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October 22, 2025
Newfound Garlic Mustard Aphid May Help, but Won’t Solve, Our Garlic Mustard Problem
By Anna Funk, PhD, Science Communications Specialist
In 2021, Rebecah Troutman — at the time Holden Arboretum’s natural areas biologist — was making her rounds and came across an insect she hadn’t seen before. It appeared to... more
September 4, 2025
Moths on the Move
By M Onion, Plant Propogator
My job at Holden Forests & Gardens as the propagator is to produce and take care of baby plants. That often involves going out into the gardens and natural areas... more
July 17, 2025
It’s Poppin’: July 17
It’s summer! Did you enjoy the long holiday weekend? If you took time off from visiting our campuses, now is the time to come back, as our summer wildflowers are... more
July 3, 2025
It’s Poppin’: July 3
By Alexandra Faidiga, Assistant Curator
Happy 4th of July! There’s plenty to see out in the gardens this weekend, with milkweeds, black-eyed Susans, and a host of other mid-summer favorites in bloom. Cleveland Botanical Garden... more
Evolutionary ecology See all
The changes in species based on their environment
August 11, 2023
Fulbright Scholar Dr. Shweta Basnett to speak on Rhododendron pollinators
By Juliana S. Medeiros, PhD, Plant Biologist
Visiting Fulbright Scholar Dr. Shweta Basnett will hold lecture to highlight global diversity of Rhododendron pollinators and sensitivity to climate change. Dr. Shweta Basnett, Fulbright Scholar, University of Maryland, will... more
July 28, 2023
Analyzing Wildflower Phenology Across Botanical Gardens
By Chelsea Miller, PhD, Ecologist
In addition to being beautiful public greenspaces, botanical gardens and arboreta house valuable biological information. These living museums present a unique opportunity for scientists in the form of ready-made experimental... more
July 26, 2023
Holden Researcher Will Study How Microbes Alter How Plants Respond to Climate Change with Prestigious Award from the NSF
By Anna Funk, Science Communications Specialist
There’s an entire universe of microscopic life, living in us, on us, and all around us, too small for the naked eye to see. The more researchers learn about these... more
Living collections See all
Exploring our plants and trees
July 17, 2025
It’s Poppin’: July 17
It’s summer! Did you enjoy the long holiday weekend? If you took time off from visiting our campuses, now is the time to come back, as our summer wildflowers are... more
July 3, 2025
It’s Poppin’: July 3
By Alexandra Faidiga, Assistant Curator
Happy 4th of July! There’s plenty to see out in the gardens this weekend, with milkweeds, black-eyed Susans, and a host of other mid-summer favorites in bloom. Cleveland Botanical Garden... more
June 20, 2025
It’s Poppin’: June 20
Hot and sticky weather arrived this week! This week I teamed with Angelica Vasilatos, Ferry Foundation curation intern at the Botanical Garden, to detail what’s poppin’ in Kirtland and Cleveland. ... more
Plant communities See all
Groups of plants that share a common environment
March 5, 2025
How Nonnative Plants Respond to Climate Change: Holden Arboretum Researchers Report
By Anna Funk, PhD, Science Communications Specialist
Scientists agree: Global warming is real, and it’s happening today. Here in northeast Ohio, we can most clearly see the signs during spells of too-warm-too-early weather in the spring or... more
January 16, 2025
Seedling Scramble: How Warming Changes Plant Communities
By Anna Funk, PhD, Science Communications Specialist
Kirtland, OH — Our world is warming, and how exactly that will affect our ecosystems is a critical question. As the climate shifts, plants and animals are already responding in... more
January 8, 2025
Holden’s Wildflower Garden Is a Living Laboratory for Climate Change Research—Here’s What Our Researchers Have Learned
Public gardens like the Holden Arboretum and the Cleveland Botanical Garden are great places to visit. But patrons exploring the latest Frost event might miss that behind the scenes, these... more
Plant physiology See all
The internal functions of plants
May 24, 2024
Meet the Future of Rhododendron Research
By Juliana S. Medeiros, PhD, Plant Biologist
Members of the Medeiros Lab in the Holden research department organized an Early Career Researcher Mini-Conference and research poster session at the American Rhododendron Society Annual Convention which took place... more
December 6, 2023
Snow and Dormancy: A Delicate Balance Threatened By Climate Change
By Beck Swab, PhD, Director of Conservation and Community Forestry
As winter blankets the world in a pristine layer of snow, a silent transformation takes place in the natural world. Snow cover and dormancy are interconnected elements in the delicate... more
November 29, 2023
Rhododendron minus: A colorful mystery wrapped in a riddle
By Juliana S. Medeiros, PhD, Plant Biologist
Rhododendron minus is a woody evergreen shrub native to the southeastern United States, with a range that extends from North Carolina and Tennessee south into Georgia and Alabama. Across this... more
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