Sand Plain Research Farm

The Sand Plain Research Farm at Becker provides a dry sandy site for research on many crops, including strawberries, blueberries, currants, and potatoes. About 45 acres of research plots are tested under irrigation before a new variety is released for commercial production. An unwatered site provides an extreme test of trees and shrubs suitable for home landscapes. Visitors are welcome.

St. Paul Campus

On the northeast corner of the University's St. Paul Campus, a welcoming garden is a landscaping laboratory for students majoring in Environmental Horticulture and a popular site for seminars, tours, and casual visitors. The Campus also has many acres devoted to research, including turf and ornamental grasses, an extensive tree and shrub nursery, a native prairie, and thousands of chrysanthemums.

West Central Research & Outreach Center

At the West Central Research & Outreach Center in Morris, the large horticultural display garden combines research and education in an aesthetically pleasing showcase that includes a gazebo, trellises, a water garden, and an interactive and informative children's area. Although temperatures at Morris are similar to the Twin Cities, stronger winds, a drier climate, and soil differences are factors in testing new University flower, fruit, and vegetable varieties.

North Central Research & Outreach Center

Much of the University's outdoor winter hardiness research takes place at the North Central Research & Outreach Center in Grand Rapids, where horticulture, agriculture, and forestry research has been ongoing since 1896. Fruits, vegetables, trees, shrubs, and flowers are challenged by cold winters and short, humid summers at this northernmost horticultural research center in the continental U.S. The U of M's most recent maple introduction, the 'Firefall' (TM) Freeman maple, melds a Southern variety with a tree that originated near Grand Rapids.

UMore Park

The 3500 acres at UMore Park, Rosemount, are dedicated to research in a wide range of agricultural crops and animals, as well as turf grass, ornamental plants, trees, and the Lone Rock Trail for hiking and skiing. Dakota County master gardeners design and maintain the new display gardens.

Horticultural Research Center and
the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum

The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum's famous display gardens and natural woodlands are a year-round destination. Science and research underlay the beauty there, but at the adjacent Horticultural Research Center, research is foremost. University researchers use the two facilities to develop and study woody landscape plants, high quality grapes, berries and tree fruits, ornamental grasses, and to investigate methods for restoring wetland and prairies ecosystems.

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all U of M Research & Outreach Centers.