Horticulture student tending to poinsettias in a greenhouse.

News and research

VIU horticulture in the news

A smiling woman holding a pot of poinsettia

Engage Grant recipient

October 2022
Congratulations to Christine Quist who received an Engage Grant to work in collaboration with VIU Milner Gardens and Woodlands and the Nanaimo Rhododendron Society on the Rhododendron Revival Research.

A woman holding two garden gnomes.

2020 Provost's Awards for Excellence in Teaching Design and Practice

April 16, 2020
Congratulations to Jessica Gemella, Horticulture Program Chair and Instructor, a recipient of the Teaching Design and Practice that Employs Experiential Learning Award at Vancouver Island University.

Students working in a garden. Planting crops for Nanaimo Foodshare Society

April, 27 2020
VIU Horticulture facility boosts cultivation for Nanaimo Foodshare's Good Food Box program. Space in the greenhouses will be used to grow seedlings for transplanting in fields operated by Nanaimo Foodshare Society.

Learn about Foodshare Society project

People standing by a cement monument in a garden setting. VIU Horticulture students design natural garden setting in Nanaimo park

Students in the Horticulture program worked with Jessica Gamella on the design of a natural setting for a monument at Morden Colliery Historic Provincial Park. The monument is dedicated to the coal miners who worked on Vancouver Island.

Read Nanaimo News Bulletin article

VIU Horticulture, Poinsettia, Vancouver Island University

Teaching and learning in VIU’s Horticulture program

Kathleen Bortolin - Curriculum, Teaching and Learning Specialist talks with Jessica Gemella about some of the changes she's seen in student assessment, professionalism, teamwork and something Kathleen calls the Pedagogy of the Poinsettia.

Listen to Podcast

Research

Arbutus trunk and understoryPacific madrone research

VIU Horticulture student Madeline Clarke focused on trials to grow arbutus in a nursery setting with traditional and newer technologies that are available on the market. Her aim was to establish if using a bound media plug can reduce or eliminate transplant shock symptoms and find out which type of plug is most effective. Clarke's work asked the question: is root disturbance the main cause for transplant shock related deaths of Arbutus seedlings?

Horticulture students working with plants

Propagation research

VIU Horticulture students have conducted many studies on plant propagation. We look for the best methods for many species. To see the finding of these studies, visit the Plant Propagation Abstract page.