The Department of Horticultural Science is excited to welcome Brandon Miller as our newest faculty member! Dr. Miller joins us from Cornell University where he recently completed his Ph.D. with his dissertation titled “Improving Nursery Production and Landscape Establishment of Hickories and Other Trees for Urban Forests”. He will be working closely with Extension and the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, as well as the faculty and staff in the department. Dr. Miller will be taking over the management of the Learning Garden for Horticultural Science on the Saint Paul campus and looks forward to transitioning the garden into its next phase of landscape horticulture education.
Miller’s research program aims to aid the nursery and landscape industries through the development of novel specialty perennial horticultural crops adapted to cultivation in northern climates. His projects will be centered around the assessment of unique, underutilized woody and herbaceous ornamental perennials tolerant of stressful landscape conditions. A specific goal of his program is to identify plants that can adapt to a range of soil-moisture conditions and bolster landscape resiliency in the face of more frequent severe weather events.
Miller’s Extension work will be centered around the education of landscape horticulture practices. His programming will be informed by modern research-based information and will include topics such as plant identification, selection, installation, management, and site assessment. He aims to prepare Minnesotans and the northern green industry for the climate constraints of the future. His work with the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum will bring forth new landscape demonstrations that exemplify modern approaches to landscape management. This partnership will also support plant exploration to seek out unique species and origins of plants with desirable traits for horticulture.