Get Growing Blog
Connecting people with the wonder, beauty, and value of trees and plants.
Most Recent
July 1, 2021
The Annual Bioscience Alliance Intern Fun Days Returned in 2021
By Courtney Blashka, David Burke, Juliana Medeiros, Sarah Kyker, Jessica Miller, Connor Ryan, Katie Stuble, Rebecah Troutman, and Na Wei
This summer, the Research, Conservation, and Community Forestry departments welcomed 14 interns. The students have been spending their summer working on projects ranging from the crabapple microbiome to forest restoration,... more
June 18, 2021
The Growth of Forest Trees is Deeply Rooted in Soil
By Sarah Kyker, Postdoctoral Research Associate
It should come as no surprise that trees are very reliant on the soil they grow in. A tree’s growth and health are deeply rooted in the soil (pun intended),... more
June 14, 2021
Pretty in Pink
By Lorinda Laughlin, Arboretum Gardener
Among the countless plantings that delight and surprise visitors, one that never fails to garner attention when in bloom can be found at the northern entrance of the Myrtle S.... more
June 11, 2021
Homogenized Biota in an Era of Urban Expansion and Globalization
By Caleb Lumsden, Research Department Intern
If you were to travel between two distant regions of the world, would you expect to see any overlap between their respective floral communities? If this question was posed a... more
June 10, 2021
Springing to Life: A Photo Essay
By Alyssa Zearley, Nursery Technician
Late Spring is always a beautiful time of year at the Holden Arboretum. The same is true for our nursery production area. The rains and warmth have ushered in blooms... more
June 4, 2021
2021 Holden Summer Intern Program
The HF&G’s Research, Community Forestry and Conservation teams are excited about the arrival of the 2021 cohort of interns. This year, HF&G is leveraging resources and opportunities across departments and... more
May 21, 2021
Hot in the city – Can tree seedlings from urban areas beat the heat?
Urban development is expanding rapidly, leaving a patchwork of small, isolated forests in its wake. Urban areas tend to have more paved surfaces that retain heat leading to an urban... more
May 20, 2021
Fermenting the Garden
By Rob Dzurec, Horticulturist Last year we installed our first fermentation garden at the botanical garden in what was previously known as the Potager garden. Put simply, a fermentation garden... more
May 14, 2021
Presenting Science Virtually
By Sarah Kyker, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Associate
Information sharing is the cornerstone of science. Scientific conferences are a key venue for this information sharing – places where scientists present recent findings and hear what others are working... more
May 13, 2021
Plants in the Lakeside Terrace Garden
These beds address the unique needs of each plant species, are low maintenance and support beneficial insects. The Perennial plants in this bed grow close together leaving little space for... more
May 10, 2021
Two National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellows will Join the Holden Research Department
The NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology program has funded two postdoctoral fellows who will conduct research at Holden Arboretum. Chelsea Miller will conduct research in the Stuble lab under... 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
May 4, 2021
How to Prune Your Roses
By Dawn Gerlica, Lantern Court Horticulturist Spring has sprung and it is time – time to prune the roses! The general rule of thumb in this environment is to wait... more
May 3, 2021
Got Trunk Flare?
By Gary Weinheimer, Collections Maintenance Supervisor When planting a tree, proper planting depth to keep the trunk flare exposed and inspection of the roots to remove any stem girdling roots... more
April 21, 2021
Trees are for Bees
With this unseasonably beautiful weather we have been experiencing here in Northeast Ohio it is hard to ignore the loud knocks of spring. Daffodils seem to have popped out of... more
April 21, 2021
Discovering the “True-Blue” Flowers of Spring
Blue. Underneath that big, blue April sky the color blue nevertheless remains a rare gift when found in nature. Due to the proscriptions and particulars of its biochemical pathways biological... more
April 21, 2021
An Inside Look at Mapping HF&G Collections
This March, Margeaux Apple and I are focusing on one of my favorite tasks, cartography. I love maps. Maps are useful for orientation and for planning. We use a survey... more
April 21, 2021
How HF&G Staff Use Prescribed Burns to Manage Grounds
Probably one of the most exciting things that we do every spring here at the Arboretum is a prescribed burn. Prescribed burns are basically planned fires that are used to... more
April 21, 2021
Have you heard of the Moses Cleaveland trees?
If you know me, I have most likely posed this question to you. If we have not yet met and you are like most of the individuals I’ve conversed with,... more
April 21, 2021
A New Paradigm in Flower Arranging
In early 2020, the Royal Horticulture Society (RHS) in the UK announced it will be banning the use of floral foam at all of its events beginning in 2021, including... more
April 21, 2021
Got Gnats? Sundews to the Rescue!
This time of year, we begin propagating plants for the coming summer. And whether growing by seed or cutting, potting media needs to be kept uniformly moist to get the... more
April 20, 2021
Which Witch Hazel? – Sorting Through Hamamelidaceae Species During Winter Months
In Northeast Ohio, and other regions of the country with similar climate, winter holds trees and shrubs accountable for their actions. One family is resilient, or defiant, refusing to hold... more
April 20, 2021
Beneficial Insects in the Holden Nursery
My name is Alyssa and I started working at the Holden Arboretum as a nursery technician in January. I help with all parts of plant growing, but my specialty is... more
April 20, 2021
A Deep Dive into Bleeding Hearts
As Valentine’s Day comes and goes, one can’t help but be reminded of the Bleeding Heart plant (Lamprocapnos spectabilis). It is a beautiful plant originally from Asia with a tragic... more
March 10, 2021
How to Create a Butterfly Garden
Mid July brings a riot of color to the Arlene and Arthur S. Holden Jr. Butterfly Garden at the Holden Arboretum. There are also “flying flowers” – butterflies – which... more
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