Contact Us
Nicoletta M. Graf, Greenhouse Supervisor
Phone: 848-932-9301
Fax: 848-932-8125
Email: graf@sebs.rutgers.edu
Mailing Address:
Floriculture Greenhouses
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
64 Nichol Ave., (Cook Campus)
New Brunswick, NJ 08903
Poinsettia Sale
Monday December 4 through Thursday December 7, 2023
11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
6 inch pots $8 per plant
Visit Us
The Floriculture Greenhouse is open Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. to visitors and students, except days when the university is closed.
The Floriculture Greenhouse complex is part of the Plant Biology Department in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey and serves as a teaching greenhouse. It consists of 15,000 square feet of protected tropical and sub-tropical environments under glass and also has outdoor gardens.The Floriculture Greenhouse provides instructors and students with a unique opportunity to observe and participate in cutting edge research as well as gain familiarity with the many unique plants housed in the teaching collection.
The Greenhouse Teaching Collection consists of hundreds of plants in 5 separate greenhouse areas totaling over 8,000 square feet, and separated into climate zones. It includes over 50 genera of orchids, over 80% of known species of staghorn ferns, many carnivorous plants, and a vast collection of tropical vines, shrubs, and perennials. We also have many ethnobotanically important plants such as citrus, black pepper, and cacao and coffee.
Located in the greenhouse is also Floriculture Classroom 115. This is one of the main campus classrooms at Rutgers for hands-on activities in plant courses.
When entering the Floriculture Greenhouse through the main lobby, you will first meet the new 200 square foot vertical Living Wall of tropical plants. It is a functioning ecosystem that combines visual beauty with air-purifying plants in a compact space. The wall was installed and is maintained by EcoWalls, LLC (Rutgers University alumni) and is visible from outside and can be visited when the greenhouse is open.
The other greenhouse is used for teaching laboratories, and hosts industry trials that give students a glimpse of how plant production works.
The first of three sections houses misting benches for asexual propagation, and seed germination, intended for classes, collections, and student farms, as well as student research in breeding, pathology and plant development, and horticultural activities in general.
A featured event at the Floriculture Greenhouse includes the yearly Poinsettia Trials where over 90 varieties of poinsettias are propagated and grown, formally evaluated for the horticultural market and the poinsettias are displayed around the first week in December in their glory to the trade and to the public. These plants, which include some of the most exotic varieties of poinsettias, are also used throughout the university for holiday displays, and are sometimes available for purchase by the Rutgers community.
Many undergraduate plant and biology Courses utilize the Floriculture Greenhouse, for example Introduction to Horticultural Therapy, General Biology, Fundamentals of Evolution, Plant Diversity and Evolution, and Intro to Horticulture and Plant Propagation. The greenhouse provides materials for students to work on, grows plants for classes, and provides living laboratory materials for university courses.
The Floriculture Greenhouse also maintains a 2000 square foot Raised Bed Urban Garden. Students are able to learn about gardening techniques and processes from breeding to seeding, from maintenance and to harvest. Sometimes students can even take home some fresh organically grown vegetables.
Another well-known and beloved event is our Annual Plant Sale at Ag Field Day, which is part of the larger, university-wide Rutgers Day. Every spring extra plant varieties are sold off to make room for the newest arrivals of tropical plants in our collections. This way the collection remains relevant and exciting to the students and community of Rutgers. Tours of the greenhouse are usually given to the public on Ag Field Day and are available at other times of the year (please contact Nicoletta M. Graf in advance to book a tour).
See Also