Get Growing Blog
Connecting people with the wonder, beauty, and value of trees and plants.
Most Recent
January 30, 2024
Meet the Birds of the Costa Rica Biome
By Traci S. Williams, Animal & Plant Care Specialist
With the butterflies mostly gone, winter belongs to the birds! The lush and green Costa Rica biome at Cleveland Botanical Garden provides ample opportunity to play “hide-n-seek” with three birds... more
January 29, 2024
Girdling and Invasive Species Management: A Recipe for Healthier Forests
By Chad Knisley, Natural Areas Manager
We have over 2,000 acres of forest at Holden Arboretum. Our conservation department cares for these forests, with goals of improving their health and function. Several years ago, we initiated... more
January 25, 2024
Garlic Mustard and Its Newly Introduced Aphid
By Kaylin Engerman, Norweb Fellow
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
January 23, 2024
Can inoculated soils promote healthy urban trees? Preliminary results
By Claudia Bashian-Victoroff, MS, Research Specialist
Preliminary results from a Holden research project testing soil inoculations for improvement of urban tree plantings. more
January 16, 2024
A Beginner’s Guide to Pruning
By Maggie Billings, Native Plant and Pollinator Specialist, AmeriCorps Member
Pruning is a must know when it comes to tree and garden care, but why? Pruning often rejuvenates plants and allows them to grow more efficiently. Taking off old growth... more
January 9, 2024
Protecting Eastern Hemlocks from Tiny Tree-Killing Invaders
By Albert Jackson, Conservation Seasonal
The Holden Conservation Department is on the hunt for tiny tree-killing pests. During the early and mid-20th centuries, two non-native tree dwelling insects were unintentionally introduced to the eastern United... more
January 5, 2024
Blooms of Winter Elegance in Our Costa Rica Biome
By Sadie Smith, Horticulturalist
The long dark days of fall and winter mean fewer flowers in the Costa Rica biome, but these dreary days are when Brunfelsia looks its best. A member of the... more
December 29, 2023
2023: An incredible year of service to plants, trees and people
By Ed Moydell, President & CEO
By Ed Moydell, President & CEO As we reflect on another year, I am delighted to share some of the success we’ve achieved together at Holden Forests & Gardens in... 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
December 18, 2023
Why and How We Collect and Store Tree Seeds at the Holden Arboretum
By Rachel Kappler, Great Lakes Basin Forest Health Collaborative (GLB FHC) Coordinator
Holden Arboretum is home base for the Great Lakes Basin Forest Health Collaborative (GLB FHC). As Holden’s Forest Health Coordinator, I collect a lot of tree seeds. Collected seed for... 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
December 5, 2023
World Soil Day: Holden’s Soil Ecologists Improving the Odds for Trees in Urban Environments
Efforts are underway to plant trees in Cuyahoga County’s urban areas by the thousands. In these cities, canopy cover is well below the county average, which brings well-documented ill effects... more
December 1, 2023
Soils Under Snow Still Carry On
By Sarah Kyker, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Associate
Winter is a time when we think of dormancy. Chipmunks have begun hibernating. The deciduous trees have lost their leaves. Herbaceous plants are resting belowground as bulbs, rhizomes, etc. But,... 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 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 27, 2023
The Story of Ohio Family Forests
By John Brett, Forestry Outreach Fellow
Pull on a sweater and grab something warm to drink, it’s time to reflect and be grateful as the world dozes off for the winter. Many of us are lucky... 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 Lewis, MS, Research Specialist
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 14, 2023
Our Community Forester Jessica Miller Mecaskey, a Crain’s Cleveland Business 40 under 40 Award Winner
We are so fortunate to have a talented and devoted team of nature lovers at Holden Forests & Gardens accomplishing extraordinary things on behalf of the plants and trees in... 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 8, 2023
Caterpillars at the Nursery
By M Onion, Nursery Plant Propagator Grower
The nursery at the Holden Arboretum takes care of a great number of species. One polyhouse alone currently contains between 300 and 400 species and cultivars. Among all these plants,... 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
November 2, 2023
The Colors of Rhododendron’s Fall Foliage
By Sharon Halkovics, Research Specialist
Plant lovers are aware of the vibrant, showy flowers Rhododendron exhibit in spring. But did you know that some rhododendrons can display subtle yet colorful foliage that is worth taking... 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 31, 2023
Protecting Your Broadleaf Evergreens from Frost Damage
By Nicholas Chilson, Garden Technician
The Eliot and Linda Paine Rhododendron Discovery Garden at the Holden Arboretum has many evergreen Rhododendrons and Azaleas. These plants, although winter hardy, are still susceptible to frost damage, and... more
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