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Rare Beauty: New Meriania Species to be Classified as Critically Endangered

With vivid pink, purple, and magenta blooms, new species of Meriania discovered by Missouri Botanical Garden scientists and collaborators in Peru are certainly eye-catching. But since many of them are critically endangered, they’re unlikely to catch many eyes in the wild. In fact, four of them are known from just a single population. Describing these…

2022 Plants of Merit

Every year since 1998, the Missouri Botanical Garden has partnered with other regional horticultural institutions to select Plants of Merit. Plants of Merit are chosen for outstanding quality and dependable performance in Missouri, southern and central Illinois, and the Kansas City metro area. To qualify as a Plant of Merit, the plants must be easy to…

Return of the Whitaker Music Festival

A milestone summer kicks off with the long-awaited return of one of the Missouri Botanical Garden’s most beloved summer traditions.

How Missouri Botanical Garden Research Changed Conservation Tactics for Mead’s Milkweed

As native gardens become increasingly popular, milkweed has become a darling of the plant world. With showy blooms known as food for charismatic monarch butterflies, it’s easy to see the appeal of this Midwest wildflower. Still, like many plants around the world, several species of milkweed face the threat of extinction. Mead’s milkweed, a Missouri…

Spotlight on Science: Jordan Teisher

Jordan TeisherDirector, Herbarium Jordan Teisher still vividly remembers visiting the Missouri Botanical Garden when he was exploring graduate school opportunities in plant research. He started his visit in the Lehmann Building, which holds part of the Garden’s herbarium, and then took a walk around Garden grounds. He was in awe. “You have this combination of…

Time for Tulips

Bursting into beautiful, vibrant blooms each April, tulips have become synonymous with spring. Tulips, or tulipa, are part of the lily family, Liliaceae. Although commonly associated with the Netherlands, their native range is actually in Central Asia and Southern Europe. Tulipa includes more than 100 different species, thousands of varieties, and flowers in many vivid…

Controlling Common Insect Pests in Your Garden

Spring means new life and new beginnings, not only for plants but also for the insects that have evolved to eat them. Dealing with insect pests is best done when populations are small and before infestations get out of hand. As we here at the William T. Kemper Home Gardening Center look ahead to a busy growing season, we…

Herbs of the Mediterranean

The St. Louis Herb Society Herb Sale returns to the Missouri Botanical Garden with a focus on Mediterranean herbs.

Chemical-Free Weed Control

Spring is upon us, and the signs of the changing seasons are all around: tulip leaves poking out of the soil, blooming magnolias, and weeds appearing in garden beds. This early in the season, these weeds seem innocuous enough, but soon they will be blooming and forming seed. Here are our tips for controlling unwanted…

Grafting the Grape: Behind the Artwork

Grafting The Grape: American Grapevine Rootstock in Missouri and the World is currently installed in the Stephen and Peter Sachs Museum, which is open for visitors Tuesday-Sunday, 11:30am-4:30pm. The exhibition content is available online through the Garden YouTube channel and the Museum Twitter account and Instagram account. Please check the Museum site for updates and…

Starting Seeds Inside in Winter

As cold temperatures and snow and ice persist, late winter has many gardeners missing their time planting outdoors. But this period is the perfect time to start planting certain vegetable seeds indoors. The William T. Kemper Center for Home Gardening shares the following advice on seeding indoors in late winter. Seeds to start Cool season…

Critically Endangered Agave pelona Blooms in Garden Greenhouses

It was late January when Jared Chauncey, Senior Horticulturist and arid plant expert at the Missouri Botanical Garden, noticed that something extraordinary was about to happen: an Agave pelona was sending up a flowering stalk. It was about to bloom. These plants live for decades before sending up the only bloom of their lifetime—they are…