Find best practices, digital resources, and training opportunities from The Morton Arboretum.
No matter what job position you have in your landscape career or where you are on your educational journey, The Morton Arboretum offers expert advice, information, and engagement opportunities. This page connects you to online information on plant care topics, online and in-person classes, training opportunities, and best management practices, based on science and backed by The Morton Arboretum and its partners.
Review the fundamentals of common topics in tree care, horticulture, and habitat management.
Choose the right tree for the right place by identifying site conditions and finding suitable species or cultivars.
Proper tree planting sets up a tree for long-term success and avoids costly and damaging problems encountered later.
Watering is one of the most important and commonly performed maintenance tasks. Do it the right way.
When applied properly, mulch provides many benefits to plants in the landscape.
Prune with purpose and confidence by following season-by-season guidance to keep trees and shrubs healthy.
Trees need care and attention all year long and for as long as they live.
The Morton Arboretum’s urban and community forestry program, the Chicago Region Trees Initiative provides many tools and datasets to inform municipal forestry initiatives, empower community organizations, and engage with caretakers of the regional forest.
The Morton Arboretum’s Plant Clinic can help you diagnose and manage pests and diseases that affect trees, shrubs, gardens, and commercial landscapes. Explore pest and disease information and submit your question to the Arboretum’s Plant Clinic online.
During the growing season The Morton Arboretum’s Plant Clinic publishes the Plant Health Care Report every week, providing up-to-date disease and insect pest reports for northeastern Illinois, as well as discussing weather and climate factors such as growing degree days (GDD), precipitation, and plant phenology indicators to help predict pest emergence.
Every plant requires different soil conditions to do well, and soils can vary considerably across city, suburban and rural landscapes. Learn about soil properties and how to deal with soil issues.
The Morton Arboretum offers online classes and hands-on training in plant care, ecosystem management, and urban forestry topics.
Use The Morton Arboretum’s Search Trees and Plants web tool to find plants suitable to specific site conditions. Enter keywords, names, or attributes to view detailed tree and plant information compiled by Arboretum experts.
Understand the important benefits trees provide to people and communities, and why their care and maintenance is worth the investment.
The varied landscapes and gardens at the Arboretum offer many different experiences, from sweeping splendor to shady seclusion. Gardeners and landscape designers can look to the Arboretum’s many unique gardens for inspiration.
Designed as a walking educational experience, the Arboretum’s Gateway to Tree Science exhibit demonstrates the effects of proper and improper tree care practices on trees and shrubs.
