower pots located at each corner. The volunteers also manage the corner flower pots located on Broadway and a few flowers near German Park.

Rolloff said it takes roughly three to four hours to water all 250 flower pots and baskets in the downtown area. As watering is necessary nearly every day, this amounts to a 15-20 hour volunteer service. The city is putting out the call for anyone who can volunteer.

Rolloff said the volunteer must be dedicated enough to go out and water each day. Usually volunteers water the flowers in the morning, but they can water any time of day based on their schedule.

The person watering flowers is allowed to drive a special side-by-side ATV vehicle equipped with a water tank to perform the task. This vehicle is provided by the city.

Rolloff said the vehicle is easy to drive and he could teach any volunteer to use it in a few minutes. The water tank comes with a special spray attachment to reach the hanging baskets.

Staff photo by Clay Schuldt

Rolloff said any additional volunteer help would be appreciated.

“I don’t want to see these flowers die,” he said.

Anyone interested in volunteering to water the plants is encouraged to contact Rolloff at 276-2240.

In addition to a volunteer shortage, the flower program has seen an inflation problem. On average the Chamber paid around $7,000 for flowers each year, but this year the flowers cost $8,400. Part of this cost was to cover the replacement of basket liners, the rest is likely due to inflation.

The Chamber recently held a rummage sale of vintage items to help cover the additional cost.

Staff photo by Clay Schuldt