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Plant physiology
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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
November 8, 2023
Holden Researchers Uncover How a Resilient Tree Acclimates to Stressful Environments
By Anna Funk, PhD, Science Communications Specialist
The eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) is a hardy tree native to the eastern U.S. But lately it’s been encroaching on ecosystems out West — could its physiology be the... more
December 8, 2022
The Sweet Side of Winter: Carbohydrate Dynamics during Cold Acclimation
By Samuel Harbol, Norweb Fellow Deciduous plants such as maple trees lose their leaves in winter, and this helps them to survive cold temperatures, but what about our evergreen friends,... more
October 18, 2022
Winterizing the Rose Beds
By Stefanie Verish, B.A. Studio Art, Botany, Zoology, Horticulturist
It has been quite the productive season in the Swetland Rose Garden at the Cleveland Botanical Gardens! Out went the old roses, and in went the new. Perennials and bulbs... more
April 25, 2022
It’s the Tree’s Knees
By Lorinda Laughlin, Gardener
If you’ve recently visited the Arboretum, you may have noticed what appears, at first glance, to be a flash-mob of squirrels convening around Blueberry Pond. Thanks to some winter rejuvenation... more
April 7, 2022
Behind-the-Scenes Spring Phenology Monitoring
By Emma Dawson-Glass, Research Specialist Spring is underway here in Northeast Ohio, meaning it’s time for the Stuble lab and our team of wonderful volunteers to get out in Bole... more
February 10, 2022
Thinking About Annual Plants in the Winter
By Hilary Wright, Horticulturist
Right now, as I write this at nearly the end of January, there is over a foot of snow on the ground. To keep my spirits lifted, the early months... more
August 23, 2021
What is in a Plant Physiologist’s Toolkit?: Measuring Photosynthesis
If you are a plant lover, chances are you often find yourself thinking about photosynthesis in some way. You may move a house plant to a bright window so that... more
August 13, 2021
Climate Change and Earlier Springs – How Are Plants Responding Around the World?
By Katie Stuble, PhD, Scientist
Climate change is shifting the timing of many seasonal events in our natural world. When do the roses bloom in your garden? When will you see your first hummingbird? When... more
May 7, 2021
Conifer trait study using multiple arboreta as common gardens
Randy Long, PhD, Postdoctoral Scholar We are excited to announce a new project using the conifer collection at the Holden Arboretum led by postdoctoral researcher Dr. Randy Long. He is... more
March 3, 2021
Intro to Phenology
Phenology is the study of connections between plant and animal life cycles through the seasons. Learn more by viewing the presentation. more
January 22, 2021
The Life Beneath the Snow
By Sarah Kyker, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Associate
The month of January, with its freezing temperatures and leaf-less trees, is a time when it’s easy to think of nature as dormant. While this might be true for deciduous... more
January 20, 2021
Why Leaves Change Color
This is an age old question that many teachers are asked, and it can be a starting point of a number of important lessons. The beautiful leaves of fall are... more
January 20, 2021
Water Movement in Trees
Water movement in deciduous trees increases before the leaves and flowers emerge in the early spring. This is the perfect time of year to observe and learn about the processes... more
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