NDSU Dale E. Herman Research Arboretum

Our Mission:

The mission of the NDSU Dale E. Herman Research Arboretum is to advance the discovery, evaluation, conservation, and use of woody plants suited to North Dakota and the Northern Great Plains. As a living research and teaching resource, the arboretum supports the NDSU Woody Plant Improvement Program by providing a place to study long-term plant performance, develop improved trees and shrubs, and identify species that can thrive in the region’s challenging climate and landscapes.

The arboretum connects research with practice. Its diverse living collection gives students hands-on opportunities to learn plant identification, horticulture, arboriculture, breeding, and landscape management. It also serves researchers, nursery professionals, community foresters, landscape practitioners, and homeowners seeking reliable information about selecting and caring for woody plants.

Through field trials, education, and public engagement, the arboretum works to expand plant diversity, strengthen the resilience of community landscapes, and encourage informed stewardship of trees and shrubs. By preserving plant collections and sharing what we learn from them, we aim to serve North Dakota today while developing better landscape plants and knowledge for future generations.

About the Research Arboretum

The NDSU Dale E. Herman Research Arboretum is a 35-acre living collection of trees and shrubs within the 80-acre NDSU Horticulture Research Farm, located between Absaraka and Amenia, North Dakota. The first tree plantings began in 1974, and the arboretum celebrated 50 years of research in 2024. Today, it contains more than 5,000 species, cultivars, and selections, making it the largest collection of trees and shrubs in North Dakota and one of the most extensive woody plant collections in the northern Great Plains. The arboretum is named for NDSU Professor Emeritus Dale E. Herman, who developed the university’s woody plant improvement work for nearly four decades. Dr. Todd West serves as director of the arboretum, and Connor Hagemeyer serves as curator.

The arboretum has earned Level III accreditation through ArbNet, an international accreditation program specifically for arboreta. Level III recognizes more than the size of a collection. Its criteria include a managed and documented collection of at least 500 woody plant taxa, dedicated collections expertise, broad public education, collaboration with other institutions, and meaningful work in tree science or conservation. For the Dale E. Herman Research Arboretum, this recognition reflects its combined roles as a long-term research site, a teaching resource, and a place where knowledge about trees and shrubs is shared beyond the university.

The arboretum is central to the NDSU Woody Plant Improvement Program. Its field plantings allow researchers to observe trees and shrubs over many years in the conditions that shape landscapes across the region: severe winters, strong winds, drought, and challenging soils. Researchers evaluate survival, growth, health, appearance, and landscape performance; select promising plants; and develop improved trees and shrubs for communities, nurseries, and homeowners. Since its first release in 1986, the program has introduced 63 trees and shrubs for production and sale.

The collection also serves as an outdoor classroom. Students gain direct experience in plant identification, horticulture, arboriculture, propagation, breeding, and field research. Because the arboretum contains established plants of different ages and from many backgrounds, students and researchers can study how woody plants change over time and respond to real growing conditions. The plantings that began in 1974 are particularly valuable: they provide decades of evidence about longevity and landscape performance that short-term trials cannot capture.

Beyond the university, the arboretum connects research with the people who plant and care for trees. Educational tours and events, including Branch Out: The NDSU Arboretum Experience, give visitors opportunities to see a wide range of woody plants, learn about NDSU’s research, and consider suitable choices for their own landscapes. By expanding knowledge of hardy plants and encouraging greater tree and shrub diversity, the Dale E. Herman Research Arboretum helps build healthier, more resilient landscapes for North Dakota and the northern Great Plains.