Michael Dosmann

Thursday, March 23, 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm Eastern – Plant Exploration, Then and Now, Live and Online

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The Arnold Arboretum has been collecting plants from around the world for 150 years, but plant exploration today looks very different than it did in the 1800s. From changes in collecting practices to an evolving relationship between the Arboretum and its international partners, a lot has changed in the last century. Join Head of the Library and Archives Lisa Pearson and Keeper of the Living Collections Michael Dosmann on March 23 at 6:30 pm in the Weld Hill Research Building, 1300 Center Street in Boston, to learn what these trips were like in the days of yore, and what they are like now.  To register for the in person program, click here.

Parking is available on-site at the Weld Hill Research Building. Find directions here. 

This event will also be livestreamed to YouTube. To sign up for the virtual livestream instead, click here.

Friday, August 12, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm – Oaks and Hickories Tour

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Join Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University Keeper of the Living Collections Michael Dosmann on August 12 at 1 pm on a stroll through the Arboretum’s nut collections, particularly the oaks and the hickories. Learn about some historical collections, recent acquisitions from expeditions, and other fun facets of their natural history.

This tour is limited to 25 participants. We ask that you only register if you are sure you will attend, and only register one person per form submission.

Please meet at the Centre Street Gate. Street parking is available outside most entrance gates, along the Arborway, Bussey Street, and the Arboretum perimeter. There is no visitor parking inside the Arboretum. The Arboretum is easily reached by public transportation. Take the 38 bus to the Centre Street and Westchester Road stop or take the Orange Line to Forest Hills and walk north along the Arborway to reach the Arboretum.

In the event of inclement weather, registrants will be notified. For more information, please call (617) 384-5209. Free. Sign up HERE.

Massachusetts Horticultural Society’s 119th Honorary Medals Announced

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The Board of Trustees of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society (MHS) has announced its 2020-21 Honorary Medals recipients.

They were celebrated for “their contributions to excellence in horticulture for the public good” at the Honorary Medals Dinner at The Gardens at Elm Bank on November 4.

Robert A. Bartlett Jr., Chairman and CEO of Bartlett Tree Experts, will be receiving the George Robert White Medal of Honor. The George Robert White Medal of Honor was established in 1909 and is among the most distinguished horticultural awards in the United States. The first honoree was Charles Sprague Sargent, Director of the Arnold Arboretum. Other recipients include Gertrude Jekyll, Jens Jensen, The Royal Horticultural Society, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Tasha Tudor. Joining these distinguished honorees, Bartlett represents the third generation of the F.A. Bartlett Tree Expert Company, the world’s leading scientific tree and shrub care company. Since its founding in 1907, the company has protected the health, beauty, and value of trees—one of Earth’s most important natural resources.

Steve Castorani and Mark Sellew, co-owners of American Beauties Native Plants, will be jointly awarded the Thomas Roland Medal for their leadership in developing, selecting, propagating, and marketing numerous superior cultivars and establishing nationally recognized brands. The Thomas Roland Medal is awarded for exceptional skill in horticulture and lectures.

Thomas G. Ranney, JC Raulston Distinguished Professor at North Carolina State University, in recognition of his research programs, will receive the Jackson Dawson Memorial Medal which recognizes exceptional skill in the science or practice of hybridization or propagation of ornamental plants.

Gold Medals for eminent horticultural accomplishments or for outstanding service to MHS will be awarded to William (Ned) Friedman, Director of Arnold Arboretum; Katherine K. Macdonald, former President and Executive Director, MHS; and John Cronin, Penni Jenkins, and Heidi Kost-Gross, Volunteers, MHS.

Michael Dosmann, Arnold Arboretum, Keeper of the Living Collections, will receive a Silver Medal for his noteworthy service in horticulture. MHS Volunteers Sarah Cummer, Kathi Gariepy, and Rosalind Hunnewell will also receive silver medals.

Thursday, February 28, 7:00 pm – 8:15 pm – Do Your Garden Plants Have a Backstory?

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Michael Dosmann, PhD, Keeper of the Living Collections, Arnold Arboretum, will speak at the Arboretum on February 28 beginning at 7 pm on a subject worthy of prime time television: Do Your Garden Plants Have a Backstory? Museums assign value to their collections by understanding each piece’s backstory – for instance, where did it come from (and please note, we don’t recommend stealing plants – see below), who created/collected it, what does it represent, what feeling does it elicit from a visitor? The plants in our own gardens can and should do the same, but too often have become generic and mundane because we have forgotten their backstories. Perhaps even worse, we may be losing our own personal connections to what we grow. Michael Dosmann will provide his own perspective on how to re-engage with our garden plants in ways that make it personal.

Fee Free for Arboretum member, $10 nonmember.  Register at my.arboretum.harvard.edu or call 617-384-5277.

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Friday, November 2, 6:45 pm – Is Plant Exploration Dead in a Plant-blind Era?

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Dr. Michael Dosmann, Keeper of Living Collections, Arnold Arboretum, will address the New England Botanical Club on Friday, November 2 at 6:45 pm on the topic of Is Plant Exploration Dead in a Plant-blind Era? Meetings at Harvard University are held in Haller Lecture Hall (Room 102), Geological Museum, 24 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA 02138 (door to right of Harvard Museum of Natural History entrance). Open to the public. More information can be found at http://www.rhodora.org/meetings/upcomingmeetings.html

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Monday, April 2, 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm – Taking Stock Tree Walk

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A bit of magic happens when The Arnold Arboretum invites three tree professionals to wander a landscape together. In this case, we have matched professor with former student and three individuals with differing experiences and expertise in woody plants. Nina Bassuk (pictured), a leader in urban tree research, was one of Michael Dosmann’s professors while he earned his doctorate at Cornell. Michael is responsible for curating the 15,000 specimens of the Arnold Arboretum. Andrew Gapinski, who has worked at several arboreta prior to his tenure at the Arnold Arboretum, is charged with the horticultural care of the Arboretum’s 281 acres. On this arboreal walk, they will speak as moved by the sights and sounds of the Arboretum’s living collection. We can’t define the topics they may cover on this walk, but we do know that you will gain a richer appreciation for trees and absorb some nuggets of botanical wisdom to share with others. The event takes place April 2 from 2:30 – 4, and participants will meet in the Hunnewell Building. Fee $10 Arboretum member, $20 nonmember

Register at http://my.arboretum.harvard.edu or call 617-384-5277.

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Friday, December 4, 6:45 pm – Red Needles in Green Haystacks: On the Trail of the Wild Paperbark Maple

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Dr. Michael S. Dosmann, Curator of Living Collections, Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, will address the New England Botanical Club on Friday, December 4 beginning at 6:45 in Haller Hall on the Harvard University campus.  His lecture, open to the public, will be on Red Needles in Green Haystacks: On the Trail of the Wild Paperbark Maple. Since its initial introduction from China to the West by Ernest Henry Wilson in 1901, the paperbark maple (Acer griseum) has become rather common in cultivation, particularly in gardens, arboreta, and other managed ornamental landscapes. And yet, this species’ status is anything but common in the wild in central and western China. As part of a collaborative conservation initiative, the Arnold Arboretum is surveying wild populations, and comparing these with lineages introduced from the wild to get a global perspective of genetic diversity in this species. Photo courtesy of Cornell University. For further info see: http://www.rhodora.org/meetings/upcomingmeetings.html.

Michael Dosmann Honored by the American Public Gardens Association

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In recognition of his outstanding leadership and advocacy for botanical collections and the public gardens community, Dr. Michael Dosmann has been awarded the Professional Citation Award by the American Public Gardens Association (APGA). The Curator of Living Collections at the Arnold Arboretum, Dosmann received the honor in late June at a ceremony during the APGA’s 39th Annual Conference in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota.

The Professional Citation Award recognizes individual achievements, skills, innovation, and potential in botany, horticulture, conservation, research, education, or administration. Indeed, as Curator of Living Collections—a post he accepted in 2007 after serving as Putnam Fellow at the Arboretum and receiving his doctorate in horticulture and ecology from Cornell University—Dosmann has made significant strides in each of these aspects of the Arnold Arboretum’s mission, and has collaborated extensively with colleagues around the world to enhance the breadth, value, and use of institutional collections for research, education, and conservation.

As Curator, Dosmann has overseen the continuous development of the Arboretum’s collection of temperate woody plants and their associated documentation. A hallmark of this work has been his efforts to explore new strategies and tactics to improve collections management, including advancing novel field-checking and inventory protocols, improving the management of conservation-status plants, and enhancing access to historical and contemporary documentation. He has also played an important role in expanding and improving collections at the Arboretum and across North American botanical institutions, both through collecting expeditions and by assessing past exploration efforts to devise best practices for germplasm collection. The Garden Club of the Back Bay congratulates Dr. Dosmann on his achievement.

Sunday, September 29, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Shrubs Across the Seasons: September

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Walk the Arnold Arboretum landscape with Michael Dosmann, Curator of Living Collections, to learn about shrubs, both common and lesser-known species. Michael will focus on those that display outstanding characteristics in early autumn. You’ll learn cultural requirements and see full-size specimens so you can determine which shrubs might suit your needs. Fee $20 Arboretum member, $27 nonmember. Register at https://my.arboretum.harvard.edu/SelectDate.aspx.

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Wednesday, July 10, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm – Shrubs Across the Seasons: July

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Walk the Arnold Arboretum landscape with Michael Dosmann, Curator of Living Collections, to learn about shrubs, both common and lesser-known species. On Wednesday, July 10, beginning at 6:30 pm in the Hunnewell Building of the Arnold Arboretum, Michael will focus on those that display outstanding characteristics in summer. You’ll learn cultural requirements and see full-size specimens so you can determine which shrubs might suit your needs. There will be an additional session in September. See www.my.arboretum.harvard.edu for full information, and registration. Fee $20 Arboretum member, $27 nonmember. Below is a buttonbush, which blooms in June and July.

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