Ornamental Research

Ornamental plant production and maintenance is the fastest growing segment of the agricultural sector in the state of Utah. Ornamental trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants are critical to the ecology of urban areas and provide grace and beauty to commercial and home landscapes. The focus of the Utah State University ornamental research program is to identify and evaluate plant production and management systems that result in more efficient use of resources like water and nutrients. We are also interested in the ecology and physiology of these plants, and the effects of environmental stresses on their ability to survive and thrive in constructed landscapes. Our research encompasses both native and non-native adapted species with the ultimate goal of increasing landscape diversity and reducing production inputs.

Ornamental Research

• Production and Use of Intermountain Plants
  • Evaluation of Bioplastic Nursery Containers in Three Climates
  • Selection and Production of Nitrogen-Fixing Native and Non-native Plants for Sustainable Intermountain West Landscapes
  • Water Conservation in Urban Landscapes
• Landscape Water Conservation
  • The Production of Native and Adapted Plants for the Intermountain West pot- in- pot nursery production systems
• Shearing and Growth of Five Intermountain Native Species
• Using a Line Source Irrigation System to Evaluate Water Requirements of Herbaceous Perennials
• Tree Growth in Urban Environments
  • Energy balance of six common landscape surfaces
• Surface Energy Balance Affects Gas Exchange of Three Containerized Shrub Species
• Urban Tree Transpiration Over Turf and Asphalt Surfaces
• Microclimates and Tree Growth in Three Urban Spaces
• Irrigation Timing of Three Landscape Shrubs Species Based on Foliage Temperature
• Surface Energy Balance Affects Gas Exchange
• Variable Urban Irradiance and Shade Acclimation in Norway Maple Street Trees
• Photosynthesis and leaf morphology of Liquidambar styraciflua L. under variable urban radiant energy conditions
• Tree Water Use
  • Water Relations of Sweetgum in an Urban Canyon and Park
• Woody Plant Seedling Growth in TreeShelters
  • Tree Seedling Establishment with Protective Shelters and Irrigation Scheduling in Three Naturalized Landscapes in Utah
  • Establishment of Norway Maple and Green Ash in Treeshelters I: Shelters Reduce Growth, Water Use, and Hardiness, but not Drought Avoidance
  • Establishment of Norway Maple and Green Ash in Treeshelters II: Effect of Shelter Color on Gas Exchange and Hardiness
  • Shelters Affect Tree Seedling Establishment Under Grass Competition