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Selected Research Projects

While many of our breeding projects and trialing programs focus on enhancing the quality of Longwood’s displays, other projects tend to serve the broader horticultural audience.

This point is illustrated in our effort to identify newer, more effective propagation techniques.  The following examples highlight some of our key research projects.

Visit our Staff Publications page to read published articles on plant research completed at Longwood Gardens.

Building Better Growing Media

Our researchers are actively working to identify soil blends that will yield the greatest benefit for both the plant and the environment.

Longwood Hybrid Cineraria

The seed from plants first raised in tissue culture produces the wonderful blue cineraria that are always an eye-catcher in our late winter and early spring displays.

Clivia Program

Since 1976, Longwood’s clivia breeding program has released four named cultivars and continues to explore the range of color and form in this Conservatory beauty.

Canna Program

This longstanding research program has resulted in the naming and release of terrestrial and aquatic cultivars, while conserving virus-free stock through a process called meristem isolation.

Chrysanthemum Program

This program preserves rare chrysanthemums through virus testing and elimination, and produces plants from tissue culture when needed to augment the large sweeps of color in our Conservatory each fall.