… studies, and population modeling, my research currently explores three key questions: Why is there so much variation in how species adjust their biological timing to a changing climate? …
Type: Staff bio
… standardized, long-term regional monitoring data to detect population trends. The program is a collaboration of trained citizen scientists, land managers, and researchers using science to …
Type: Staff bio
… the spring or summer. As the days begin to get shorter and the nights get cooler, plant growth is slowing down or ceasing. By planting a fuller container, you will see immediate results that … Remember, a pot of mums looks fresh for three to four weeks at most, and then the show is over. Showy foliage from grasses or kale and cabbage will carry the display much longer. The …
Type: Blog
… happiness when Lady Edith named the baby Marigold. Speaking of England, behind today’s trend is an even earlier, Victorian-era trend rooted in the language of flowers. This is a topic near and dear to the Garden’s heart, as an amazing gift of 400 books related to the …
Type: Blog
… Barbara Raue is the Plant Production department's nursery supervisor. Many of the Garden's more unique and …
Type: Staff bio
… Canal Nature Preserve. Pitcher’s thistle ( Cirsium pitcheri) , federally listed as threatened, is both a critical nectar source for migrating monarchs and supports a rich diversity of insect …
Type: Research
… studies have been conducted on dormancy in these species, but germination of viable seeds is often below 50 percent. Most species in Viola produce both open-pollinated (chasmogamous) and …
Type: Research
… an anonymous foundation keep the program thriving. Importantly, the data we collect and share is long-term and consistent for a significant number of monitored species. We send data to the State’s Natural Heritage Database, which is used to assess the status of threatened and endangered plant species by the Illinois … to collect without this program.” Perhaps the best outcome of the Plants of Concern program is that it has “inspired many volunteers to engage in stewardship roles like controlling …
Type: Blog
… many gardeners and scientists alike have long assumed their flower type to be one that is strikingly red, tubular, and scentless. Flowers that are often thought of as typical choices … clear-cut categories (known as pollination syndromes), these human constructs may mask what is really going on in nature. Many “typical” hummingbird flowers belong to species that produce … have acute color vision and show no innate preference for the color red—in other words, there is no reason for them to exclusively focus on red or orange flowers. And their long and slender …
Type: Blog
… wide flowers of an intense orange-red on a plant no larger than 3 inches tall. S. coccinea is a challenge to grow at all, let alone grow well, but its hybrids are much easier to cultivate, … under lights in the basement, and in nearly every south-facing window in the house! My family is to be commended for their suffering—and patience—after finding sinks and bathtubs filled with plants freshly watered, or obstructed views out windows crowded with plants. Such is life with an orchid addict. …
Type: Blog
