Get Growing Blog
Plant communities
Most Recent
November 8, 2024
Holden researchers put forest management strategies to the test. Here’s what they found
By Anna Funk, Science Communication Specialist
Private landowners play a critical role in preserving Ohio’s natural heritage where a majority of the state’s eight million acres of forest are privately owned. To manage these forests, land... more
October 23, 2024
The Invasive Threat of Siberian Elm in Ohio
By Rob Dzurec, Senior Horticulturist
The Siberian elm (Ulmus pumila), originally from northern Asia, was introduced to North America in the mid-1800s for its hardiness and rapid growth. While it was initially valued for these... more
June 7, 2024
Seeking to Understand Disease Resistance in Crabapples
By Maris Hollowell, Emily Lewis, Na Wei
Unseasonably warm spring weather threw a curveball at researchers at the Holden Arboretum, who study the flowering time, pollinators, and microbiomes of crabapple trees. The crabapple plot at the arboretum... more
May 29, 2024
Teaming Up to Find the Pinxterbloom Azalea
By Kara Grady, Conservation Horticulture Assistant, NOWCorps
While our coworkers celebrated spring at the arboretum, May 1st found Connor and I, as well as Greg Payton Kady Wilson of the Dawes Arboretum, in Shawnee State Forest in... more
May 21, 2024
Saving a Rare Rhododendron Species
By Kara Grady, Conservation Horticulture Assistant, NOWCorps
Saving the locally extinct, Bog Labrador Tea Rhododendron. What does the future hold for this bog-loving species of native rhododendron? more
January 25, 2024
Garlic Mustard and Its Newly Introduced Aphid
Garlic mustard is an herb covering forest floors across North America. However, it wasn’t always found here. Garlic mustard is an invasive species brought to the United States from Europe... more
December 21, 2023
Duckweed Hits Classrooms Across Cleveland for a Science Lesson
High schoolers across the Cleveland Municipal School District are honing their research skills, thanks to an NSF-funded program at Holden. Authors: Emily Lewis, Cherise Kent, and Na Wei What started... more
November 27, 2023
Holden Collections Team Travels South to Conserve a Rare Oak Species
By Alex Faidiga, Plant Recorder
When we think about plant conservation, things like invasive species removal, habitat restoration, and population monitoring typically come to mind. This is what’s known as in situ (“on site”) conservation–... more
November 21, 2023
Every flower hosts a diverse community of pollen grains (from the wrong species)
By Anna Funk, PhD, Science Communications Specialist
New research sheds light on the factors that shape the diverse microscopic pollen collections deposited on flowers by pollinators. more
November 15, 2023
The Hunt for Tiny Biofuel Plants: Duckweed
By Emily Hilpman, MS, Norweb Fellow
Duckweeds are the smallest flowering plants on earth. They can take in carbon from the air and convert it into biomass very quickly. In fact, when it comes to sequestering... more
November 10, 2023
Tiny Plant, Big Solutions: Duckweed’s Contentious Reputation and Scientific History
By Dylann Nakaji-Conley, Research Intern
You’ve likely come by a pond, lake, or even a drainage ditch, and noticed a layer of green on the water. It can look solid enough to almost be mistaken... more
November 2, 2023
New Study Reveals Overlooked Driver of Biodiversity Across Landscapes: Conditions During Plant Establishment
By Anna Funk, PhD, Science Communications Specialist
In a new study published in Ecology, Holden researcher Katie Stuble and colleagues use restored grassland experiments to demonstrate how planting conditions impact diversity, but only for certain community types. more
October 13, 2023
Nasturtiums, Yum!
By Sommer Tolan, Horticulturalist
Fall colors have arrived, but nasturtiums are putting on one last show before cooler weather moves in. These are a favorite annual flower among gardeners and add vibrant color to... more
August 21, 2023
Holden Researchers Explore an Underappreciated Way Warmer Temperatures Will Impact Ecosystems: Decomposition
By Anna Funk, Science Communication Specialist
In a new study, researchers at the Holden Arboretum improve our understanding of a mechanism for how climate change will impact natural ecosystems. more
June 6, 2023
Effects of Climate Warming on Forest Plants
Spring forest phenology update: community scientists help Holden researchers study the effects of climate warming on forest plants. Each year at the Holden Arboretum, volunteers team up with members of... more
January 6, 2023
From horticultural hero to cancer cure, what research has your Rhododendron done today?
By Juliana S. Medeiros, PhD, Plant Biologist
Your Rhododendrons are probably looking a little sad right now, amidst the cold wind and snows of January. They are probably drooping their leaves, maybe they have lost their beautiful... more
December 19, 2022
Great Lakes, Great Trees
The new Great Lakes Basin Forest Health Collaborative is leading the charge to save ash, beech and hemlock trees. Their base is at the Holden Arboretum. Wandering the Holden Arboretum,... more
October 6, 2022
The Much-Maligned Goldenrods
By Dawn Gerlica, Senior Horticulturist
Ahh-choo! It’s the end-of-summer hay fever season once again and people are feeling it. The poor goldenrod is often blamed, so it’s time for me to get on my soapbox... more
July 20, 2022
Hidden Gems of the Forest
By Danny Wylie, Gardener
If you don’t find me in a garden, chances are I will be off for a hike somewhere in the woods. Botany is the core of who I am, and... more
June 16, 2022
New Eastern Hemlock Conservation Work Kicks Off at Holden
By Rachel Kappler, PhD, Great Lakes Basin Forest Health Collaborative (GLB FHC) Coordinator
By Rachel Kappler, Great Lakes Basin Forest Health Collaborative (GLB FHC) Coordinator, and Dr. Anna Funk Researchers across the country are interested in learning more about forest pests that threaten... more
May 26, 2022
Electronic Herbaria Data Applications, a Prelude to Study Eastern Redcedar Encroachment in the US Great Plains and Midwest
By Hector Ortiz , Postdoctoral Researcher
Talking about herbarium data is like entering a time machine that transports me back to a small room where I spent hours searching through plant specimens that were collected 100... more
May 20, 2022
The Spring Ephemerals in Stebbins Gulch
By Sarah R. Carrino-Kyker, Postdoctoral Research Associate
For Mother’s Day this year, my 9-year-old daughter filled out a survey about me. One of the questions was “Why is your mom special?” She answered, “Because she knows almost... more
May 11, 2022
Euphorbias in flower
By Bernadette Gallagher, B.S. Wildlife Biology, ISA Certified Arborist, Gardner
Flowers are certainly not the first thing you may think of when you walk into our Madagascar Spiny Desert Biome. The first and most striking things you see are all... more
April 21, 2022
New Research Collaboration Aims to Save Eastern Hemlocks
By Rachel Kappler, PhD, Great Lakes Basin Forest Health Collaborative (GLB FHC) Coordinator
By Rachel Kappler, Great Lakes Basin Forest Health Collaborative (GLB FHC) Coordinator Holden research launched a new initiative this year to help conserve eastern hemlocks. The Great Lakes Basin Forest... more
March 9, 2022
Hey Cleveland! Grow your own Fruit and Vegetable Garden
By Sandi Cesarov, Horticulturist
Indoor Seed Starting for Beginners As I mentioned in a previous post for Holden Forests and Gardens, I spend my winter months planning out the upcoming garden season. I learned... more
People for Trees™
Make a difference in
your own backyard.
Plant and care for a tree beginning with making a pledge. We will support each pledge with easy-to-follow instructional toolkits, guidance on how to select the most appropriate tree and where to purchase it, free virtual classes and other ongoing support.
Make a pledgeWe’re proud to work with these distinguished organizations.
