On this edition of Horticulture Day on Talk of Iowa, host Charity Nebbe and Michael Dosmann, Keeper of the Arnold Arboretum, discuss how plant collections are cultivated and evolve. They converse on starting and maintaining museums of trees, such as the Brenton Arboretum in Dallas Center, Iowa that has been developing for just about 20 years.
Dosmann says the need for plant exploration and collection has never been greater, since he says one out of five plants globally are threatened with extinction.
"Some of these plants are blinking out in front of our eyes," Dosmann says. "And so a lot of botanical gardens around the world are mustering resources to go and botanize and explore some areas of the world and collect seeds and bring them back into cultivation just in case they blink out of existence in nature."
Later on, horticulture experts answer questions from callers regarding their plants and gardens.
Guests include:
- Michael Dosmann: Keeper of the Living Collections at Arnold Arboretum in Boston
- Richard Jauron: Iowa State University Extension Horticulture Specialist
- Jeff Iles: Chair and Professor of Horticulture at Iowa State University
