From continuing sustainability efforts, to developing seed for an upcoming display, to continually improving and refining our plant collection, much of our Research and Conservation team’s work is done behind-the-scenes … but their expertise and dedication are always on full display.
Our Research and Conservation team plays a leading role in the beauty and breadth of our annual Chrysanthemum Festival, on view this year from October 22 through November 15. During Chrysanthemum Festival, we highlight thousands of rare chrysanthemums that need to be produced each year from stock plants housed here at Longwood … including the 43 varieties identified as crucial to Longwood’s displays that make up our Chrysanthemum Core Collection, and an additional 183 cultivars that are preserved and protected in our tissue culture lab. The team preserves these rare chrysanthemums by testing stock plants for virus, eliminating virus from infected plants, keeping clean stock protected from viruses in test tubes, and producing plants from tissue culture when there aren’t sufficient stock plants in the greenhouse for the number of cuttings desired.
