Get Growing Blog
Connecting people with the wonder, beauty, and value of trees and plants.
Most Recent
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
Holden Forests & Gardens Awarded $200,000 Grant from The Cleveland Foundation for People for Trees
(CLEVELAND) March 30, 2021 – Holden Forests & Gardens (HF&G) has received a generous $200,000 grant from the Cleveland Foundation to support People for Trees™, a public awareness initiative that encourages... more
April 21, 2021
Holden Forests & Gardens Launches People for Trees
Aim is to have 15,000 trees planted and cared for by 2025 throughout Northeast Ohio One of the most significant things we can do to combat the effects of a... 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
March 9, 2021
Landscaping for Biodiversity in Ohio
Biodiversity encompasses the variety of life and connectedness among species. Incorporating native plants into the landscape provides natural beauty and enhances beneficial interactions by creating habitat, food, nest sites, pollen... more
March 9, 2021
Patterns of Avian Diversity in Florida’s Mesic Flatwoods
The Apalachicola National Forest, the largest U.S. National Forest within the state of Florida, is a hotspot of biodiversity, hosting numerous plant community types including prairies, lakes, wetlands, forests, and even... more
March 9, 2021
From Fynbos to Savanna (and Everything In Between)
Plant conservation in South Africa This talk will provide an introduction to a mega-diverse corner of the world, South Africa, and describe the South African plant conservation strategy Version 2,... more
March 9, 2021
The Deadly Messengers
How plants harness highly reactive products of stress. We need to grow a lot more food, but we are running out of space to grow it in. Environmental stresses such... more
March 9, 2021
Floodplain Forest, Farmland, Public Park
The Human and Non-human Lives of Washington Square Park Washington Square Park is a 9.75-acre public park in New York City but this is only one iteration of the life... more
March 9, 2021
How to Calculate the Benefits of a Tree
i-Tree is a software suite, from the U.S. Forest Service, that consists of tools that calculate the value of trees in urban areas and your home. For more information and... more
March 8, 2021
Forecasting the Future of the Forest
Climate change has already increased temperatures and produced more extreme weather events in Northeast Ohio. Over the next several decades these trends will likely become more pronounced, altering forests as... more
March 3, 2021
Monarch and Milkweed
Flowers – especially native plants – are wonderful sources of nectar for monarch butterflies but milkweed leaves are the only food that monarch caterpillars eat. This is an important relationship... more
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